6.2 Professional Development Framework

A Lead Agency must have a professional development framework for training, professional development, and post-secondary education for caregivers, teachers, and directors in child care programs that serve children of all ages. The framework must include these components: (1) professional standards and competencies, (2) career pathways, (3) advisory structures, (4) articulation, (5) workforce information, and (6) financing. CCDF provides Lead Agencies flexibility on the strategies, breadth, and depth of the framework. The professional development framework must be developed in consultation with the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care or a similar coordinating body. 6.2.1 Updates and consultation a. Did the Lead Agency make any updates to the professional development framework since the FFY 2022-2024 CCDF Plan was submitted? ☐ Yes. If yes, describe the elements of the framework that were updated and describe if and how the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care (if applicable) or similar coordinating body was consulted: Not applicable. ☐ X No. b. Did the Lead Agency consult with other key groups in the development of their professional development framework? ☐ X Yes. If yes, identify the other key groups: The lead agency has not worked to update the professional development framework since the last state plan was submitted; however, the professional development framework was developed at California Department of Education with subject matter experts, consultants, and West Ed. ☐ No. 6.2.2. Description of the professional development framework a. Describe how the Lead Agency’s framework for training and professional development addresses the following required elements: i. Professional standards and competencies. For example, Lead Agencies can include information about which roles in early childhood education are included (such as teachers, directors, infant and toddler specialists, mental health consultants, coaches, licensors, QIS assessors, family service workers, home visitors). To advance CA’s 2020 Master Plan for Early Learning and Care goals on competencies and professional standards, Quality Counts California (QCC) Workforce Pathways Grant (WPG) uses California Early Childhood Educator Competencies as one of the resources in California Department of Social Services’ (CDSS) comprehensive early learning and development system. The research-based Early Childhood Educator (ECE) Competencies describes the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that current and preservice early childhood educators should have and develop, and it presents information about education and professional development for individuals who are interested in early care and education or who already work in the profession. More information about the California ECE Competencies can be found at (https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/ececomps.asp California Early Childhood Educator Competencies) https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/ececomps.asp. The QCC WPG also uses CompSat, which is a competency-based self- assessment toolkit. The Competencies Self-assessment Toolkit (CompSAT) is the companion to the California ECE Competencies. The CompSAT guides early educators through a process of self-reflection and authentic assessment in the 12 competency areas detailed in the ECE Competencies. Additionally, child care and development academic advisors and quality coaches use CompSat to support self-assessment that can be used to support career lattice progression. The CompSAT offers guidance and support through 12 modules, each one named for one of the California ECE competencies. The modules provide choices for exploration, allow for reflection on who you are as an early childhood educator, explore how participants want to grow in their unique role and environment and assess personal strengths and challenges. Participants are also provided with useful resources to design and build a portfolio that documents their learning journey. Building off the CompSat, CDSS invested in an ECE Competencies for Adult Learning and Coaching Course to support ECE professional development – such as higher education faculty, training organizations, consultants, and human resources department of large agencies that provide early learning and care. The professional development related to the child care and development competencies supports those who are supporting adult learners through coaching or other professional development activities. ii. Career pathways. For example, Lead Agencies can include information about professional development registries, career ladders, and levels. Furthering the California’s 2020 Master Plan for Early Learning and Care roadmap for career pathways, the California Early Childhood Online (CECO) professional learning system provides access to professional growth and training through multiple pathways of progression for caregivers and beyond. Another career pathways support is through the QCC WPG. The QCC WPG grantees provide supports that facilitate access to training and credit-bearing classes that help participants obtain a Child Development Permit, degree, CDSS’ child care license, and/or move along the Career Lattice according to their professional development plans. The WPG is currently open to all members of the workforce working directly with children and places a priority on programs that accept California State Subsidies. Participants can focus on higher education, professional development, and academic advising. Some options for professional development include supporting family, friends, and neighbors and family child care home (FCCH) staff to meet Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) health and safety and child development training requirements. Participants can receive tuition/fee payments or stipends for completing ongoing professional development or non-unit bearing courses to maintain