Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care

Provide Access to Training, Education, and Ongoing Supports

Online Resources

National and state early childhood workforce data:

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics collects data on the child care workforce as a whole (data cannot be broken out to show those who only work with babies and toddlers), some of which can be analyzed by state, or metropolitan region.
• The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment profiled California's early childhood workforce and analyzed diversity and stratification within the field.
• A comprehensive 2008 report on Illinois early childhood workforce information examined the education levels of infant/toddler providers compared to providers working with preschoolers.

 

Developing integrated birth to five early childhood professional development systems:

• The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has a state professional development and career systems initiative and has developed a state policy blueprint for integrated systems and a database of state policies related to professional standards, career pathways, articulation, advisory structure, data, and financing.
• Eight organizations - the Aspire Institute, the CAYL Institute, the Council for Professional Recognition, National Black Child Development Institute, National Head Start Association, National-Louis University, Pre-K Now, and Wheelock College have released Role, Relevance, and Reinvention: Higher Education in the Field of Early Care and Education, which analyzes the role of credentials and the relevance of current teacher education programs and calls for a new vision of professional development for the early childhood workforce.
• The Council for Exceptional Children, Division for Early Childhood, has developed a joint position statement with NAEYC on inclusion, and has position statements on personnel standards for early education and early intervention and the knowledge and skill base for early childhood special education/early intervention professionals.

 

Initiatives to improve education, training, and supports specific to infant/toddler providers:

• The California Department of Education has implemented the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) model across the state. PITC is a training curriculum for infant and toddler providers based on the importance of early relationships.
• Wisconsin has several initiatives designed to increase the skills of the infant/toddler workforce, including an infant and toddler credential, access to scholarships and other supports, and a bonus system based on credit-based education levels.
• The National Infant and Toddler Child Care Initiative (NITCCI) provides information and assistance on infant and toddler child care to administrators of state Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funds and has resources available online including:
• o Materials from a one-day training on developing infant-toddler specialist networks, including a step-by-step guide;
• o A report and planning tool that describes state infant/toddler credentials and provides guidance on developing credentials for other states.

 

Initiatives to improve birth to five professional development and infrastructure:

• The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment has analyzed states with early childhood registries to better understand their role in promoting the quality of professional development, as well as models of support services for non-traditional students.
• New Mexico has coordinated professional development opportunities across the state to make it easier for students to transfer credits and ensure Common Core Content and Areas of Specialization are followed, including a focus on preparing infant and toddler providers, from entry level to master's degree. The state is finalizing a new career lattice that will offer pathways for students to focus on preparing to work with children from birth to age four or from ages four to eight.
• The Crosswalks Project at the University of North Carolina's Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute has developed a toolbox of resources addressing diversity and standards for personnel preparation and is working with institutions of higher education in North Carolina to improve cultural competency in pre-service education.
• Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Clara Counties in California have piloted a cohort model, which groups currently employed early childhood providers together as they work toward a bachelor's degree and provides supportive services. This has been useful to assist non-traditional students by providing counseling, assistance with technology skills, professional and leadership development, and financial assistance. The Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.) Early Childhood® Project has been successful in increasing education and compensation and decreasing turnover rates within the early childhood workforce. It started in North Carolina, but is now replicated in 20 states.
• The Comprehensive Approaches to Raising Educational Standards (CARES) program in California offers incentives to child care providers who stay in the field and obtain further training and education. An evaluation showed participants were very satisfied with the program overall, and Latino providers in particular viewed the support provided by the program as key to their decisions to stay in the field.

 

Initiatives to support family, friend, and neighbor caregivers:

• The Early Childhood Resource and Training Center in Minnesota provides training, resources, and technical assistance to families and providers, particularly those from communities of color and immigrant and refugee communities.
• Parents as Teachers has developed two curricula for working with caregivers, one entitled, "Supporting Care Providers through Personal Visits," and one specifically focusing on babies entitled, "Supporting Infant/Toddler Care Providers."
• The Parent-Child Home Program has formalized a new program model entitled "The Parent-Child Home Program for Family Child Care Providers," which has two pathways: one serving licensed family child care providers and one serving family, friends, and neighbors who provide regular child care.

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