In interviewing representatives from professional development programs, we discovered that professional development partnerships enable participants to—

• Identify new allies, strengths, and solutions
  
  
• Develop in-depth understanding of the needs, goals, missions, and values of others serving children and families
  
  
• Utilize limited resources more effectively
  
  
• Provide higher quality, more accessible training
  
  
• Reduce isolation
  
  
• Build relationships that lay the groundwork for deeper collaboration
  
  
• Enhance collaboration on behalf of children and families throughout the entire community–going beyond initial professional development goals (e.g., creating parent resource libraries, community-wide health fairs, developmental screening)
  
  
• Influence policies and systems that affect young children, due to the
  broader representation of partners at the table
  
  
• Achieve greater success in tackling complex issues (e.g., increased compensation linked with increased training, articulation of college courses and community training initiatives, training in multiple languages, and use of distance learning technology)