or advance on the Child Development Permit. The California Career Ladder supports for the workforce also include varying levels of the Child Development Permit: Child Development Assistant Permit, Child Development Associate Teacher Permit, Child Development Teacher Permit, Child Development Master Teacher Permit, Child Development Site Supervisor Permit, Child Development Program Director Permit, and a School-Age Emphasis Authorization. The Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) has adopted the authorization, requirements, program standards, and teaching performance expectations for the PK–3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential as of October 2022. The regulatory package to establish this credential is currently moving through the State’s process with the Office of Administrative Law. While CTC is on the verge of establishing this new credential, it also engages in countless activities related to teacher preparation and development as described in its April 2019 report, California ECE Teaching and Administrator Performance Expectations found here: chrome- extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/ default-source/educator-prep/standards/ece-performance-expectations- pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=854253b1_4 . iii. Advisory structure. For example, Lead Agencies can include information about how the professional development advisory structure interacts with the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care. The Early Childhood Policy Council (ECPC) includes a workforce subgroup. The executive leadership of CDSS attends and frequently provides presentations to this subgroup. The State Plan, which includes professional development and workforce initiatives, is shared during the ECPC meetings. For example, as part of the listening session to support the revision of the QCC WPG, information about workforce incentives, advising and professional development applicable to the grant were shared. The ECPC workforce subcommittee and the public provided feedback that informed the new workforce grant opportunity. iv. Articulation. For example, Lead Agencies can include information about articulation agreements, and collaborative agreements that support progress in degree acquisition. The CDSS has an articulation agreement that supports degree acquisition via the alignment of the core Early Childhood ECE/CD courses with Community Colleges through a Curriculum Alignment Project (CAP). There are 106 Community Colleges in California who have agreed to participate in CAP, of those colleges, 98 are officially aligned. The CAP courses have been accepted as the required core for the Associate Degree for Transfer (AD-T) in ECE. The CAP courses are the foundation for the AD-T in ECE. In addition to the CAP aligned courses, students can apply to participate in the Early Learning and Care Student Support Program. To ensure access to these local services, students must have a declared major as ECE, Child Development, Human Development, Psychology, Liberal Studies, Family Consumer and Science Special Education, Business Administration, Social and Behavioral Science/Studies, Speech Pathology, or only enrolled in courses required for the Child Development Permit. The participating colleges provide local support services to the college students, which include educational expenses (items supporting students to move forward on the pathway to an ECE/CD degree, to meet licensing/setting guidelines and requirements, and to obtain the child development permit), tutoring, childcare expenses, assistance for textbook loaning, and technical assistance on the services provided. Additionally, CDSS supports the California Early Childhood Mentor Program (CECMP) and includes a new Alternative Pathway to Mentorship Pilot. The goal of CECMP is to provide quality community placements for Community College, University, Regional Occupation Program, Tribal Community students and workforce of child care and development throughout their education and career journey with certified mentors. This program provides workforce incentives to mentors at various levels and allocates and issues grants across the colleges. These grants support supplemental local level resources for college courses, as well as innovative approaches to recruitment and training to support succession and planning of new mentors that positively impact workforce retention. v. Workforce information. For example, Lead Agencies can include information about workforce demographics, educator well-being, retention/turnover surveys, actual wage scales, and/or access to benefits. The CCDF funds were used to create the QCC WPG in fiscal year 2020 - 2021 to create greater alignment with the QCC system and expand the reach of the funds beyond contracted programs to ensure more equitable access to these supports by providers at every level of the State’s mixed-delivery system. Also, to ensure greater equity, the QCC WPG expanded the use of these funds to include Tribal Child Care programs. The grant requires grantees to create a local level workforce plan designed to address the following core areas: (1) workforce advising, (2) professional development, and (3) higher education. There were a total of 49 grantees that applied and were awarded funding. Participants benefitting from the grant are encouraged to create and maintain a profile in a registry. Workforce data is collected via the registry and surveys from county level consortia and participants of the grant. The grant allows stipends to be used to cover costs associated with moving up the California ECE Career Lattice (degree attainment, acquisition of a child development permit, etc.). Recommendations from the 2020 Master Plan for Early Learning and Care include suggestions on how to "advance better outcomes for all children by growing the quality, size, and stability of the early learning and care workforce through improved and accessible career pathways, competency- based