	Early Child Care and Development Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-ECCD 12: Personnel

Direct service personnel and supervisors are appropriately trained and qualified.

PA-ECCD 12.01

All caregivers:

are at least 18 years of age;
have the energy and flexibility to meet the needs of children;
have the personal characteristics to provide children with safe, affectionate, secure, and continuous care; and
meet state or local requirements for minimum education.

PA-ECCD 12.02

Family child care homes:

receive support from a family child care coordinator who possesses at least a bachelor’s degree in human services or early childhood education, and is monitored or supervised by a person with a master’s degree in social work, early childhood education, or child development; and
are staffed by family child care providers with a GED or high school diploma, at least 45 hours of family child care-related training within the last three years, and continuing training and education.

NA The agency does not operate family child care homes.

PA-ECCD 12.03

In a child care center:

administrators or program managers have a bachelor’s degree in child development, early childhood education, or social work, and related field experience in early childhood or elementary education;
teachers have a CDA credential, CCP credential, an associate’s degree in early childhood education or child development, or a bachelor’s degree in a related field; and
assistant teachers, associate teachers, and aides have a high school diploma or GED, and have completed a minimum of 30 hours of training in relevant topics within the first year of employment.

Research Note: Research has shown that caregiver education and training are related to children’s developmental outcomes. Some researchers suggest that qualified teachers have better interactions with children, which leads to improved cognitive and social outcomes. Early childhood education workforce research suggests that with the tremendous growth in the field, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and retain experienced and qualified workers. Low wages and benefits have been cited as obstacles for sufficient recruitment and retention of staff.

NA The agency does not operate a child care center.

PA-ECCD 12.04

Providers of care for infants:

have direct experience or training in the care of infants or very young children and their needs for consistency, kindness, and appropriate stimulation;
have the personal warmth, alertness, and attentiveness required to nurture infants; and
demonstrate interest in caring for infants.

NA The agency does not provide care for infants.

PA-ECCD 12.05

Supervising teachers or consultants with appropriate educational credentials oversee and train personnel who are not certified educators.

NA All teachers are certified educators; or the agency provides infant care only.

PA-ECCD 12.06

Family child care coordinators recruit and assess family child care homes and provide support and supervision through a monthly home visit.

NA The agency does not operate family child care homes.

PA-ECCD 12.07

Personnel development opportunities and professional resources are provided on at least a quarterly basis and include:

group meetings for joint problem-solving and mutual support;
information sharing on child development and parent-child relationships;
health and nutritional needs of children;
food preparation and service; and
educational techniques.

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	PURPOSE: Early Child Care and Development Services meet family needs for high quality child care and ensure child development, health, and safety.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	QUALITY In this context, the extent to which contemporary and generally recognized standards for professional practice are met and exceeded, and desirable service outcomes achieved.


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards


	CAREGIVER The provider of physical, emotional, and social needs to another person, often dependent and unable to provide for his or her own needs. Caregiver is the generic term used for the direct service providers in Community Care and Support Services (CCS).


	HUMAN SERVICES Programs designed to address individual and group development and well-being in addition to conditions that impact individuals and groups including: aging, delinquency and crime, child welfare, poverty, housing, education, employment, mental health, physical health, substance abuse, and developmental disabilities.


	SOCIAL WORK Professionally responsible interventions carried out by persons with formal, professional education at the BSW or MSW level from an accredited school of social work and appropriate licensing, certification, and registration credentials. Interventions are directed toward improving the transactions between people and environments to enhance the adaptive capacities of the participants and improve environments for all that function within them. Social work is a professional practice with a consumer group consisting of individuals, families, small groups, organizations, neighborhoods, and communities and involving the disciplined application of knowledge and skill.


	TRAINING Instruction so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient in a skill or body of knowledge.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	INFANT A child aged one year and under.


	CONSULTANT A person who provides specialized or technical advice or services to an organization for specific purposes on a contractual or fee basis, or who provides such services as a volunteer with an agreement to provide services on a pro bono basis.


	SUPERVISION Assumption of responsibility for directly overseeing and evaluating the work or work products of personnel within an organization. Also includes inspecting the act or process of accomplishing a function or activity.


	PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT Activities conducted both in and out of the organization to improve the ability of personnel to perform their assigned tasks, to assume higher levels of responsibility, and to better serve the needs of individuals and families.