6.3 Ongoing Training and Professional Development

6.3.1 Required hours of ongoing training Provide the number of hours of ongoing training required annually for CCDF-eligible providers in the following settings: a. Licensed child care centers: Early childhood educators working 25 or more hours per week are required to obtain 18 hours of training annually. Educators working less than 25 hours per week are required to obtain 9 hours. b. License-exempt child care centers: CCDF dollars are not provided to unlicensed child care centers. There are no requirements for license-exempt centers. c. Licensed family child care homes: Family child care providers are required to obtain 12 hours of training annually and large family child care providers and their staff are required to obtain 15 hours of training annually. d. License-exempt family child care homes: CCDF dollars are not provided to unlicensed family child care homes. There are no requirements for license-exempt family child care homes. e. Regulated or registered in-home child care: Not applicable. f. Non-regulated or registered in-home child care: Not applicable. 6.3.2 Accessibility of professional development for Tribal organizations Describe how the Lead Agency’s training and professional development are accessible to providers supported through Indian tribes or Tribal organizations receiving CCDF funds (as applicable). Delaware does not have any federally recognized tribes. 6.3.3 Professional development appropriate for the children, families, and child care providers Describe how the Lead Agency’s training and professional development requirements reflect the range of children, families, and child care providers participating in CCDF. To the extent practicable, how does professional development include specialized training or credentials for providers who care for infants or school-age children; individuals with limited English proficiency; children who are bilingual; children with developmental delays or disabilities; and/or Native Americans, including Indians, as the term is defined in Section 900.6 in subpart B of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (including Alaska Natives) and Native Hawaiians? All early childhood professionals in licensed programs must have an annual Professional Development Plan. Full-time staff in centers are required to have 18 clocks hours of training, while family providers are required to obtain 12 and large family providers need 15. Professional development hour requirements are not differentiated based on the children that are in professionals’ care. This is true whether they care for children receiving child care subsidies, including children of different age groups; English-language learners; children with developmental delays and disabilities; and Native Americans, as applicable. The Professional Development Plan must include goals for the upcoming year that include the required training topics specified by licensing regulations. The planned registry/workforce profile system will allow professionals to create an online version of their annual Professional Learning Plan. This plan will be able to be printed and placed in their personnel file at their place of employment. Professionals must have training in health and safety and two other areas from the following topics: child development; developmental curriculum planning or environment and curriculum; observation and assessment; positive behavior supports or social-emotional development; health, safety, physical activity, and nutrition; family and community; professionalism; disability non- discrimination, accommodations, or modifications; and management and administration. Licensing regulations require early childhood administrators to receive specialized training in infant/toddler care if that age group is being served by the center. Additionally, all staff working with school-age children must have training specific to that age range. The state contracts with the University of Delaware’s Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC) to provide in-person and online trainings inclusive of these topics to early childhood professionals serving all ages in family child care or center-based settings. Additionally, while the stateside professional development registry is managed by DIEEC, external organizational partners can become sponsoring organizations and offer their trainings on the registry through the state’s quality assurance process. As a result, partners such as Cooperative Extension, Prevent Child Abuse Delaware, Children & Families First, Prevention & Behavioral Health, and Center for Disabilities Studies also create and deliver trainings to meet the needs of Delaware’s early childhood professionals. On the registry, search functions are available to identify offerings by professional competency and intended audience, such as Infant-Toddler or School- Age educators. DIEEC offers trainings and coaching specific to Infant-Toddler educators, covering introductory to advanced levels, available in offerings ranging from 3 hours to 26 hours. In addition to trainings for school-age educators offered through DIEEC, an asynchronous online School Age Child Care Training Series is also available to support educators statewide. DIEEC provides training and coaching follow-up on topics such as inclusion, the Pyramid Model, understanding IEPs/IFSPs, the importance of individualizing for all children, anti-bias education, and supporting dual language learners. Delaware continues to develop strategies to recruit educators for whom English is not their first language, or who serve families for whom English is not their first language. DIEEC employs Spanish-speaking facilitators to offer trainings and provide coaching statewide and has organized a Spanish-speaking cohort consisting of family child care educators and center-based classroom educators who prefer to communicate in Spanish. The cohort meets and decides what training experiences they would like to participate in, and their requests are translated (if not already available in Spanish) and delivered by a Spanish-speaking instructor. DIEEC also ensures that communications, including the statewide newsletter, announcements, recruitment flyers are either sent in multiple languages or sent with instructions on how to access the information in their preferred language. 6.3.4 Child developmental screening Describe how all providers receive, through training and professional development, information about: (1) existing resources and services the State/Territory can make available in conducting developmental screenings and providing referrals to services when appropriate for children who receive assistance under this part, including the coordinated use of the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment program (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) and developmental screening services available under section 619 and part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.); and (2) how child care providers may utilize these resources and services to obtain developmental screenings for children who receive assistance and who may be at risk for cognitive or other developmental delays, which may include social, emotional, physical, or linguistic delays: Effective July 01, 2023, all licensed child care providers must ensure that each enrolled child between the age of birth and 5 years old, not yet in kindergarten, undergoes developmental and social emotional screening using the Delaware Department of Education’s approved screening tool, Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2), within the DDOE ASQ Enterprise System. The collaboration between the State Education Agency, Local Education Agencies, and Birth to Three Early Intervention Program provides Delaware with a robust child find system, as required by the IDEA, which facilitates referrals being made in a timely manner by special education personnel. Licensed child care providers are required to complete two trainings, Supporting Family-Led Developmental Monitoring, and Introduction to the Ages & Stages Questionnaires-Developmental Screening Tools (ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2), to access a DDOE ASQ Online Enterprise Account. In both trainings, providers receive relevant resources and information to support completion of developmental screening and referrals for services available under Section 619 and Part C of IDEA. Providers also receive information about existing resources and services the State can make available in conducting developmental screenings and providing referrals to services when appropriate for children who receive assistance under this part through dissemination of mass email notifications, bi-monthly public meetings including the Delaware Early Child Council (DECC), bi-monthly provider meetings, and information available on local education agency and Birth to Three Early Intervention Programs websites. Additionally, the Developmental Screening Team offers ASQ Developmental Screening Provider Office Hours monthly. Content includes an overview of the ASQ Online platform, training opportunities, and specific support for child care providers. More information can be found on the Delaware Department of Education’s Developmental Screening Resources website at https://education.delaware.gov/families/birth-age- 5/early_resources/developmental_screenings/, Early Childhood Special Education website https://www.doe.k12.de.us/Page/3624, and the Birth to Three Early Intervention Program website b23.de.org.