Training

The Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood is available to deliver up to one onsite training per site per year. Policies and procedures regarding dates, times and topics can be found on the Onsite Training Request form. Please plan in advance and choose topics that will benefit all teaching staff. Submit the completed request form to Institute-early-childhood@udel.edu or fax to 302-831-8776. Please direct questions to 302-831-3239.

Annual training hours are required under Delacare Rules for those working in licensed child care facilities. These hours have been required to advance professional development. Professional development is defined as the essential knowledge and skills needed for those working in the child care field. To ensure that the early childhood workforce acquires and maintains essential knowledge and skills, the Licensees of Family Child Care (FCC) Homes and staff members of Large Family Child Care (LFCC) Homes and Early Care and Education (ECE) and School-Age (SA) Centers are required to successfully complete annual training hours each licensure year.

Specific annual training requirements are specified in Delacare Rules as follows:

• FCC Licensees – Twelve (12) Clock Hours (Delacare: Rules for Family Child Care Homes – Rules #134-135)
• LFCC Staff Members– Fifteen (15) Clock Hours (Delacare: Rules for Large Family Child Care Homes – Rules #165-166
• ECE and SA Center Staff Members – Eighteen (18)* Clock Hours (Delacare: Rules for Early Care and Education and School-Age Centers – Rules #177-1 78)
    * ECE/SA Center Staff Members working less than twenty-five (25) hours per week are required to take at least nine (9) hours of training each licensure year.
• Meet qualifications through Delaware First, Department of Education.

Early care and education professionals enroll in training to:

• Keep current with issues in the profession
• Increase knowledge relating to early care and education, school-age research, and best practices
• Meet annual licensing requirements
• Meet qualifications through Delaware First, Department of Education

Quality Assured Professional Development

All quality assured professional development goes through a rigorous evaluation prior to being offered in the community. These topics/titles will be advertised in Provider Pursuits and on the DIEEC website; participants will receive a DIEEC Certificate; and the professional development hours will be reflected on the participant’s DIEEC Registry Transcript. Every DIEEC Certificate will include the DIEEC logo and the Dr. Martha Buell’s (DIEEC Director’s) signature. If you receive a certificate without the DIEEC logo or the DIEEC Director’s signature and you want to verify its quality assurance status, please contact 302-831-3239.

Training Opportunities Available

• Provider Pursuits is a publication that lists quality assured professional development opportunities statewide. Published four times a year, Provider Pursuits also contains valuable articles about issues in the field. Providers register for professional development opportunities on the web, at the DIEEC website.
• Training for Early Care & Education I and Training for Early Care & Education II are two 60-hour packages of training that encompass the 13 functional topic areas and competency goals for CDA. Participants are required to meet attendance requirements, complete homework assignments, and pass quizzes to successfully complete the course. TECE 1 & 2 sponsoring institutions ( PDF 140K) or online.

Online Training

• Keys to Interactive Parenting - http://www.comfortconsults.org  For additional information Click Here

A New Professional Development Framework for Early Childhood

The Department of Education has developed a Framework for Professional Development that will outline the expectations and intensity of training options and help providers make informed choices for professional development experiences. The Framework outlines the levels of state recommended training that the new Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood will develop or coordinate in collaboration with other education organizations. The state recommended training will provide quality assurance to the consumer by closely monitoring the delivery and in making sure that the content of training is research based and aligned with state standards for the field. The provider taking state recommended training will have three levels of intensity from which to choose. The diagram shows the state recommended training options in green.

Level 2: Quality Assured Training Time: not less than one hour Sessions: may be more than one Trainer: Certified or specialty discipline Content: Aligned with standards Participant Requirements: none Meets annual hours	Level 3: Quality Assured Training Series Time: 6 or more hours Sessions: multiple Trainer: Certified or specialty discipline Content: Aligned with standards Participant Requirements: outside assignments Meets annual hours
Level 4: Professional Development Certificates Time: minimum of 45 hours Sessions: multiple over several weeks Trainer: Certified Content: determined by Dept. of Education Participant Requirements: outside assignments and student assessment May meet licensing qualifications requirements	Community Based Training and College Credit Courses Community training meets annual hours College courses meet annual hours and may meet qualification requirements

Will community-based training still be acceptable for annual training?
Yes, while Delaware First will no longer be offering a training approval process for community-based training, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) continues to accept such training. OCCL will not review the outline or specifics of any community- based training. Additionally, OCCL will not review the qualifications or competencies of community- based trainers. However, OCCL will not recognize training hours on any training related to the cause, diagnosis, treatment, care, or management of children’s physical or mental illnesses, diseases, syndromes, or disorders not offered by licensed or certified professional with credentials in that topic.

