Professional Development

• "I studied business in college, but I am really enjoying my work with children. I have taken 40 hours of training last year, but am no closer to a degree than when I started."
• "I have always wanted to get my degree, but I have been out of school so long. How do I start?"

Child Care Connections and all the Resource Development Centers in Maine are embarking on a new system of delivering training in Maine that will provide solutions to these dilemmas. In partnership with Maine Roads to Quality, Maine’s Early Care and Education Career Development Center and the Community College system, we are establishing a pathway for child care providers that could lead to credit in higher education. Practitioners who work in either a family child care home or child care center will have the opportunity to complete core knowledge training that will provide a consistent foundation of knowledge in early childhood education. Practitioners will then be able to apply this training and a completed portfolio toward obtaining a CDA, entry into a higher education, and advancement on the Professional Registry. These core knowledge trainings include:

• Getting Started in Family Child Care
• Starting Your Core Knowledge Portfolio
• Introduction to Early Childhood Education
• Caring for Infants, Toddlers, and Their Families
• Preschool Development in Family Child Care Settings
• Preschool Development in Center-based Care
• Caring for the Abuse Affected Child
• Working with School-age Children and Youth
• Inclusive Child Care
• Partners in Caring: Families and Caregivers
• Fostering the Social and Emotional Development of Young Children
• Building Peaceable Nonviolent Early Childhood Settings
• Weaving Diversity into Our Work with Children and Families

These core knowledge training are available on a statewide basis. Participants will receive the same information whether they live in Windham or Waldoboro, Portland or Presque Isle. We will be able to refer you to the series that will be held closest to you.

In addition, staff at the Resource Development Center will be available for career counseling, advising about obtaining a Child Development Associate credential, and ongoing technical assistance.

Statewide conferences will continue to be available, and individual workshops will be offered based on local need. The training offered by provider associations and other organizations will still be publicized in our training calendar.

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