In any profession, ongoing learning and development is needed, and the child care field is no exception. All caregivers need to keep up with current knowledge and information. In fact, Oklahoma child care providers must have 12 hours of training each year to remain licensed.

Many providers want to learn more, earn higher degrees, provide a better service to children and make more money. For them, further development is part of being a professional.  The Career Options in Early Care & Education Brochure describes jobs associated with different levels of training, credentials, or degrees.

Resource & Referral Agencies
The Resource & Referral agency is the first place a provider should call when interested in training or professional development guidance.  The following services are available by phone, in our office and at your child care facility:

• Information on starting a child care center or a family child care home
• Assistance with developing or enhancing your child care program
• Help creating and modifying early learning environments in your home or center
• Training on topics including health, safety, and risk management, successful business practices, reading, games, crafts and more
• Technical assistance either by telephone, at our office, or at your child care facility that is tailored to meet your specific needs, such as auditing immunization records; setting of a learning environment; knowing how to increase your Star level; and developing good business practices, to name only a few
• Access to resource libraries where you can use laminating and die cut machines, check out books, games and toys to use in your program as well as consultation from a child development specialist on how to use these materials in your program
• Referrals to fill vacancies in your home or center
• Information on program funding to support your child care program
• Advice and information on professional advancement opportunities
• A newsletter with information on child care issues and listing local child care training opportunities

For some types of training, licensed providers can turn to their regional R&R for nearby classes. To find out what your R&R has scheduled, please go your R & R agency's web site for a training calendar or call for information.

The Oklahoma Child Care Services system that supports child care providers can be hard to navigate especially when you need immediate assistance. Call your local Resource & Referral agency for a quick referral to the appropriate agency for the specialized assistance you need.

Center for Early Childhood Professional Development 

The Center for Early Childhood Professional Development (CECPD), a service of the University of Oklahoma, is a centralized statewide program that trains early childhood professionals, including child care center directors and teachers, as well as family child care providers. The Center:

• Manages the Early Care and Education Professional Development Ladder which tracks the educational progress of directors and teachers
• Conducts environmental rating scales for centers and homes who recently became Two Star facilities
• Implements and maintains the Oklahoma Director's Credential
• Recruits and maintains a registry of educators approved to offer training for child care providers
• Developed and implements the Entry Level Child Care Training (ELCCT) course required of all new child care teachers working at centers
• Administers the R.E.W.A.R.D. salary supplement program for child care providers
• Offers a variety of training opportunities for child care providers
• Access to a video lending library

To discover how professional development can increase income for child care providers, check out CECPD's description of REWARD Oklahoma.

If you already know about REWARD Oklahoma and just want to see the supplement scales and requirements.

Scholars for Excellence       

The Scholars for Excellence program, a service of the Regents of Higher Education, offers:

• A scholar coordinator at each two-year community college who works with child care providers who are returning to school for higher educational opportunities in the child care field
• Each scholar coordinator recruits, supports and mentors child care providers seeking a credential, certificate, or associate degree in early childhood education
• Offers a scholarship program that pays tuition, books, release time and credential assessment fees for participating child care providers.

Career Technology Centers

Career Techs offer a curriculum called Pathways that is designed to help child care providers earn their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. For more information, contact the Adult Education Coordinator at your local Career Technology Center.
 

Warmline                                                                                            The Warmline for Oklahoma Child Care providers offers free telephone consultations to child care providers on numerous health topics. Prerecorded topics can be accessed anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at toll free 1-888-574-5437. Consultants answer the phone during normal business hours.

Other Professional Development Opportunities
In addition to training, professional development can include conferences, participation in professional associations and subscriptions to professional resources, such as online newsletters, journals, etc.