Montana Child Care Center Director Credential Framework
Around the country, Director Credentialing is becoming another way for early childhood practitioners to achieve professional recognition.  A work group, hosted by the ECP, was developed to ensure that Montana directors had the information needed to make informed decisions about what a voluntary system might look like in Montana.  Please take a few minutes to complete this online survey to take part in the feedback!
ONLINE SURVEY LINK

Overview

The Montana Early Childhood Project is dedicated to improving the quality of early care and education services for young children and their families, by providing an integrated professional development system to build a knowledgeable, competent and stable early childhood workforce.  Foundations of the system are the Early Care and Education Knowledge Base and the Career Path.    The Practitioner Registry certifies early childhood professionals based upon their training, education and experience in the field.  The Training Approval and Records System promotes professional development through a review process.  The Professional Development Specialist/ Trainer Directory identifies individuals who have achieved specific  education and experience in Adult Learning and Early Childhood.   Scholarships for program accreditation and Child Development Associate (CDA) assessment fees and other workforce incentives are available.

The goals of the ECP are:

• Define what practitioners need to know to enhance and improve their work with young children and families.
• Develop a formalized multi-leveled education and training framework for the early childhood profession.
• Ensure that training is high quality and meets the needs of practitioners.
• Provide equal access to education and training through innovative delivery and a coordinated system of planning, promoting and implementing learning opportunities.
• Promote recognition and increased compensation by formal documentation of practitioners' professional development.
• Help parents make informed choices about early care and education.
• Link professional development to other quality initiatives in Montana.

Career Development Advisory Board

The Advisory Board grew out of the initial task force convened to envision and plan for an Early Care and Education Career Development program. The Board meets twice each year and the representation includes:

• Montana Child Care Resource and Referral Network
• Higher Education
• Montana Child Care Association
• Montana Association for the Education of Young Children
• Head Start State Collaboration Project
• Head Start Association
• Child Care plus+ Center on Inclusion in Early Childhood (UM)
• Child and Adult Care Food Program
• Montana Department of Labor and Industry
  • Apprenticeship Program and Training
• Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
  • Early Childhood Services Bureau
  • Quality Assurance Division
• Office of Public Instruction
• Public Health
• Montana Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

  Updated 2/7/2011