Professional Development Program
Program Background
The Professional Development Program (PDP) was developed to improve care in Early Childhood Programs in Contra Costa County by increasing provider quality and stability. Funded by First 5 Contra Costa, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Early Learning Opportunities Act Grant-ELOA) and the California Department of Education (AB212), this program has been in operation since April 2001.
Currently, First 5 Contra Costa and the California Department of Education fund the Professional Development Program. The Contra Costa County Office of Education and the Local Planning Council for Child Care and Development (LPC) administer AB212 funds to sponsor Child Development Permit Stipends specifically for qualified child care employees who work directly with children who receive state subsidized child care services.
2007-2008 Professional Growth Awards
The Local Planning Council for Child Care and Development and the Contra Costa County Office of Education would like to recognize your commitment to “lifelong learning”. As the educational expectations in the field of Early Care and Education continue to grow; the need for continued professional growth and development opportunities is also greater.
We would like to recognize your work and commitment towards your professional development by providing $500 Professional Growth Awards. The Professional Growth Awards will be given to highly motivated staff at state funded programs who are committed to embark in deeper discussions that will require a higher time and participation commitment.
Our goal this year is to provide you with an opportunity to engage in deeper reflection about several topics through a series of 4 modules in the following subjects:
- Module 1: Working with Children with Special Needs
- Module 2: Research based Strategies regarding Numeracy and Language Development
- Module 3: Pre-Literacy Skills Framework
- Module 4: Cultural Diversity
Each module is composed of multiple sessions for a total of at least 18 hours of professional growth.
Participation in these modules is limited and registration will be processed on first come, first served basis. To allow maximum participation, applicants may only register in one module.
Registration Deadline: Monday, December 3, 2007. See registration details on registration form below.
In order to be eligible to apply for a $500 Professional Growth Award you are required to:
Register in one of the four modules above and commit to attend all sessions in the module. A combination of trainings from different modules will not be acceptable.
Please note that Professional Growth Awards are based on available funds. Funds are limited and applications will only be accepted if they are complete. If you are not able to complete an entire module you will loose your ability to apply for a Professional Growth Award.
For questions about the training modules contact us at 925-296-1453.
NOTE: The hours earned through any of these modules may NOT be used to apply for any PDP incentives.
See all module content information and registration forms below:
AB 212-Aroner Background
The 2000-2001 Budget Act allocated $15 million for child care worker retention programs. The legislation specifies that each LPC shall develop a county plan in accordance with CDE guidelines. The Child Development Division encourages each LPC to collaborate with all other interested parties in its county in order to conduct comprehensive child care staff recruitment and retention planning. The funding is to supplement, not supplant existing efforts and investments to retain child care staff at the local level.
Contra Costa County AB212
The goal is to improve retention and the educational levels of child development professionals in Contra Costa County by providing financial incentives, scholarships, professional development and training opportunities.
In order to maintain a seamless Professional Development Program in Contra Costa County, the LPC decided that AB212 stipend eligibility criteria should parallel First 5 eligibility criteria, that is:
- Work in a state contracted program in Contra Costa County 15 or more hours per week
- Work directly with children zero to 12 years of age
- Has been employed in the same state contracted program for nine consecutive months at the time a PDP application is submitted and at the time the stipend is issued (employment status will be verified prior to payment of any PDP incentive)
- Earn less than $60,000 per year
To participate in the Professional Development Program please contact a PDP representative or call the PDP line at 925-296-1453
East County PDP Representative: Terrissa Hein (925) 753-5415 thein@cccoe.k12.ca.us
West County PDP Representative: Reina Aguilar-Ortega (510) 234-4098 or raguilar@cccoe.k12.ca.us
