...Methods that Barnard developed, widely known as the NCAST Feeding and Teaching Scales, were initially taught in 1979 in a series of eight classes via satellite in the U.S.A. During those sessions, over 600 nurses received training in the use of a series of tools for assessing parent-child interactions. After the satellite experiment ended, NCAST Programs, under the direction of Georgina Sumner, now Director Emeritus, started offering a Certified Instructor Workshop in Seattle. These professionals gained reliability in the use of the Feeding and Teaching Scales and were certified to teach the scales to learners in their own communities. NCAST became a self-sustaining organization that reached beyond traditional academic or continuing education programs to advance knowledge around the world for the benefit of families and children.

The Feeding and Teaching Scale program was updated in 1994 and is currently known as the Parent-Child Interaction (PCI) Program. Since its beginning, NCAST has trained over 800 Certified Instructors representing almost every state in the U.S. and several foreign countries. NCAST's Certified Instructors have trained more than 20,000 health care professionals in the use of the NCAST PCI Feeding and Teaching Scales which have been applied in many settings, including state & county health departments, community outreach programs, hospitals, clinics and universities and in various disciplines such as public health nursing, social work, child care, physical and occupational therapy, psychology, psychiatry, and pediatrics.

The PCI Feeding & Teaching Scales are also widely used in research all over the world. They have been used in major studies including the Administration of Children, Youth and Families' study, the Memphis New Mother Project, The David Olds Study and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, Comprehensive Child Care programs and projects promoted by the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, to name a few.

Dr. Jean Kelly, Professor at the University of Washington Family-Child Nursing, served as NCAST Director from 2001-2009. Under her direction, several new innovative programs were developed including Promoting First Relationships, Promoting Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and BabyCues: A Child's First Language.

In 2009, Dr. Monica Oxford, research associate professor at the Department of Family and Child Nursing at the University of Washington, became the new Director of NCAST Programs. NCAST Programs now represents the work of faculty from the Department of Family-Child Nursing and the Center for Human Development and Disability and continues to develop dynamic educational programs which combine research and practice with various teaching strategies to assist professionals working with infants, young children and families.

Other NCAST programs include:

• BabyCues: A Child's First Language Cards & Video innovative new products which helps parents, home visitors and other caregivers become more "tuned in" to their infant and young child's feelings and needs by learning to understand and respond to their behavioral cues.
  
  
• Promoting First Relationships trains service providers to help parents and other caregivers meet the social and emotional needs of young children by building nurturing and responsive relationships. Seattle classes available. Onsite training available for your agency.
  
  
• Promoting Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy is designed to assist the pregnant woman in moving beyond the physical dimensions of pregnancy by addressing the emotional and psychological challenges new mothers face, including post-partum depression, unresolved grief or loss and other mental health disruptions. Seattle classes available.  Onsite training available for your agency.
  
  
• With the Sleep Activity Program you can help pregnant mothers and caregivers promote predictable behaviors in their babies through specific activities, routines and interactions.
  
  
• The dynamic Keys to Caregiving program will give you insight into baby's nonverbal ways of communicating.
  
  
• The practical Personal Environment Assessment scales provide valid and reliable information about the individual, family and environment.