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: Directors must take 20 clock hours of training annually and teachers must take 15 clock hours of training annually. b. License-exempt child care centers: Directors must take 20 clock hours of training annually and teachers must take 15 clock hours of training annually. c. Licensed family child care homes: 10 clock hours of training annually d. License-exempt family child care homes: 10 clock hours of training annually e. Regulated or registered in-home child care: N/A f. Non-regulated or registered in-home child care: 10 clock hours of training annually 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). The Catawba Nation is the only federally recognized tribe in South Carolina. Historically, the tribe has chosen to be a part of the Child Care Scholarship Program, ABC Quality, SC Child Care Licensing, and SC Endeavors workforce registry and staff are eligible to participate in all training offered to child care programs in South Carolina. Most recently, ABC Quality has partnered specifically with the Head Start program on an outdoor learning initiative which is ongoing to date. The goal of the initiative is to naturalize the outdoor learning environment in ways that are reflective of the culture and practices of the Tribe. 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? Certified training uses a rubric to assess the training content for a variety of requirements. One requirement is to align the training topic to the SC Early Learning Standards. One standard within the certified training score sheet requires trainers to have content that ￿Includes information & practices for children that are culturally, linguistically, and/or ability diverse.￿ The rubric also includes a prompt to assess the content and award points for training content that ￿Reflects a commitment to respect diversity among children and families.￿ Trainings are reviewed by SC Endeavors Training Coordinators to ensure alignment and best practices within these requirements. The Lead Agency funds the South Carolina Inclusion Collaborative (SCIC) to provide professional development (i.e., training, coaching, and consultation) to child care providers to implement teaching practices that promote the inclusion of children with disabilities in their programs. SCIC offers in-person on-site support to providers as well as online training modules. SCIC has an Inclusion Specialist who focuses on inclusion of school-aged children in out-of-school-time programs. SCIC also has an inclusion Specialist focused on supporting inclusion with Family Child Care Home providers. In partnership with the SC Department of Education, through the SCIC contract, the Lead Agency funds access to Pyramid Model online training modules. The Pyramid Model is a framework of evidence-based strategies to promote social and emotional development, prevent challenging behavior, and respond appropriately to children who have significant challenging behavior. The following Pyramid Model eModules are available at no cost to anyone in South Carolina: (1) Pyramid Birth-5; (2) Trauma Informed Care and the Pyramid Model; (Pyramid Model-Reducing Implicit Bias. Beginnings SC provides training and technical assistance to child care programs who are caring for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Additionally, the Child Care Ready for All (CRAwl) program provides training and nurse consultation to child care providers who are caring for children with disabilities. SC Endeavors documents the required child care training hours for DSS licensing within the SC Endeavors registry. Trainers are approved in the registry system and then create courses that are reviewed to ensure they meet the required topic areas. These topic areas are curriculum, child growth & development, child guidance, nutrition, health & safety, special needs, professional development and program administration. Trainers also indicate within the registry system what target audience and age group they are teaching with the content including infant, early childhood, school-age, youth development, or business. The training courses reviewed by registry staff ensure alignment to the topic areas, appropriate content is included, and that the early learning standards are included for Certified trainers. All Certified training is included on the statewide training calendar and can be located through the search features to meet the individual needs of a teacher. Training events can also indicate whether the course is offered in a language other than English. SC Child Care Resource and Referral provides coaching and training opportunities for programs serving dual language learners. 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 funds the South Carolina Inclusion Collaborative (SCIC) to provide training and technical assistance to child care programs regarding conducting developmental screening or monitoring and making referrals to Part C or Part B 619 if developmental concerns are present. SCIC assists providers in establishing a developmental screening system within their program using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 (ASQ-3). SCIC provides training on how to use the ASQ-3, interpret the results, share the results with families, and make appropriate referrals based on results. SCIC provides all of the materials including ASQ-3 kits so that programs have what they need for the screening system.