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: 16 b. License-exempt child care centers: 0 c. Licensed family child care homes: 16 d. License-exempt family child care homes: 0 e. Regulated or registered in-home child care: 16 f. Non-regulated or registered in-home child care: 0 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). Tribal-based, state licensed child care providers are eligible to participate in QRS. Participation affords access to a variety of trainings across content areas. There are tribal organizations who currently participate in the QRS. The Lead Agency contractors, ECP and Child Care Training (CCT), operate a statewide training calendar and catalog. Both are accessible to all practitioners, including early childhood staff in tribal programs. The ECP and CCT operate under contract language and internal processes to monitor and evaluate trainings with close attention placed on the cultural and linguistic needs of Montana’s early childhood workforce. The ECP is contracted to work with providers and tribal organizations to access the Practitioner Registry, trainings, and professional development resources. Lead agency outreach contractors’ partner with individual tribes, at the local level, to access required trainings and trainings of interest. The Lead Agency receives technical assistance through an Impact Project grant to improve partnerships with all tribal CCDF and 477 Agencies. The need for more accessible trainings was an identified topic of possible focus during the initial stakeholder meeting. 6.3.3 Professional development appropriate for the diversity of children, families, and child care providers Describe how the Lead Agency’s training and professional development requirements reflect the diversity 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 Lead Agency’s professional development approval process ensures trainings are aligned to the Knowledge Base and MELS. This required alignment guides trainers to address family cultural, linguistic diversity and inclusion of children with disabilities. The Lead Agency offers a mixed delivery system for training, which includes in-person and virtual, allowing greater accessibility. Providers within all program-types, serving children of all ages can attend trainings online at times convenient for them. The Lead Agency's contractor for distance learning courses, CCT, offers translation services in multiple languages for course content. The Lead Agency offers two inclusion courses, available for college credit, to support child care provider interactions with children with special needs and their families. Inclusion I and II are required courses at the highest levels of the QRS. Course topics include: Introduction to Inclusion, Recognizing Young Children's Strengths and Needs, Creating an Accessible Environment, Building Partnerships with Parents and Families, and Being Part of the Team, Maintaining a Safe and Healthy Environment, Arranging the Environment for Learning, Increasing the Playability of Toys and Play Materials, Guiding the Behavior of Young Children, Facilitating Young Children's Communication, Positioning Young Children, and Inclusion and Beyond. 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: The Lead Agency QRS requires directors and lead teachers in programs approved at a level 3-5 level to complete a 4-hour course titled, Developmental Screening: Develop a process to identify and support individual child development, promote family engagement, and enhance program quality. The training assists programs in effectively implementing a developmental screening process. It’s free to all child care providers and staff. The QRS, launching in the Fall of 2025, will have an intentional pathway focused on developmental screening. The Lead Agency supports the use of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) and provides free resources to QRS level 3-5 programs. Providers, implementing developmental screening must provide annual screening data regarding the number of children screened and the number of children referred. The Lead Agency provides screening information on its developmental screening homepage. While funding allows, programs can receive the following ASQ resources from their local Child Care Resource Agency: ASQ-3 starter kit, ASQ-3 User's Guide, ASQ-3 Quick Start Guide, ASQ-3 Learning Activity books, ASQ:SE-2 Questionnaire kit, ASQ:SE-2 User's Guide, ASQ:SE-2 Quick Start Guide, ASQ:SE-2 Learning Activity books.