Southwest Human Development (SWHD)

Southwest Human Development offers nationally recognized education and training programs to professionals and organizations working with young children across Arizona, the U.S. and internationally. The agency is committed to training that is interactive and applicable to everyday work with children and families. Key elements include group participation, discussion of real-life problems and implementation of ideas learned during the training experience.

Assistive Technology Assessment and Equipment

Families in search of answers get help from the ADAPT Shop in determining what equipment would be most helpful for their child whether custom made or commercially available. Then the program’s team of specialists work with the family and collaborate with other professionals involved in the child’s care to make that vision a reality.

Birth to Five Helpline for Professionals

The Birth to Five Helpline links callers to early childhood experts who provide telephone and email consultation to professionals who work with young children.

Child Care and Expulsion Prevention Trainings

In partnership with the Arizona Department of Economic Security’s Child Care Administration, Southwest Human Development provides child care center and family home provider professionals with Expulsion Prevention Training. This new series offers opportunities to learn how understanding child development, attachment, trauma reaction and support of children’s developing self-regulation skills can help reduce and prevent expulsion of children from ages birth to 12 years.

Construct™ Professional Development Intervention

Construct is an adaptive professional development coaching model that supports teachers and caregivers through data-informed, individualized interventions aimed at moving and sustaining high-quality teacher and caregiver practices with children ages birth to 5.

Inclusion Program

The Inclusion Program is designed to help child care providers support children ages birth to five with developmental delays or disabilities.

Foster Care Training

Southwest Human Development is proud to offer foster care training including Foster Parent College, CPR/First Aid and Trauma-Informed Care Training for current and prospective foster families.

Harris Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Training Institute

The increased recognition of young children’s critical and unique needs has revealed a severe shortage of professionals knowledgeable in this field. As one of a handful of prestigious Harris programs in the country, and the only one in the Southwest, the Harris Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Training Institute seeks to fill this knowledge gap through two state-of-the-art training programs.

Language and Literacy Learning Communities

Language and Literacy Learning Communities help child care centers, family child care homes and other early childhood providers understand and promote early language and literacy in young children from birth to 5 years old.

Quality First

Quality First is a coaching, assessment and ratings system designed to improve early care and education in Arizona so young children can begin school safe, healthy and ready to succeed.

Smart Support

Smart Support partners early childhood mental health consultants with child care providers to promote the social and emotional development of all children in care, and help providers respond to children with behavioral challenges.

Smooth Way Home

The overall purpose of the Smooth Way Home Fragile Infant Project is to improve the social, developmental and medical outcomes of very fragile infants by enhancing the coordination of care and the quality of services provided to them as they transition from the newborn intensive care unit back to their home and community.

Tuition Support for Mental Health Professionals

The Tuition Support program is designed for mental health professionals working with children ages birth to 5 who want to stay current with the rapidly-expanding research in the field. It is also open to early childhood mental health graduate students and master’s-level mental health practitioners eager to enter the early childhood field.