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: Licensed child care centers must ensure the director and each staff person who works part time completes at least 12 hours of training annually, and those who work full time complete at least 24 hours of training annually. Substitutes and unsupervised volunteers need to complete training on all required topics. Date of preliminary notice issued by OCC: 4/2/2024. Minnesota affirms that Lead Agency needs additional time to meet requirement. Description of current policy and the way it is out of compliance: Licensed child care centers must ensure the director and each staff person who works part time completes at least 12 hours of training annually, and those who work full time complete at least 24 hours of training annually. Substitutes and unsupervised volunteers must complete at least two hours of yearly training on the health and safety standards. Minnesota is not in compliance with the hours requirement for ongoing training for substitutes. b. License-exempt child care centers: Certified license-exempt centers must ensure the director and all staff person, including substitutes and unsupervised volunteers are trained each calendar year on the health and safety requirements. Directors and staff person must complete at least six hours of training each calendar year. Substitutes and unsupervised volunteers must complete at least two hours of yearly training on the health and safety standards. Date of preliminary notice issued by OCC: 4/2/2024. Minnesota affirms that Lead Agency needs additional time to meet requirement. Description of current policy and the way it is out of compliance: Certified license-exempt centers must ensure the director and all staff person, including substitutes and unsupervised volunteers are trained each calendar year on the health and safety requirements. Directors and staff person must complete at least six hours of training each calendar year. Minnesota is not in compliance because there is no hours requirement for ongoing training for substitutes. c. Licensed family child care homes: Licensed family child care providers and second adult caregivers who provide care for more than 500 hours annually must complete 16 hours of ongoing training annually. Substitutes and adult caregivers who provide care for 500 or fewer hours per year must complete a minimum of one hour of training each calendar year. Date of preliminary notice issued by OCC: 4/2/2024. Minnesota affirms that Lead Agency needs additional time to meet requirement. Description of current policy and the way it is out of compliance: Licensed family child care providers and second adult caregivers who provide care for more than 500 hours annually must complete 16 hours of ongoing training annually. Minnesota is not in compliance because there is no hours requirement for ongoing training for substitutes. d. License-exempt family child care homes: Legal non-licensed providers: If not related to all children, every 2 years they must take training in all health and safety topic areas including recertification in pediatric First Aid and Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, at least 8 hours of training. If related to all children in care, they must take 8 hours of on-going training in any topic. Related providers are encouraged, but not required, to complete training in federally required health and safety topic areas. Effective 10/01/2025, legal nonlicensed providers who serve unrelated children must complete at least 2 hours of training annually. Date of preliminary notice issued by OCC: 4/2/2024. Minnesota affirms that Lead Agency needs additional time to meet requirement. Description of current policy and the way it is out of compliance: Unrelated legal nonlicensed providers are required to take training in all required health and safety topics within 90 days of beginning to care for an unrelated child. Unrelated legal nonlicensed providers are required to take training in all health and safety topics at their registration renewal, which is typically two years after their initial registration. Minnesota is not in compliance with the requirement that unrelated legal nonlicensed providers have annual training in health and safety topics. Effective 10/1/2025, legal nonlicensed providers who serve unrelated children must complete at least 2 hours of training annually. e. Regulated or registered in-home child care: If not related to all children, every 2 years they must take training in all health and safety topic areas including recertification in First Aid and Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, at least 8 hours of training. If related to all children in care, they must take 8 hours of on-going training in any topic. Related providers are encouraged, but not required, to complete training in federally required health and safety topic areas. Date of preliminary notice issued by OCC: 4/2/2024. Minnesota affirms that Lead Agency needs additional time to meet requirement. Description of current policy and the way it is out of compliance: Unrelated legal nonlicensed providers are required to take training in all required health and safety topics within 90 days of beginning to care for an unrelated child. Unrelated legal nonlicensed providers are required to take training in all health and safety topics at their registration renewal, which is typically two years after their initial registration. Minnesota is not in compliance with the requirement that unrelated legal nonlicensed providers have annual training in health and safety topics. Effective 10/1/2025, legal nonlicensed providers who serve unrelated children must complete at least 2 hours of training annually. f. Non-regulated or registered in-home child care: N/A 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). Through Child Care Aware or CCR&R grant contracts, Minnesota ensures that access to professional development opportunities for providers supported through Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations are offered through the CCR&R system working in collaboration with individual Tribes and in partnership with the Minnesota Tribal Resources for Early Childhood Care (MNTRECC). The CCR&R system's professional development teams work with MNTRECC and the Tribes to ensure that professional development opportunities are responsive to tribal needs and supportive of the state's quality improvement efforts. To ensure training and professional development opportunities meets the needs of providers, the MNTRECC professional development team conducts a training needs survey for providers who are supported by Tribes and adjusts training opportunities accordingly. MNTRECC also shares training schedules with tribal communities. Minnesota also provides training on tribal culture and language revitalization to trainers and child care programs. Coaching services are also available to tribal providers through the Center for Inclusive Child Care. These services focus on care for children with special needs, infant and toddler care, and best practices for supporting health and safety. 