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? [x] 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: The Lead Agency has adopted the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Professional Standards and Competencies and supplemented with two additional content areas addressing Health and Safety and Professional Development and Leadership. Content areas set the expectations for professionals who care for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, school-age children, and older youth. Additionally, the Lead Agency contracted with a public university to develop a Selected Occupations Chart that uses the NAEYC Unifying Framework to organize common professions into three levels of qualifications for Early Childhood Education, Family Services, and Home Visiting. A member of the Early Childhood State Advisory Council (ECSAC) is also a member of the workforce work group. This board member provides a brief update of workforce activities each quarter during the ECSAC meetings. The workforce project lead provides the ECSAC members with an in- depth update of workforce materials including any changes to the professional development framework annually in July. [ ]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 Early Childhood State Advisory Council, higher education institutions, career technical education centers, child care providers, home visitors, early interventionists, professional organizations, and advocacy groups. [ ] 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). All training delivered in Missouri for clock hour credit must meet the content areas for Missouri. The Lead Agency has adopted the NAEYC Professional Standards and Competencies and supplemented with two additional content areas addressing Health and Safety and Professional Development and Leadership. ii. Career pathways. For example, Lead Agencies can include information about professional development registries, career ladders, and levels. The Lead Agency has developed a Selected Occupations Chart that identifies the qualifications an individual should have when working in a particular role. Individuals can submit their educational records and credentials to the professional development system which will calculate where they are on the Selected Occupations Chart. This information can be used by employers, and in the Quality Assurance Report to ensure that those working with children have the proper training and background for the role in which they are employed. 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. One of the duties and functions of the Early Childhood State Advisory Council is to develop recommendations regarding statewide professional development and career advancement plans for early childhood educators. iv. Articulation. For example, Lead Agencies can include information about articulation agreements, and collaborative agreements that support progress in degree acquisition. Articulation agreements are negotiated between individual institutions of higher education. 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 Missouri Professional Development system collects key data about child care providers, which allows the Lead Agency to track employment, professional development, and education levels obtained by the provider. Many of these data points are voluntarily provided by individuals in the professional development system but they are not required. vi. Financing. For example, Lead Agencies can include information about strategies including scholarships, apprenticeships, wage enhancements, etc. The Lead Agency ensures a portion of the CCDF funds are used to develop and disseminate training at no cost to the provider. The Lead Agency continues to offer training through a variety of delivery mechanisms to continually support the workforce. CDA scholarships are also offered to increase the number of providers who have a workplace credential that is represented on the Selected Occupations Chart. b. Does the Lead Agency use additional elements? [x] Yes. If yes, describe the element(s). Check all that apply. i. [x] Continuing education unit trainings and credit-bearing professional development. Describe: The Lead Agency hosts an annual conference for early childhood professionals, Conference on the Young Years, and professionals are able to obtain continuing education units (CEUs) upon successful completion of sessions. Additionally, the Lead Agency contracts to provide CDA scholarships that can be obtained through credit-bearing courses 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: As part of the T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI early childhood scholarship program, the Lead Agency disseminates various scholarship opportunities to child care providers, including for a Child Development Associate (CDA), Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees, and Master-level certificate in early childhood leadership. iii. [ ] Other. Describe: [ ] No. 6.2.3 Impact of the Professional Development Framework Describe how the framework improves the quality, 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 range of providers across role, child care setting, or age of children served? The Lead Agency developed two Selected Occupations Charts, one for teachers and one for administrations, in partnership with a public university. The teacher qualifications were established in state regulation as the standard for teachers working in state-funded public and private pre-kindergarten programs. The administrator qualifications maybe used to consider revisions in the future to the director certification used by child care programs. 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 Selected Occupations Chart for teachers and administrators are aligned to allow for teachers in level II to meet the requirements of administrators in level I, as well as teachers in level III to meet the requirements for administrators in level II. This alignment allows for child care providers, including those in center, private, public, group home, family home, or Head Start/Early Head Start programs, to consider pay that is based on leveled qualifications of staff. 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? The Lead Agency utilizes a workforce development project team of about 30 professionals that is facilitated by a public university as part of the state’s early childhood workforce development initiative, funded by the Preschool Development Grant Birth to Five. This project team is responsible for researching and designing workforce initiatives to strengthen the child care industry, and presenting the key strategies to the Lead Agency for implementation consideration. The Lead Agency shares the workforce development projects with the Early Childhood State Advisory Council on an annual basis and provides updates to the Council on a quarterly basis. 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? As part of the state’s Preschool Development Grant Birth to Five activities, the Lead Agency contracts with a public university to assist two- year colleges and four-year institutions in the development of Core 12 coursework. In recent years, the Core 12 subcommittee established a common set of three early childhood courses for a Core 9 that can be seamlessly articulated across Missouri colleges and universities. A preliminary fourth course has been identified by the subcommittee as one that would address NAEYC competencies from both the assessment and fieldwork categories. 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)? As part of the state’s Preschool Development Grant Birth to Five activities, the Lead Agency contracts with a public university to analyze workforce data and generate an annual report. These data helped inform retention and recruitment opportunities and training and professional development activities. The most recent report indicated the following information for the Missouri workforce, which shows: • 95% of childhood professionals are women • 92% of childhood professionals work with groups of children • 68% of childhood professionals are white • 51% of early childhood educators do not meet Level 1 credentials • 48% of childhood professionals are under 35 years of age • The median annual wage for child care workers is $23,040 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 Lead Agency does not have finances that support additional wages above the established market rate for subsidy eligible children. The Lead Agency plans to consider additional funding sources other than CCDF that would be necessary to support compensation grants.