Early intervention professional development is more accessible and interactive than ever before.
The Early Start Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) offers interactive, facilitated learning both online and in-person to provide the foundational knowledge and basic skills early intervention personnel need to build their capacity to improve outcomes for children and families in Early Start.
The Department of Developmental Services, the California Department of Education, and the California Early Intervention Technical Assistance Network (CEITAN) at WestEd collaborate to offer a personnel development collection, under the banner of the Early Start Institute, for early intervention service coordinators, service providers, specialists, administrators, and other early intervention personnel.
Early Start Online has a new home!
Thank you for your patience while we moved Early Start Online to a new learning management platform. Courses are now open for registration.
How to Login
If you have a username in our previous system:
- If you have taken an Early Start Online course in our previous system please check your email for a message with the subject line “Welcome to Early Start Online.” This email will have your username and a link for you to login and update your information. If you are unable to locate this email please submit a support ticket.
If you have never taken an Early Start Online Course:
- Visit our new system to begin your registration and enrollment. Do not use this method if you have previously taken a course.
Additional Information
- All courses are free and available in a self-paced format.
- The Early Start Foundations and Skill Base courses are all ready for new users. Additional content, including the Cultural Humility courses, will be available soon.
- Not sure what to expect? View some helpful videos.
- If you completed courses in the previous learning management platform, your user and completion information has been migrated to the new system! Look for your certificates of completion or print your transcript in your Record of Learning.
- Go to Early Start Online to sign up and enroll.
For questions, email ESOnlinehelp@wested.org.
Early Start Training Curricula
At the heart of all Early Start training is the comprehensive, evidence-based content that the field has come to expect from Early Start personnel development. The core curriculum and learning outcomes are aligned with the ICC-Recommended Early Start Personnel Manual competencies and guided by the Core Messages. All content is developed in collaboration with the Department of Developmental Services and partners from the California Department of Education as well as professional and parent leaders. Content is reviewed and approved by the Department of Developmental Services.
Early Start Institute offerings are organized by content in three strands of concentration—Foundations, Skill Base, and Effective Practice Events and Webinars.
All of our courses are offered in a self-paced, asynchronous, open access format. See the chart below for a description of each concentration and the requirements for completion.