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? The department uses Minnesota's Knowledge and Competency Framework as a foundation for noncredit training development and approval. The Framework outlines standards, or expectations, regarding what people educating and caring for young children need to know. The Knowledge and Competency Framework also describes competencies, which define the demonstration of specific skills needed at three distinct scaffolding levels and aligns with the standards of the Minnesota Board of Teaching now known as the Professional Educator Licensure and Standards Board. The Minnesota Department of Education, in coordination with the department and the Department of Health, released three interrelated yet distinct Knowledge and Competency documents -- (1) Infant/Toddler, (2) Preschool, and (3) Family Child Care in 2014. All three versions can be found on the Minnesota Department of Education website at the following link: http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/dse/early/know/index.htm. In late 2023, the Pre-school Age version of the Knowledge and Competency Framework was expanded in response to feedback from those working in the field of early childhood care and education. Three new components were developed to better address the changing needs and demographics of the children and families across our state: Trauma Informed Care & Practices, Working with Multilingual Children & Families, and Cultural Responsibility & Practice. The full version of the newly updated Early Childhood Knowledge and Competency Framework is now available on the Minnesota Department of Education Website at: https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/early/highqualel/know/ . Located under "Working with Pre- School Age Children in Centers and Schools." The department uses a Universal, Multicultural Instructional Design Framework in creating courses and supporting trainers. The Framework is a tool that: (a) reflects current and emerging theory and practice for supporting all learners and instructors; (b) supports instructors in valuing the knowledge and experience of the learners in addition to the content and activities in the curriculum; and, (c) supports a variety of early childhood learning experiences and audiences in order to be inclusive in training design and delivery. Curriculum has been developed and offered in multiple languages to meet the diverse needs of the child care and early education workforce. Through grant contracts, the department ensures that training is available through the state's Child Care Aware or CCR&R training delivery system, as well as other training organizations, which addresses the knowledge and skills needed to provide quality early education and care services to children of different age groups, to children who are English-learners and children with disabilities. This training is available to all Minnesota child care providers, including those caring for children receiving subsidies. The department has also developed training which addresses the care and education needs of children who are English learners. Through the services of the Center for Inclusive Child Care, a department grantee, multiple trainings are available related to providing care to children with disabilities and working with behavioral challenges. The Positive Indian Parenting Curriculum, which can be adapted to meet child care providers' professional development needs, is offered through the CCR&R training delivery system as well as through tribal organizations. The department has developed and supports the delivery of eighteen hours of training on the topic of homelessness including the awareness, biological impacts to children’s brains and emotional development and how to support children in childcare settings. Head Start also offers training on the dynamics that cause and maintain poverty for providers working with low-income families. This training is available to CCDF providers. In addition, the Trainer and Relationship-based Professional Development Support (TARSS) project provides support services to trainers and Relationship Based Professional Development Specialists who are approved or becoming approved through Achieve, the Minnesota Center for Professional Development. They also work to identify and implement specific strategies to recruit, train, and support early childhood and school-age trainers, coaches, consultants, and mentors to enhance their training and RBPD knowledge and skills. Intentional recruitment and support of bilingual/bicultural trainers and RBPD specialists has been a priority to improve the diversity of the framework. This project has helped to recruit and retain a diverse group of professionals available to support the early care and education professionals in Minnesota. The department is providing dedicated funding to grantees to improve access to services for people of color, especially those who may experience barriers without additional support, such as providers who speak languages other than English. This work includes outreach, recruitment and support across local communities. Activities such as learning communities have been implemented to support provider communities as well as the trainers, coaches, consultants and mentors from the communities. The professional development framework includes behavioral health support for providers, such as training in self-care practices and stress-reduction techniques. Mental health consultation is available to child care providers and focuses on building child care provider capacity to support infant and young children’s emotional development and to prevent, identify, or reduce mental health challenges. In addition, financial consulting and business management training to child care providers is available through a grant with First Children’s Finance. These services are aimed at increasing individual’s knowledge of business practices and designing sustainable business models. Together, these supports have an overall goal of retaining a highly qualified and diverse workforce to serve the children and families in Minnesota. The department has invested in developing and will continue to support a system of Relationship Based Professional Development (RBPD) which includes coaching, consulting and mentoring. All RBPD specialists are approved through Achieve-- MNCPD and their hours are tracked in Develop on a provider's individual Learning Record in the same way training is documented. Categories include quality coaching for the QRIS, Mental Health Consultants, and coaching in the areas of early childhood leadership development, infant/toddler care, inclusion of children with special needs and health and safety best practice. The department also provides funds to community-based organizations that work with family, friend and neighbor caregivers to provide training and other supports. Caregivers serving children from low-income families, families of color, Tribal communities, or families with limited English language proficiency are prioritized for these supports. 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: Child care providers receive developmental screening and resource information through department-developed training which is offered though Child Care Aware of Minnesota and specifically addresses child care provider identification and referral of children who have developmental concerns. In addition, through the department's grant contract with the Center for Inclusive Child Care (CICC), information and resources are disseminated to child care programs regarding screenings and referral processes. These resources are available in multiple languages and accessible media formats. Coaching services, offered in multiple languages, are also available through CICC to assist programs and families as they navigate the referral process and identify strategies to support the child within the child care program. Information about developmental screening is available on ParentAware.org. (https://www.parentaware.org/#/) ParentAware.org is accessible to individuals with limited English proficiency through a web translation in Spanish, Somali and Hmong languages for parents and providers seeking information on the availability of child care and early childhood services. The department includes information about services for children with disabilities, including the referral process, in written Child Care Assistance Program materials that are distributed to families and providers. The lead agency does not typically initiate referrals on behalf of families but provides the resources and contact information necessary for families or their providers to begin the referral process. If lead or local agency staff were concerned about a child's development, they could refer the child to the school district via http://helpmegrowmn.org/HMG/GetHelpChild/HowRefer/index.html and completing the online referral form. Information on these services is also available to families through websites such as Help Me Grow and Parent Aware.org. Child care providers are made aware of services and the referral process through written communications from the department as well as through state- developed training opportunities.