Cindy Arstein-Kerslake, Research Associate
CINDY has worked as a research and evaluation consultant in the field of early intervention and early mental health for the past 20 years. During that time, she worked to promote the role of families in the education of their children by co-authoring the California Department of Education’s Handbook on Family Involvement and a study on family involvement activities in California early education programs. She served as the evaluator for California infant and early mental health initiatives from 1998 to 2005 and promoted lessons learned from the initiatives as part of the California First5 Special Needs Project. As Chair of the Infant Development Association’s Interdisciplinary Collaborations for Quality Committee, she leads efforts to support and promote high quality services for very young children and their families.
Currently, she is the Coordinator of the California MAP to Inclusion and Belonging?Making Access Possible project for WestEd Center for Child and Family Studies. In this role, she works with stake holders to identify resource needs, develop materials and gather resources to maintain the MAP website that provides a clearinghouse of information and resources supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities and other special needs in early care and education settings, after school programs and in the community. Her job as a mother to three girls, one with a developmental disability, is her inspiration and the driving force behind all that she does.