Different but Equal: Professionalizing Family Child Care

Dr. Thelma Harms is the director of curriculum development at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and a research professor in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Harms is recognized internationally for her work in assessing the quality of educational and care settings. She has developed a variety of curriculum materials and staff training resources and has provided extensive in-service training and consultation in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. She is coauthor of the nationally recognized Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales (ECERS-R). Harms was the 2006 Barbara E. (Mound) Hansen Early Childhood Lecturer in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. She will discuss the impact of home-based child care as a profession and the development of the new Family Child Care Rating Scale (FCCRS).