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| navigate: home: magazine: fall 1999: article | |
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Training initiatives are making life better for families in York By Kristine Lalley | ||||||
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Child care is a topic of great concern to many working families throughout Pennsylvania. Well-trained child care professionals are able to effectively address the developmental needs of children in day care by pursuing a variety of educational and professional development opportunities. For residents of York, several child care workforce development initiatives are providing comprehensive training for teachers and other child care professionals. For the past seven years, Penn State York has partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) to provide required professional development for staff of DPW-licensed child care centers. “Our earliest involvement with the child care community started in the early 1990s when we first began to offer child care workshops as a subcontractor for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare,” said Terry Riley, director of continuing education at Penn State York. These workshops are offered to aid child care workers in completing their required six hours of training each year. “We offered 12 of these workshops in York County during our first year. In the past several years, we have offered more than 100 workshops per year across four counties in south-central Pennsylvania, with annual registrations of more than 1,000,” he noted. It was through these workshops that Penn State York first established itself in the child care community. “Several years after we began offering workshops, we were invited to partner with other local agencies to launch a communitywide initiative called Focus on Our Future. This multiyear initiative, which involves people from all aspects and strata of our community in York, has focused on improving the quality and accessibility of affordable child care,” Riley added. Some results of Focus on Our Future include enhanced staff development, political action, fundraising, community forums and support for staff and center accreditation. “As a result of Focus on Our Future, our community is building an infrastructure that will support quality early care and education for all children in York County,” Beth Gil–MacDonald, project administrator at Penn State York, said. “Local caregivers and their directors, parents, educators and business and government leaders now recognize the importance of investing in children from birth to 6 years of age. The impact now and in the future will be children and adults who are confident, capable and responsible citizens of the York community.” Another initiative that grew from Penn State York’s involvement in providing required child care training came last year when it began to offer a yearlong noncredit Child Development Associate (CDA) training program. The CDA is a professional credential awarded by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. “By the end of this year, approximately 50 people will have completed the CDA training,” Riley said. “Through the academic leadership of Dr. Sara Parks, associate dean in the College of Health and Human Development, we have been able to develop several high-quality programs,” Gill–MacDonald said. The CDA is one example of how collaboration and resource sharing among faculty, community agencies and national organizations results in successful programs. Most recently, Penn State York has been involved in Project TEACH, an initiative being piloted by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. This publicly supported program is modeled after a program developed in North Carolina. “Through Project TEACH, child care professionals have the opportunity to work toward an associate degree with substantial support from the state as well as their employer,” Riley said. The College of Health and Human Development and the College of Education aided in developing this program. In addition, Dr. Peter K. Forster, program manager for the Penn State World Campus, provided support and collaboration. “Dr. Patricia A. Book, associate vice president for outreach and executive director, Division of Continuing Education, has been a real enabler for the project by providing monetary subsidy to help us overcome financial barriers associated with the program,” Riley noted. Penn State York also has been involved in several national child care initiatives, including one being led by Wheelock College, nationally recognized for its leadership in professional development for child care workers. “Through this project, the York community has the opportunity to network with other leading communities throughout the country including numerous major cities,” Riley said. “Day care is so important for the 21st century,” Dr. Donald A. Gogniat, campus executive officer at Penn State York, said. “All of these programs offer high-quality professional development opportunities for child care workers who are looking to enhance their skills or to move into leadership positions. “The child care activities in York established with the help of Penn State York are a great example of how many interests within a community can come together and create the infrastructure for lasting change. Visiting the students in class and knowing that this knowledge about developmental education is going to be taken back to so many different child care centers throughout the county and immediately make a difference in young children’s lives is exciting. Every participant from founder through faculty and participating agencies know that the activity has long-range implications for improving our community. It is a pleasure to be associated with this important activity and community vision.” To learn more about child care initiatives at Penn State York, contact:
Beth Gill-MacDonald at: | |||||
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