| Committee
Photos Leadership in Child Care and
Educational Scholarships Advisory Committee
Minutes of July 25, 2000 meeting
Members present: Dr. Bert Slafter; JoAnna Middlebrooks; Lou Johnson; Ellen Haulman; Tim
Vicks; Amie Shieff (for Jackie Mize); Beverly McDaniel; Gisela Scruggs; Dawn
Armstrong-Allen; Tara Ellis; Amanda Whiddon; & Sallye Longshore
The Leadership and Educational Scholarships advisory committee met in Montgomery on
July 25, 2000 for the primary purpose of reviewing the scholarship application/award
process and to plan for the next two years.
The meeting began with the sub-committee’s report on the scholarship review
process. Ellen Haulman, chair of this committee, reported that the group of six had met
twice this summer – first to draft the scoring criteria, and again to actually review
the applications. Fifty-four new scholarships were awarded using this process. The current
total of "leadership in child care" scholarship recipients is 96.
A discussion was held concerning future scholarship recipients with the advisory
committee agreeing to "open up" the application procedure to assistant
directors, program directors and lead teachers. The third round of applications will be
mailed in November 2000.
Lou Johnson, Department of Labor – Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, gave an
overview of the Consortium’s partnership with his office in instituting a child care
apprenticeship program in Alabama. This marks the first time in the state that a child
care apprenticeship program has been implemented. Currently, there are two registered
child care centers and three apprentices involved in the project.
The committee viewed a videotape produced by Wheelock College’s "Taking the
Lead" project involving center director credentialing. The group discussed the
importance of developing a statewide system for a director’s credential.
Planning priorities for this committee’s work for the next two years included:
bringing the T.E.A.C.H. (Teacher Education and Compensation Helps) model to Alabama;
developing a statewide career development system that includes a director’s
credential program; articulation between high school career tech programs and the two-year
institutions and the four-year schools.
The sub-committee on the application and review process will meet in late September or
early October to begin the next phase of awards.
Leadership in Child Care Advisory Committee Update
The Leadership in Child Care advisory committee met in Montgomery on January 13. The
Consortium announced that 45 child care center directors received scholarships this term
to attend a 2-year institution offering a child development program. The committee made
recommendations regarding a scholarship application form and process for the fall term.
Also, discussion was held regarding the creation and implementation of a statewide child
development administrator’s certificate and associate degree program. Plans for
involving the current "leadership" recipients in future training seminars are in
the works.
Initial Committee Report and Overview 12/99
Directors are said to be the ‘gatekeepers of quality’ in child care centers.
Therefore, helping child care directors obtain their degree in education or child
development is key to improving quality in child care centers. The ‘Leadership in
Child Care’ initiative addresses this important issue.
This initiative will begin by offering scholarships to child care center directors in
each Child Care Management Agency region to complete their credential and/or degree
program through institutions in Alabama’s Postsecondary Education system. These
"Leaders in Child Care" will become mentors to the next group of scholarship
recipients and form the foundation for a core advocacy group of child care center
directors in the state.
What do we currently know about director training?
Educational levels of child care directors vary widely. The policy concerning training
and educational levels of directors is stated and enforced in DHR’s Minimum Standards
of Child Day Care Centers. "Directors of child care centers in Alabama shall be at
least 19 years of age and shall have a high school diploma or general education diploma.
The director shall obtain at least 20 clock hours of training in administration and
management of child care centers prior to employment."
What obstacles or barriers will be encountered in establishing a scholarship
program for child care center directors?
- Transportation to training/educational facility
- Lack of available substitutes
- Lack of money to go back to school
- Timely training – most only available when director needs to be in the center
- Family responsibilities of center director
- Lack of incentives/rewards for successful completion of credential/degree
- Length of the course of study
- Accountability
- Articulation from training to 2-year credit and from 2-year to 4-year institutions
What are some innovative solutions to these barriers?
- Develop mechanism for giving credit to students for prior learning and experience
- (NOTE: Dept. of Postsecondary Education has convened a task force to work on credit
aspect)
- Celebrate child care worker/director successes – more public awareness
- Develop a license for child care workers
- Continue to work on Minimum Standards revisions to require more education and experience
for child care center directors
- Connect increase in wages to credential/degree attainment
- Look into S.T.A.R.S. and E.X.E.C.S. training systems currently in place in some of the
state’s child care management agency regions
- Examine other collaborative efforts in Alabama, such as the Head Start model and the
HIPPY (Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters) and Americorps arrangement
- Develop creative partnerships and engage the business community
- Partner with accredited and other successful child care centers to provide on-site
training
- Develop a system of coordination for innovative solutions
- Work to advocate for requirement of all centers and programs caring for children to be
licensed
- Develop Best Practices model for state
- Examine possibility of incorporating the TEACH model in Alabama
What are some possible funding sources for the director scholarships?
- Child Development Block Grant
- Area Community Foundations
- Pell grants
- Business community – both statewide and local
- Savings from Welfare Reform efforts
Three Summary Issues
- Design an Alabama child care center director credential, incorporating existing
successes into a training and delivery system that is consistent statewide
- Develop a funding strategy to accompany the training and delivery system
- Ensure that compensation and creative incentives are tied to training and credentialing
success
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