professional development supports, and greater funding." The Goal of the QCC WPG is to support increased learning and healthy development of California’s young children by increasing the number of qualified child care and development professionals and increasing the educational credentials, knowledge, and competencies of existing child care and development professionals across the state. Although a registry is not required statewide, it is a web-based system designed for State, Regional, and local collaboration, and designed to track and promote the education, training and experience of the early care and education workforce. The CDSS envisions a statewide registry that is meaningful not only to the State, but to all providers, and that it provides key elements that will lead to a strong and sustainable ECE workforce data-base system. This vison will include analyzing the current way workforce data is collected across the state, gaps, and equity concerns. Currently, a registry and annual workforce survey data are used to collect and analyze workforce needs and support increased quality that positively impact child outcomes. Data from grantees informs CDSS of successes and reveals areas for improvement. Data will also be used to support the new 2024 QCC WPG Resource Family Approval (RFA) that is pending release. Through a combination of survey data and the information collected in the registry, we have gathered the following data for the FY 2022-23 QCC WPG: More than 9,000 participants benefited from the QCC WPG across California More than 2,300 participants completed higher education units because of their participation the QCC WPG programs. More than 800 QCC WPG participants received funding to support the cost of their Child Development permit. Of those surveyed: 90% of QCC WPG grantees increased outreach to Family Friend and Neighbor (FFN) and FCCH providers; 75% of QCC WPG grantees were able to offer trainings and services in multiple languages; 60% of QCC WFWPG Grantees were able to serve more of California’s workforce this year over prior cycle. Recent Workforce Demographics: 94% of the workforce identified as female 4.8% identified as male 0.3% Declined to state gender 0.2% identified as nonbinary 47% of the workforce identified as Hispanic or Latino 25% of the workforce identified as White or Caucasian 10.4% of the workforce identified as Asian 8.2% of the workforce identified as Black or African American Finally, CDSS also invests in the Child Care Initiative Project (CCIP), which is designed per the Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) sections 10217-10224.5 to be administrated via Resource and Referral Programs across the state to support needs assessment, recruitment and screening of providers, technical assistance, and staff development and training, in order to aid communities in increasing their capacity in the number of child care spaces available and the quality of child care services offered. The FY 2022-23 CCIP program data reveals the following about professional development of family child care home providers and family, friend, and neighbors: Total CCIP Technical Assistance Instances: 520,571 Total CCIP Participants who participated in CCIP Training: 10,244 Total stipends provided to CCIP Participants: 4,508. Capacity Building and Recruitment Totals for Family Child Care Homes New Licensees: 1,014 Pending Licensees: 516 Expanded Capacity: 803 Licensees License-Exempt (LE) and Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) Caregiver Participation and Activities. Number of LE/FFN caregivers participating in CCIP who cared for at least one child receiving a child care subsidy during the year: 767 Number of LE/FFN caregiver activities: 780 Number of LE/FFN caregivers in attendance at CCIP training and/or CCIP learning activities: 1,536 Number of CCIP Training Hours provided by all CCR&Rs:-4,618 Number of CCIP Participants who participated in CCIP Training: 10,244. vi. Financing. For example, Lead Agencies can include information about strategies including scholarships, apprenticeships, wage enhancements, etc. The CDSS’ QCC WPG funds may be used for local level direct workforce supports, including stipends, financial aid, scholarships, and/or financial support for costs associated with unit-bearing classes, trainings, and/or degree attainment (i.e., tuition, fees, books, etc.); payment of costs/fees associated with registering for a Child Development Permit or CDSS’ Child Care License; incentives/stipends for creating and updating a Registry profile; participation in/completion of apprenticeship programs or cohort models. Non-direct financial workforce incentives that support infrastructure or system supports include: access to trainings and credit- bearing classes that help participants acquire necessary skills to obtain a Child Development Permit, degree attainment, CDSS’ child care license, or move along the California Early Learning Career Lattice according to their professional development plan, such as translators for bilingual classes and trainings, provision of child care during trainings, etc., funding professional development/training opportunities linked to required workforce pathways, and optional workforce pathways supports for English language learners, such as linked classes (English as a Second Language with Child Development), curriculum and texts in languages other than English, and other multilingual educational and career support including tutoring, homework assistance, translation, etc.; laptops or computers on loan to members of the workforce participating in cohorts, apprenticeship models, or other specialized higher education activities; hiring or funding a local or regional child care and development Workforce Pathways Plan Coordinator; and building partnerships between community-based organizations, providers, and higher education to ensure that coursework and professional development meets the needs of current and aspiring educators working in