Professional training requirements for licensed child care providers vary by state. Gaining approval for continuing education credits for CMCCP in your state may incentivize providers to participate in your training and be a valuable recruitment tool.
When exploring continuing education credits, consider the following:
What are the professional training requirements for licensed child care providers in your state?
- Is training required for licensing or is there another type of recognition program for child care provider training in your region?
- How many hours of initial and/or ongoing training must be completed?
- Which topics must be covered and do CMCCP objectives fall within these?
A note on Continuing Education Units (CEU) vs other continuing education hours:
One Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is typically equivalent to 10 contact hours. To earn points for a CEU, the training must be approved by the IACET (International Association for Continuing Education and Training). Currently CMCCP is not on this list.
Examples:
- In Colorado, training hours for child care providers are called “clock hours” or “contact hours” and CMCCP sessions can be found on the Department of Education’s ECE Professional Development system here.
- In Massachusetts, training hours can be called “Professional Development Points” (PDP’s), “Competency Education Credits” (CEC’s) or just “EEC Professional Development Hours.” This is the professional development website for Massachusetts.
Which governing body oversees the accreditation process in your state?
- Often these responsibilities fall under a state governing office, such as:
- Department of Education
- Department of Early Childhood
- Department of Health and Human Services
How are trainings approved for continuing education credits in your state? Are instructors approved or just the curricula, or both?
Some states require that facilitators apply for approval to offer continuing education credits. In other states, the curricula itself is approved for continuing education credits.
Additional resources:
CMCCP has been fully approved in Colorado for a number of years. If helpful, you are able to review examples of the Colorado process for gaining continuing education accreditation on the Resource Center.