What is community-based training? Community-based training is a professional development opportunity offered by an entrepreneurial trainer or training agency that provides (offers) the early childhood workforce another option to obtain training hours to fulfill qualification and training requirements. This type of training may be considered Level I training in the new framework for professional development developed by the Department of Education. Level I training is not subject to quality assurance by the Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood, nor are trainers required to demonstrate their qualifications and competencies as is required at the other levels of training.
Community-based trainers or training agencies assume the responsibility for the quality and content of the training presented along with the logistics of the training – cost, collection of fees, advertisement, cancellation policy, location, date and time, etc. Any session/workshop must be at least 60 consecutive minutes in length. Documentation of successful completion of training will be required in the form of a certificate

The First Half of Grandmothering Period Comes to an End

Staff members working at Centers licensed prior to the adoption of the current Delacare: Rules for Early Care and Education and School-Age Centers (2007) who were hired before December 31, 2006 were given between two to four years to qualify under the new position requirements. On December 31, 2008, the planned two-year grandmothering period ended for such staff members at early care and education Centers wanting to qualify for the positions of Early Childhood (EC) Intern (see Rule #164), EC Caregiver (see Rule #163), EC Assistant Teacher (see Rule #161) and at school-age Centers for those wanting to qualify for the positions of School-Age (SA) Intern (see Rule #443), and SA Site Assistant (see Rule #442).

Staff members hired prior to December 31, 2006 in previously licensed Centers now have the remaining options in order to be in compliance with the new Delacare Rules:

• Show proof of being qualified as at least an EC Intern or SA Intern and count toward the staff to child ratios but can not be left alone with children;
• Show proof of being qualified as an EC Caregiver, EC Assistant Teacher, SA Intern, or SA Site Assistant and count toward the staff to child ratios and have the ability to be left alone with children; or
• Have a professional development plan showing continued progress toward meeting one of the following qualifications no later than December 31, 2010 - EC Teacher (see Rule #160), EC Curriculum Coordinator (see Rule #157), or EC Administrator (see Rules #153-156) at an early care and education Center; or SA Site Coordinator (see Rule #440), or SA Administrator (see Rule #439) at a school- age Center. Such staff member must at least be qualified as a “Caregiver” under the 1988 Delacare: Requirement for Day Care Centers in order to count toward the staff to child ratio and have the ability to be left alone with children.

Previously licensed Centers with staff members hired on or prior to December 31, 2006 who have not qualified or do not have a professional development plan as stated above will be cited as non-compliant in regard to staff qualifications. A corrective action plan will be developed stating steps that must be taken to come into compliance and the time frame in which these steps must be completed in order to avoid further enforcement action.

New hires at these Centers have one of the following options when entering employment:

• Have up to twelve months from the date of hire to qualify as at least an EC Intern or SA Intern and count toward the staff to child ratios but can not be left alone with children;
• Have proof of qualifying as at least an EC Assistant Teacher or SA Site Assistant and count toward the staff to child ratios and have the ability to be left alone with children; or
• Have a professional development plan showing the progression of steps to be taken toward qualifying as an EC Teacher, SA Site Coordinator, EC Curriculum Coordinator, SA Administrator or EC Administrator no later than December 31, 2010. This staff member must at least be qualified as a Caregiver under the 1988 Delacare: Requirement for Day Care Centers in order to count toward the staff to child ratios and have the ability to be left alone with children.
• If you have any questions or need further clarification, please contact your Licensing Specialist at the Office of Child Care Licensing.

New Delacare: Rules for Family Child Care Homes & Large Family Child Care Homes are Approved

On January 1, 2009, the new Delacare: Rules for Family Child Care (FCC) Homes and Delacare; Rules for Large Family Child Care (LFCC) Homes became effective. The New FCC and LFCC Rules represent a movement by the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) and those involved in the revision process toward improving standards designed to ensure the health and safety of children in care and to enhance the quality of children’s experiences in FCC and LFCC Homes so they will be better prepared to succeed in school and in life.

The Child Development Associate Credential

The Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition operates the Child Development Associate (CDA) Credentialing program. The CDA represents a national effort to credential qualified providers who work with children from birth through age five.

A Child Development Associate is an individual who has successfully completed the CDA assessment and has been awarded the Credential. By receiving the credential, the provider has demonstrated that s/he is able to meet the specific needs of children and works with parents to nurture the child’s emotional, physical, intellectual, and social development. Also, the individual must demonstrate their ability to meet the CDA Competency Goals. There are thirteen functional areas from which the goals were developed: Safety, Health, Learning Environment, Physical, Cognitive, Communication, Creative, Self, Social, Guidance, Families, Program Management, and Professionalism.

In order to receive the CDA you must meet the following requirements:

• Be 18 years of age or older
• Hold a high school diploma or GED
• Have 480 hours of experience working with children within the past 5 years
• Have 120 clock hours of formal education/training within the past five years, with no fewer than 10 hours in each of the content areas
• Complete a portfolio and resource file

Delaware First developed Training for Early Care & Education I & II (TECE) to give the provider the 120 clock hours of approved training based on the 13 functional areas.

To begin the process of receiving your CDA, contact the Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition at (800) 424-4310 or (202) 265-9090 for an assessment application packet. The cost for the application packet is $20 and the assessment fee is $325. 

For information on CDA scholarships through  T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood^®, contact Lynn Jezyk, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Coordinator at 302-764-1501