Research has repeatedly verified the connection between the quality of child care provided by child care professionals and the quality of training they receive.  Experts in the fields of early childhood, education, and child development agree that professional development has the most influence on the quality of child care.  In line with what the experts believe, Maryland’s child care regulations include training requirements for both family and center child care providers.

Training is designed to provide child care professionals with the tools necessary to ensure quality care in our state’s early care and education system.   Training is used to deliver a very specific body of knowledge or to teach a specific skill.  We need trainers who understand children, the business of child care, and use resources that reflect current early childhood research.  These practices will ensure that Maryland has a well-qualified child care workforce.

Under Maryland child care regulations, child care trainers and training courses must be approved by the Office of Child Care (OCC) before those courses can be counted toward satisfaction of child care training requirements.

To ensure that the child care community is kept abreast of current information and in response to the current regulations, OCC's Credentialing Branch has developed a procedure to approve continued, core of knowledge, and pre-service training that will be available to family child care providers and child care center staff.   This approval process outlines the eligibility requirements for individual trainers and organizations.  It sets the minimum criteria for training content the child care community must comply with as stated in the regulations.

Child care training approval falls into three major categories:

·          Pre-service training,

·          Core of knowledge training, and

·          Continued training.

Pre-Service Training often gives the first impression about service expectations.  The goal of pre-service training is to provide a strong foundation of knowledge and skills, it should be carefully designed.  A well designed pre-service training experience can lay the groundwork for further in-service training and produce staff members who are more effective and happy because they have the knowledge and skills needed to excel in their work environment.  A well designed pre-service curriculum should cover the following topics:

(1)     Child Growth and Development

(2)     Learning Activities and Materials

(3)     Health and Safety

(4)     Professional Development

(5)     Developing Family Partnerships

(6)                 Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting

Core of knowledge and/or continued training is designed to ensure that Maryland’s child care professionals are receiving ongoing in-service development in all content areas.  Child care professionals are encouraged to meet requirements of the Maryland Child Care Credential by accessing Core of Knowledge training.  Early care and education training must be designed to meet the following Core of Knowledge areas:

(1)     Child Development

(2)     Curriculum

(3)     Health, Safety, and Nutrition

(4)     Community

(5)     Professionalism

(6)     Special Needs

High quality early care and education requires a highly skilled and specialized workforce that is supported by initial and on-going professional development.  We need a well-trained child care workforce in Maryland to meet the demand for high-quality child care and to ensure that children start school ready to learn.

We at the MSDE/OCC Credentialing Branch thank you, in advance, for your interest in providing quality training to the child care community of Maryland.

Trainer Orientation Dates & Registration Information:

All individuals seeking child care training approval are required to complete the Maryland Child Care Trainer Orientation.  This is necessary to have a full understanding of the Child Care Training Approval process and trainer requirements and responsibilities.  It is also an opportunity to ask pertinent questions and receive accurate information.

Trainer Orientation sessions are held at:

      Maryland State Department of Education

      200 W. Baltimore Street

      Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Orientation sessions are two hours (10am – 12pm) and will be held on the following dates:

·          November 19, 2009

·          January 21, 2010

·          March 18, 2010

·          May 20, 2010

·          July 15, 2010

·          September 16, 2010

·          November 18, 2010

Interested individuals must register for a trainer orientation session before submitting a training approval application.  Applications will be returned if a trainer orientation session was not completed.

To register for a trainer orientation, please contact:

      Arlice Molock
      telephone: 410-767-7852
      email: arlice.molock@msde.state.md.us

Training Proposal Review:

All training proposals are reviewed by the Training Proposal Review Committee.  This committee is comprised of trainers, college instructors, and early childhood administrators.  Training Review Committee members are approved Core of Knowledge trainers and have at least five (5) years of training experience.  These individuals meet bi-monthly to review all training proposals submitted to the Office of Child Care—Credentialing Branch.