state-subsidized direct contract and voucher programs. The agreement between the State and the Child Care Providers United (CCPU) included a historic $100 million ongoing financial supports to make health care benefits affordable to providers. This includes lowering or eliminating health care costs for uninsured providers by addressing both the costs for health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. This historic investment also addresses other compensation needs, including health, dental, and vision insurance, paid time off, and retirement contributions. The agreement also provides additional financial reimbursement for the current workforce, including family, friend, and neighbor providers. In addition, the agreement included $40 million in training programs for CCPU members. These funds will support CCPU members in improving their skillsets in several categories, including, but not limited to, higher education, peer mentoring, trauma informed care training, equity and access, and provider health and wellness, and to receive financial incentives. b. Does the Lead Agency use additional elements? X Yes. No. not applicable If yes, describe the element(s). Check all that apply. i. ☐ X Continuing education unit trainings and credit-bearing professional development. Describe: Many CDSS funded professional development opportunities come with the option of having continuing education units and a few, such as the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) and the California Preschool Instructional Network (CPIN), have the option of credit-bearing professional development. These will continue in 2025- 2027 with an exploration of what other professional development opportunities can become credit-bearing. ii. ☐ X Engagement of training and professional development providers, including higher education, in aligning training and educational opportunities with the Lead Agency's framework. Describe: The CDSS funds professional development provider content aligned with the state’s early learning framework, including the early learning foundations, curriculum frameworks, and program guidelines. The CDSS supported an alignment of the core ECE/CD courses for its Community Colleges through a CAP. For more information, please go to: (http://cccece.net/curriculum-alignment- project ). First 5 California via Quality Counts California hosts a webpage to support engagement of training professional development providers, including higher education, in aligning training and educational opportunities here: https://qualitycountsca.net/quality- partners/higher- education-faculty/. iii. ☐ Other. Describe: Not applicable. 6.2.3 Impact of the Professional Development Framework Describe how the framework improves the quality, diversity, stability, and retention of caregivers, teachers, and directors and identify what data are available to assess the impact. a. Professional standards and competencies. For example, do the professional standards and competencies reflect the diversity of providers across role, child care setting, or age of children served? The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) recognizes that quality exists in all child care settings and that quality may look different based on the provider and the individual needs of children served. The framework seeks to uplift quality and diversity by expanding access to all child care setting types. This includes promoting language justice and a commitment to ensuring individuals marginalized based on their national origin, ethnic identification, and language are not denied access to services, remedies, and justice overall. The lead agency understands that Equity is quality and quality is equity, therefore, the state has invested in professional development that calls attention to California’s diverse workforce. New and past professional development resources are, translated into multiple languages, there is an intentional effort to uplift and support the workforce through incentives to increase recruitment and retention. The CDSS continues to expand access to professional development for all providers, including those participating in the Quality Counts California system and those who are not. Expanding access to resources to all providers, is strategic and intentional to promote anti-racist and fair policies, so that everyone involved in child care can thrive regardless of setting type. For example, all providers, including Family Friend and Neighbor caregivers, now have access to resources such as Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Services, California Preschool Instructional Network resources, the Program for Infant and Toddler trainings, and The California Mentor Program, etc. We are also continuing to invest in incentive projects like the California Child Care Initiative Project, Child Development Training Consortium, and the QCC WPG; all designed to provide financial incentives to the workforce. Moreover, we are developing products tailored to specifically support family child care home providers and family, friend, and neighbors providers. Expanding access serves as a mechanism to ensure equity within the workforce, offering marginalized communities opportunities they traditionally have not received. In addition to these supports, professional development at no cost to providers is available virtually through the California Early Learning Videos series on California Early Childhood Online, and through in-person trainings. b. Career pathways. For example, has the Lead Agency developed a wage ladder that provides progressively higher wages as early educators gain more experience and credentials? What types of child care settings and staff roles are addressed in career pathways, such as licensed centers and family child care homes? The CDSS’ has a career lattice that provides guidance to the workforce on upward mobility that may lead to higher permit levels, and roles, which may result in higher wages. For more information regarding