I chose Childcare Aware of America website (http://www.naccrra.org) and one interesting article I read from this website was advocating for quality early childhood programs and providing studies about why quality is important for young children. This article is relevant to my professional development because I want to assist programs in my area to become high quality and receive 5 stars. Having this article is helpful to show other early childhood educators and families the importance of quality.
One section of the article discussed how many parents think that childcare workers are trained. "More than two-thirds of parents believe child care programs are licensed, caregivers undergo a background check, are trained in first-aid and CPR and are trained to recognize and report signs of child abuse. Actually, standards vary by state and many states have minimal or no such requirements" (The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, 2012). This made me think of this issue in new ways and how we have a long way to go to make quality programs and we need to start with simple things to make our children safe like trained first-aid and CPR staff. This article also made me research my own state and I learned that a law was just passed Jan. 1, 2013 that all childcare providers must conduct a background check. For the years I have worked in the field I always thought this was a state law. Learning the new law brought a new insight to me and I am glad that my state has stepped up to the plate to undergo background checks but I know that we have a long way to make high quality programs.
Researching the website more there are several campaigns going on including Background Check Campaign and Don't Cut Childcare Campaign that Childcare Aware of America support. There is also a section just for Public Policy. The whole section has information about how there are many politicians supporting early childcare.
Another issue that I found insight about was helping families and children cope with traumatic events. I have gained insight that this is another issue happening in our educational environments that we need to be aware of. The website gave helpful resources for families and educators on how to talk with children about traumatic events.
References
The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, 2012. QUALITY CHILD CARE MATTERS. Retrieved from: http://www.naccrra.org/sites/default/files/default_site_pages/2012/ccgb_quality_matters_jan2012.pdf
Lorren,
ReplyDeleteI am also guilty of assuming early childcare professionals were trained professionals until I applied for a job after receiving my undergrad degree. I was over qualified for the position they were hiring for (at a day care center)and a high school graduate with no professional experience was hired instead.
We really have to raise the standards of early childhood education/care or the future is going to be even worse than it is right now.
I use Childcare Aware quite often in my work. One of the issues I have my staff and families advocate for is background checks in ALL states. However, I have found that there are many centers/programs and family child care homes that slip under the wire and are not licensed. In many of these instances you learn of abusive practices and code violations.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see the day when policy dictates a stricter approach for childcare as they do for public schools.
Great information!
It's important that background checks are the FBI checks and not just state background checks. FBI background checks search records in all states whereas state checks are just for that state. Pennsylvania child care regulations for centers require state criminal and child abuse clearances as well as FBI fingerprints checks.
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