Welcome to the . . .
Early Childhood Career Development Initiative
Since the early 1990's the Council on Children and Families has joined with
professionals from the field of early care and education on projects
to strengthen and expand opportunities for those exploring careers in early
childhood and school-age programs as well as those already working in the
field and looking to advance in their careers. The Council's work in this
area has included the following projects:
- NYS Career Development Initiative—From 1991 to 1998, the Council led a state wide initiative that created and implemented two statewide career and professional development systems plans. Each plan focused on building a system of career and professional development that enabled people working in early care and education programs and settings gain the skills and competencies needed to offer quality services for children and families.
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Children's Program Administrator Credential—addressed the significant need for educational opportunities in program administration; outlines the process and requirements for completing and obtaining the Children's Program Administrator Credential.
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Infant/Toddler Care and Education Credential—addressed the growing need for educational opportunities for people serving infants and toddlers; outlines the process and requirements for completing and obtaining the Infant/Toddler Care and Education Credential.
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Early Care and Education Trainer Credential—provides a systemic approach for helping early care and education programs identify qualified trainers. The credential program validates the trainer's education and experience with children and/or families or in a specialized content area, and evaluates the trainer's competence in preparing and implementing professional development experiences that result in increased knowledge, improved professional practice, and eventually in higher quality programs for children and families.
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www.earlychildhood.org—a one-stop source of information for early childhood professionals. It also contains information that supports the efforts of program directors and others to improve the quality of their programs.
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Literacy Development for Early Care and Education Providers
with Low literacy Skills—addressing the challenges faced by trainers working with child care providers who are not strong readers or speakers of the English language, the Council worked in collaboration with the State University of New York's Training Strategies Group, Office of Children and Family Services' Division of Child Care, and Literacy-New York, to develop a two day workshop. Topics included how to develop easy-to-read materials and activities on using children's literature to enhance both children's and provider's literacy skills.
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