California's Early Learning Career Lattice, please see: https://rrnetwork.org/assets/general-files/careerlattice.pdf . c. Advisory structure. For example, has the advisory structure identified goals for child care workforce compensation, including types of staff and target compensation levels? Does the Lead Agency have a Preschool Development Birth-to-Five grant and is part of its scope of work child care compensation activities? Are they represented in the advisory structure? California's Preschool Development Grant (PDG) funds support the compensation of early child care and learning providers and educators to participate in the Early Childhood Policy Council Workforce Advisory Committee and Parent Advisory Committee meetings. Attendees are compensated for travel reimbursement for in-person attendance, child care, wage replacement and stipends for attending the meetings. The 2020 Master Plan for Early Learning and Care includes a framework addressing workforce compensation. d. Articulation. For example, how does the advisory structure include training and professional development for providers, including higher education, to assist in aligning training and education opportunities? In addition to Child Care Development Fund funds, California is also leveraging the PDG funds to include higher education and other resources to assist in aligning training and education opportunities. For example, PDG funds support the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to develop a competency- based performance assessment system for child care and development educators and to conduct pilot work that would inform a potential higher education accreditation system for early educator preparation in California for overall alignment of the child care and development and K-12 systems. e. Workforce information. For example, does the Lead Agency have data on the existing wages and benefits available to the child care workforce? Do any partners such as the Quality Improvement System, child care resource and referral agencies, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and universities and research organizations collect compensation and benefits data? Does the Lead Agency monitor child care workforce wages and access to benefits through ongoing data collection and evaluation? Can the data identify any disparities in the existing compensation and benefits (by geography, role, child care setting, race, ethnicity, gender, or age of children served)? The lead agency uses many sources to collect data on the child care and development workforce’s wages. The California Early Childhood Education Workforce Study, provided by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE), is currently the most comprehensive source. According to the 2020 Index, which was updated in 2023, the statewide median hourly wage for assistants was $16.01, $18.99 for lead teachers and $26.00 for directors. Across job roles and education levels, the median wages of center- based educators fall below the national median wage of workers with comparable education in all occupations. The median wage of a center teacher with a bachelor’s degree or higher in California is $20 an hour, while workers with a bachelor’s degree across occupations earn a median hourly wage of more than $34. The lead agency may also collect wage data from a registry, although it is not currently a statewide requirement for the workforce to provide wage data to a registry. Grantees at the local level may collect additional workforce wage data, but wage data collection is not standardized across the state. The data provided by CSCCE does identify disparities in existing compensation and benefits including the many effects of racism on early educators in California. The CSCCE published a report highlighting these disparities in wages, leadership roles and education. This data and report can be accessed here The Multilayered Effects of Racism on Early Educators in California: An Examination of Disparities in Wages, Leadership Roles, and Education (Center for Study of Child Care Employment, 2024). f. Financing. For example, has the Lead Agency set a minimum or living wage as a floor for all child care staff? Do Lead Agency-provider subsidy agreements contain requirements for staff compensation levels? Do Lead Agencies provide program-level compensation grants to support staff base salaries and benefits? Does the Lead Agency administer bonuses or stipends directly to workers? The State does not set a minimum or living wage as the floor for all child care staff other than state and local minimum wage requirements. Forty California cities and counties require employers to pay wages above the state minimum of $16 an hour. Twenty-eight of those municipalities raised their minimums on Jan. 1, 2024. For example, West Hollywood currently has the nation’s highest minimum wage at $19.08 an hour. The CDSS provider subsidy agreements do not contain requirements for staff compensation levels. Notably, effective, July 1, 2022, parent(s) utilizing in-home provider services must acknowledge, by signing a self-attestation, that the parent is considered the employer and are responsible for complying with any applicable federal and state employment laws, including but not limited to minimum wage requirements. In recent years, the CCDF-funded child care and development workforce has received a number of stipend payments. In addition to receiving stipends directly related to the American Rescue Plan Act in the amounts of $1,442, $440, and $275 per child, the most recent memorandum of understanding between the State and Child Care Providers United includes additional subsidy payments. Beginning January 1, 2024, all providers must receive a payment once per month, per child served who is enrolled in subsidized child care. These payments are meant to support compensation levels while the State is moving to a single rate reimbursement system based on an Alternative Methodology that measures the true cost of care.