In 1985, the California Department of Education (CDE) initiated an effort to address the unique needs of infants and toddlers in child care by entering into a collaboration with WestEd. From its inception, the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) has been a collaborative effort of the CDE, and more recently, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), and WestEd. To initiate the PITC, Janet Poole, CDE Administrator, and J. Ronald Lally, WestEd PITC Director, gathered together a team of child and family researchers, child care experts, and media specialists to begin the development of a multimedia training system for infant/toddler group care providers.
PITC has grown to become the major provider in California in the creation, distribution, and delivery of infant/toddler care training/professional learning resources (video and print) and activities (institutes, graduate events, conferences, outreach, and community-based training of infant care teachers/providers). It operates a Regional Support Network of PITC Certified Infant/Toddler Specialists who conduct training and coaching throughout California and nationwide. PITC has provided professional development institutes in more than 20 states and territories, nationally for Early Head Start, and internationally.