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| In these photos, Delaware County residents are learning how to perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and how to create crafts they can teach children to make during the six-week Better Kid Care Child Care Provider workshop. The training is offered by Penn State Cooperative ExtensionÕs Delaware County office and the Delaware County Head Start program. Better Kid Care is designed to educate and empower residents from low-income households who want to become licensed child care providers. |
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The Better Kid Care Program provides educational materials, learning experiences and programs to child care providers, parents and employers. The goal of the project is to improve the availability, accessibility and quality of child care throughout Pennsylvania. Last year, Cooperative Extension provided nearly 195,000 hours of training to child care providers through satellite workshops, training workshops, video learn-at-home units, distance education units, on-site training and a toll-free telephone helpline.
Dr. James E. Van Horn, professor of rural sociology in the College of Agricultural Sciences, directs the Better Kid Care Program. It is just one of many outreach programs he has developed during his 30-year career at Penn State.
Better Kid Care initiatives around the state and nationwide include:
- More than 45,000 parents from all 67 Pennsylvania counties participate in Better Kid Care workshops and events statewide, learning key elements to look for in quality child care.
- Each satellite training program for child care providers reaches an average of 50,000 learners nationwide. Annually, Cooperative Extension presents eight training programs, that are downlinked to Pennsylvania counties and more than 40 states. This series of workshops is approved for child care provider training credits in Pennsylvania. Child care professionals come to county extension offices to participate in live broadcasts during which they interact with program staff at University Park by telephone and fax. Between 9,000 and 10,000 Pennsylvanians receive professional training from these broadcasts each year.
- Learn-at-home videos use distance learning techniques and a team of graders to give Department of Public Welfare accredited training to child care providers right in their own homes.
- Live child care workshops sponsored by Cooperative Extension and community partners throughout the state, including Head Start, housing authorities and county assistance centers, reach underserved populations in both rural and urban areas, training local residents to become licensed child care providers. In Delaware County alone, more than 60 participants have graduated from these workshops and are finding new employment in the child care industry.
- Each month, 700 media outlets receive Better Kid Care news articles and public service announcements available in both English and Spanish. These materials cover consumer issues, nutrition, child development, health and family activities.
- Child care providers can call toll free (1-800-452-9108) to receive educational materials in the mail. These materials are produced throughout the year and bring the latest University research in child care issues directly to the providers who can use it.
- From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, Better Kid Care offices operate a toll-free helpline (1-800-859-8340) for child care providers. Many home providers, especially, find this service alleviates their sense of isolation by providing a knowledgeable source of help for their questions and concerns.
| According to Van Horn, “Satellite technology is an extremely cost-effective way for Cooperative Extension to bring research-based knowledge from nationally recognized experts to large numbers of people who otherwise would not have access to these experts and their research.” |
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