Inventory of Early Childhood Education Training in California
Summary
In January 2000, the California Children and Families Commission embarked on an effort aimed at expanding the availability and quality of early care and education programs available to families. The State Commission contracted with PACE to act as the lead agency for the initiative, which is focused on:
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recruiting and training early care and education providers where shortages exist;
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improving the professional preparation and in-service training of new center staff and family childcare providers to enhance their effectiveness in working with children; and
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implementing strategies designed to keep effective, well-trained providers in the field.
As a part of this project, PACE has gathered information about the scope of existing state and local training projects to help identify strengths, challenges, and unmet needs in existing programs and to guide the development of new training models. The information contained in this document can provide the groundwork to initiate a discussion about the unique strengths of California’s training systems for early childhood professionals as well as the gaps in the availability and accessibility of programs. Findings regarding such areas of strength and weakness can contribute to the elaboration of directions for growth in the state’s training institutions. This report and its accompanying charts and tables provide a detailed view of training resources and programs available to early childhood and childcare students and professionals in California as of January 2001.
Designed to facilitate a dialogue about strengths and limitations in training availability, and help individuals locate training within their communities, the report outlines both accredited and non-accredited training opportunities for center-based staff and family childcare providers at California’s community colleges, state universities, private colleges, child care resource and referral (R&R) agencies, and some community-based training institutions.