Connecting
The Newsletter of the Bennington County Child Care Association

October – December 2008

Professional Development Update

Link to sections: Newsletter Home | Parents Page | Provider Resources

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EARLY CHILDHOOD COMMUNITY
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR

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Registration is required for all sessions. Please click here for a registration form (requires Acrobat Reader) All workshop sessions are $5.00 for BCCCA members & $10.00 for non-members unless otherwise noted. Be sure to include the correct fee with your registration!! Please only register for sessions listed in this section of Connecting. No refunds given for  “no shows”. For more information, please call Pam/BCCCA @ 802-447-6485. Please Note: Be sure to check subsequent issues for other professional development opportunities and updates. Starting Points Support Networks: Meet Monthly Southshire:  Contact Brenda Schramm @ 802- 447-0906 Northshire:   Contact Alyson Ruby-Grzyb @ 802-440-4504 or 362-6108 Directors:     Contact Carol Barbierri @ 802-375-6039 These meetings meet monthly and are open to all early care providers. Call one of the facilitators today to find out how you can be part of one of  these great support networks!! Starting Points Support Networks Meet Monthly Southshire: Contact Brenda Schramm, 802-447-0906 Northshire: Contact Alyson Ruby, 802-440-4504 Directors:  Contact Carol Barbierri, 802-375-6039 These meetings are open to all early care providers. Call one of the facilitators today to find out how you can be part of one these great support networks!!

CORE COMPETENCIES CODES Child Development, Families and Communities Teaching and Learning, Healthy and Safe Environments ProfessionalisM and Program Organization S (Basic Specialized Care Training) & N (Nutrition).   H (Higher Education- college course, G (Graduate college course), O (Other). The third letter/space will indicate if the subject relates to a specific age group: I (Infants & Toddlers), A (After school aged children), P (Preschool; children), V (Variety of ages).  Visit the Northern Lights website for more info about Core Competencies: www.northernlightscdc.org     The levels are hierarchical in nature, building upon each other.  Level II (intermediate level) includes the competencies of Level I (foundational level), and so forth. The levels reflect differences across the domains in experience, depth of knowledge, capacity to work independently, and the breadth of impact personnel may have in their profession. One does NOT necessarily have to attend a Level I session before attending a Level II session.

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EMP Trainings: Act 165 requires landlords and early care & education providers offering child care in buildings built before 1978 to perform “EMP's” on their property annually. During this free session, you will learn what EMP's are and how to keep the children in your care safe from lead poisoning. The next local ‘FREE’ EMP training will be held on Wednesday, October 15th, 5-9 pm, at the Career Development  Center, 321 Park Street, Bennington, VT. Please contact Diane Mackay at 1-800-290-0527 or 802-828-5064 or email @ dmackay@vhcb.org to register or for more information

