Professional Development Systems and the SECA States

1. Professional Development Systems and the SECA States

2. About SECA The Southern Early Childhood Association is comprised of 14 Southern states and has state level organizations in all states except North Carolina.

3. The SECA States • Alabama—Alabama Association for Young Children (AAYC) • Arkansas—Arkansas Early Childhood Association (AECA) • Florida—Florida Association for the Education of Young Children (FLAEYC) • Georgia—Georgia Association for Young Children (GAYC) • Kentucky—Kentucky Association for Early Childhood Education (KAECE) • Louisiana—Louisiana Early Childhood Association (LAECA) • Mississippi—Mississippi Early Childhood Association (MECA) • Oklahoma—Early Childhood Association of Oklahoma (ECAO) • South Carolina—South Carolina Early Childhood Association (SCECA) • Tennessee—Tennessee Association for the Education of Young Children (TAEYC) • Texas—Texas Association for the Education of Young children (TxAEYC) • Virginia—Virginia Association for Early Childhood Education (VAECE) • West Virginia—West Virginia Association for Young Children (WVAYC)

4. SECA’s Mission The Southern Early Childhood Association (SECA) is committed to improving the quality of care and education for young children and their families through advocacy and professional development.

5. What does a Comprehensive Professional System Include? According to the National Registry Alliance, a comprehensive professional development system: • Is accessible and based upon a clearly articulated framework. • Includes a continuum of training and ongoing supports. • Defines pathways that are tied to licensure, leading to qualifications and credentials. • Addresses the needs of individual adult learners. The systems are generally composed of five interconnected components: • Core knowledge • Access and outreach • Qualifications, credentials, and pathways • Funding • Quality Assurance

6. What Does a Registry Do? • Collects, tracks, acknowledges, and manages workforce data • Produces records that can validate qualifications or ongoing professional development • Verifies provider qualifications • Approves and tracks training attendance • Maintains a calendar of training offerings

7. SECA States with Practitioner Registries or Tracking Systems SECA States with Trainer Registries Arkansas Miami-Dade & Palm Beach Counties in Florida Kentucky Louisiana North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee West Virginia Arkansas Miami-Dade & Palm Beach Counties in Florida Kentucky Louisiana North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Texas West Virginia

8. What’s Happening in the SECA States?

9. Alabama • Alabama published a document entitled “Alabama Pathways to Quality Care and Education” as an informational resource guide for individuals seeking professional development opportunities. • In February 2010, the Director of Alabama’s Child Care Services Division, Debbie Thomas, stated that “the Alabama Professional Development Team (APDT) is continuing implementation of Alabama Pathways with Development of the Alabama Pathways Professional Development Registry... .”

10. Arkansas Traveling Arkansas’ Professional Pathways (TAPP) is the tracking component of the Arkansas Early Childhood Professional Development System. It includes: • Online training transcripts • An option to use a Registry Identification instead of your Social Security number • 3 levels of qualification based on education and training received • A career lattice called Spectrum • Registry-approved training events • Online registration for registry-approved events • A trainer registry • An online job board

11. Florida Florida has professional development systems in two counties only: • The Palm Beach Early Childhood Registry in Palm Beach County • Quality Counts Career Center in Miami-Dade County • Each program contains a documentation system for providers. • Informational resources for training events and trainers are included.

12. Georgia As of February 2010, Georgia has closed its Registry and divided up functions among groups in the state: • GAYC (SECA’s state affiliate) has a phone line and website operating to answer questions. • The University of Georgia now operates the training approval system. • Incentive and scholarship programs are operated by Care Solutions.

13. Kentucky • Three Critical Components: ◦ Self-initiated learning ◦ Education ◦ Technical Assistance • The system includes: • 5 levels of professional accomplishment • Early childhood core content • Credentials and degrees for early care, intervention, and education professionals • A seamless training track • Support services and technical assistance • Articulation agreements • A scholarship program (college and non-college levels) • A Professional Development Registry (ECE-TRIS) • The Training Finder Real-Time Affiliated Integrated Network (TRAIN)

14. Louisiana Louisiana Pathways Child Care Career Development System is housed at NSU Child & Family Services, Northwestern State University, and has 4 key components: • Registry Database • Certification tracks for child care classroom, administrator, and family child care home • Scholarships • Trainer certification

15. Mississippi Mississippi has no formal professional development system. • The Early Childhood Institute of Mississippi State University has, however, developed the Mississippi Early Childhood Professional Development Initiative, which collects information about the professional qualifications of administrators, teachers, and classroom aides at all centers that enroll in the Institute’s programs.

16. North Carolina The North Carolina Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development operates the North Carolina Early Educator Certification system. • 10 levels of certification determined by educational background • The Institute charges a fee for certification ($50 for initial review/$25 for renewal) • Rewards program for certified professionals provides discounts with certain vendors

17. Oklahoma • The Center for Early Childhood Professional Development administers the following: • The Leadership Academy • Specialized training • Child Care Careers • On-line classes • Professional development registry • REWARD (salary supplement program) • Video lending library • The Oklahoma Registry Professional Development Ladder contains 10 Tiers. • The Center also operates the Oklahoma Training Approval System (OTAS), a 3-tiered system.

18. South Carolina • The South Carolina Training System is administered by the Center for Child Care Career Development and includes the following components: • Training approval system • The South Carolina Certified Child Care Training Registry • Training verification system that includes bar coding forms • Voluntary trainer certification process

19. Tennessee The Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance is housed in the Center of Excellence for Learning Sciences of Tennessee State University • Services include CDA, Accreditation, TECTA Orientation, and Academic Support. • 9 local offices throughout the state. • Offers 30 hours of free training • Provides scholarships to retrain displaced or underemployed workers for the child care field

20. Texas The purpose of the Texas Early Care and Education Career Development system is • To ensure statewide availability of high quality professional development opportunities, and • To provide Early Care and Education practitioners the ability to pursue their professional development along a continuum of increasingly complex education and skill levels.

21. Virginia Virginia currently lacks a comprehensive professional development system but does have the following: • Professional Development Task Force • Competencies for Early Childhood Professionals, a resource publication with information about health, safety, and nutrition and child growth and development. • The Virginia Star Quality Initiative, a quality improvement system.

22. West Virginia • West Virginia’s State Training & Registry System includes 5 components: • Core Knowledge & Core Competencies • Career Pathway • Registry and Credentialing System • Trainer Approval and Registered Training System • Coordinated Training System • The West Virginia STARS Career Pathway includes 8 levels