Friday, November 14th, Time TBA, Career Development Center, Bennington, VT Nonverbal Learning Disabilities: From Diagnosis Through Interventions for Home and School This presentation will provide participants with an overview of Nonverbal Learning Disabilities (NLD) and how this diagnosis can affect the student and their classroom setting. The discussion will include brain structure and functions, developmental manifestations, assessment/diagnosis, and will place particular emphasis on interventions for both home and school. Case studies will be presented and a question and answer session will be included. Each participant will receive handouts written by Dr. Mooney. Presented by Dr. Dean Mooney of the Maple Leaf Clinic, Wallingford, VT, who works with children with a variety of abilities. More information available soon at: www.asdvt.org
STARS is the Vermont Child Development Division’s (CDD) initiative designed to expand the ways providers are recognized and rewarded for program quality. The STARS program adds to the many efforts the CDD has established to improve the quality of care for Vermont’s children.  Programs that participate in STARS are stepping ahead, going beyond the regulations to provide professional services to meet the needs of children and families.    STARS is now in its fifth year and there are close to 400 programs who have submitted STARS applications and almost 270 listed on the STARS website (these numbers subject to change).  Programs can participate at all star levels (from 1 to 5) and two-thirds of the participants have been in STARS for more than a year, renewing their participation and increasing their star levels.  All types of programs participate, including centers, homes, preschool and afterschool programs and they come from all regions of the state.       Any program regulated through the Child Development Division may apply for STARS recognition. Recognized providers are eligible to receive different types of incentives including a one-time incentive payment, differential subsidy rates and a certificate acknowledging their achievement.  More information, application materials and a list of recognized providers are available at www.STARSstepahead.org.  Many providers have questions about the goals of STARS, how it works and how to apply.  Answers to questions, technical assistance and STARS applications are available through the contracted administrator for STARS, Learning Partners (802-479-5261 or learningpartnrs@aol.com).  Visit the STARS website at www.STARSstepahead.org.	Collaborative Training Grant ~ For more information about this grant and to view criteria, please visit :         www.brightfuturesinfo.org and go to ‘Resources’. This grant is for regional professional development events planned, sponsored, delivered and evaluated collaboratively between two or more organizations, to enhance the quality of child development, early education, and after-school services. Each region is only approved by the Child Development Division (CDD)  for one grant per year.  In order to make the application process more equitable for all those interested in accessing these funds, our Building Bright Futures/Early Childhood Council has developed a protocol for applying before the application goes to CDD. all grants that require approval by the BBF Council must be submitted to Robin Stromgren local director of BBF at rstromgren@buildingbrightfutures.org.    The grants will be vetted by a local team who has no vested interest in the grant.    The first grant that will follow this process will be the regional collaboration grant for the January 15th deadline.    I will need all grant proposals by November 28,2008   The committee will make sure that the BBF Council has the grant proposal by it; 12-10-08 meeting   The grant will be approved at 1-14-08 meeting   All grants will follow this procedure.
News from Community Partners Go Green and Become an Eco-Healthy Child Care Program! Improving Indoor Air Quality at Your Workplace Many factors contribute to decreased air quality in the workplace. Formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ozone all contribute to degraded air quality. Poor indoor air quality can result in flu like symptoms including headaches, sore throats, itchy eyes, or in limited scenarios, chronic illnesses such as cancer. Sources of air pollution in offices include off gassing from furniture, carpets, cleaning products, and photocopy equipment. To improve air at work, when possible: • Open windows to allow for natural ventilation • Choose mild, non-toxic or biodegradable • Choose non-toxic pest control methods, especially indoors cleaning products • Choose furniture made from solid wood and ground • Avoid wall-to-wall synthetic carpet coverings made from natural fibers • Avoid air fresheners • Make sure high moisture areas are well ventilated • When remodeling choose low- to no-VOC paint to avoid mold and mildew (Source: Oregon Environmental Council at www.oeconline.org ) Research increasingly shows that the first years of a child’s life are critical to shaping their future health and development. As a child care provider, small changes you make can have a big impact on the children in your care. By reducing toxins, such as chemicals in certain cleaning products and weed killers, you help prevent illnesses like asthma, certain learning disabilities, and even some forms of cancer. For these reasons providing an environmentally healthy, low toxic, setting is particularly important in the places children spend the majority of their time. There is help for child care providers For those who want to make environmentally healthy choices, the Eco-Healthy Child Care (EHCC) is a free, voluntary endorsement program available to child care providers throughout the nation. Center- based, family child care, licensed or non-licensed providers are welcome to participate. The goal of the program is to educate and empower child care providers to reduce toxic substances in their child care facilities and to encourage parents to choose ‘eco-healthy’ products and practices. The EHCC program helps child care settings be healthy, safe and green, by providing training and resources to child care providers as they make simple choices that benefit the health and well-being of all children in their care. How to apply Child care providers apply to become endorsed by filling out a 25-item checklist, available in both English and Spanish. The checklist addresses issues like phthalates in toys, formaldehyde in furniture, pesticides used on lawns or inside buildings, mold, mildew, poor indoor air quality, lead-based paint and mercury-containing thermometers. Facilities that comply with 20 of the 25 items, including two mandatory items, receive a certificate and poster announcing their Eco-Healthy endorsement. Once endorsed, each facility’s contact information is listed on the EHCC website. Thousands of parents visit the website each year looking for endorsed Eco-Healthy Child Care. Parents are increasingly seeking child care facilities that provide a safe and healthy environment that goes beyond seat belts. Finally, the Eco-Healthy Child Care Program works to have endorsed eco-healthy providers covered by local media. What are the benefits of becoming an endorsed EHCC facility? Endorsed providers are able to promote the extra health and safety steps they are taking to the families of the children they care for. This helps providers respond to increasing demand from parents looking for facilities that are providing a low toxic environment. Eco-Healthy Child Care programs also receive free marketing through an online directory and media stories. Qualified facilities receive materials and educational resources to promote their eco-healthy practices to parents and other community members. They also receive regular tips on how to continue improving the environmental health of their child care program. Most importantly, endorsed providers reduce the number of toxins in their child care facility, and, as a result, provide a healthier, safer and more environmentally friendly setting for children. In this way, they help prevent illnesses, diseases and disabilities linked to chemicals of concern. Currently more than 270 facilities, serving over 8,873 children, have already qualified as Eco-Healthy. This project, created for Oregon child care providers, is going national, and looks forward to supporting child care providers throughout the country! Visit EHCC’s website at www.oeconline.org/kidshealth/ehcc  or contact Hester Dooley at 503-222-1963, ext. 119 or hesterd@oeconline.org for more information.  [by Hester Dooley, National Program Director, Eco-Healthy Childcare (taken from Child Care Health Connections)]

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B.C.C.C.A.
P.O. Box 829 – 226 Union Street
Bennington, VT 05201
(802) 447-3778