School Age Newsletter December 2011

Council Connections

December 2011

Greetings!

Enjoy the December edition of School Age Connections, an e-newsletter from the Child Care Council of Westchester. The holidays are already here and after school is in full gear. Take time to review the School Age Care Regulations on Training to ensure your staff receives the training hours they need. Stay cool, calm and collected during the oh-so-stressful, but oh-so-fun, holiday season.

Susan M. Edelstein

Director, ISACC

School Age Newsletter

School Age Child Care Regulation Review

Spotlight on.. Lakeland Children's Center

Training Kits for School Age Directors

NAA News

TA Tip of the Month:

Upcoming Events and Workshops

School Age Child Care Regulation

Review: 414.14 Training

Take time to review the regulations on training to ensure your staff has what they need!

(a) Each person responsible for developing, directing and supervising the daily activity programs for children (director) and each employee working an average of twenty (20) or more hours a week must complete a minimum of thirty (30) hours of training every two years. Fifteen hours of such training must be received during the first six months of the program's first year of registration or during the person's first six months of employment by the program. This initial fifteen (15) hours applies toward the total thirty (30) hour minimum requirement for each registration period.

Employees working an average of fewer than twenty (20) hours a week must complete a pro-rated portion of training pursuant to guidelines issued by the Office. Such training requirements shall also apply to any volunteer in such school-age child care programs who has the potential for regular and substantial contact with children.

Training must address the following topics:

(1) principles of childhood development, including the appropriate supervision of children, meeting the needs of children enrolled in the program with physical or emotional challenges and behavior management and discipline;

(2) nutrition and health needs of children;

(3) child day care program development;

(4) safety and security procedures, including communication between parents and staff;

(5) business record maintenance and management;

(6) child abuse and maltreatment identification and prevention;

(7) statutes and regulations pertaining to child day care; and

(8) statutes and regulations pertaining to child abuse and maltreatment.

(b) Training received after the application has been submitted but before the application has been approved and the registration granted may be counted towards the initial 15 hours required in subdivision (a) above.

(c) For the thirty (30) hours of training that must be received every two years after the first year of registration, any person responsible for developing, directing and supervising the daily activity programs for children who can demonstrate basic competency in a particular topic to the Office may determine in which of the specified topics he or she needs further study. The Office also may exempt any person responsible for developing, directing and supervising the daily activity programs for children from participating in training on a particular topic upon demonstration of substantially equivalent knowledge or experience related to that topic. All persons with such exemptions must still complete a minimum of thirty (30) hours of training during each registration period.

(d) Each person responsible for developing the school-age child care program, employee, and/or assistant must submit verification of completion of the training requirements to their program's designated registration office on forms provided by the Office.

(e) At the time of admission, the director must furnish parents with appropriate instructional materials which will assist them in evaluating the facilities, the program and the staff. Such materials must include information concerning child abuse and maltreatment, and guidance on the steps they may take if they suspect their child has been abused or maltreated.

Spotlight on: Lakeland Children's Center

The Lakeland Children's Center (LCC) offers parents and families a safe, affordable and fun-filled before and after school child care program. LCC provides a well-balanced program of recreation, homework time and enrichment programming to those children residing in the Lakeland Central School District. As a not-for-profit agency, the Lakeland Children's Center is operated independently from the school district. We are a multi-site organization operating throughout the district with before and after school programs in all five elementary schools; the middle school hosts a before school program. Led by Executive Director Jayne Lapadula, LMSW, the Lakeland Children's Center has approximately 350 children registered in its programs.

The Lakeland Children's Center's activities and programs meet the social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs of children in a comfortable, supporting "home away from home" environment. Children learn cooperation, sharing and respect for others. Breakfast and snack are served, and LCC allows parents the flexibility of picking up their child/ren at 4:30PM or 6:00PM, in addition to registering on a drop-in status when parents only need LCC on an occasional basis. We try to be as flexible as we can in order to meet the needs of our families.

Each site of the Lakeland Children's Center is supervised by a Teacher Director, who is considered the On Site Supervisor. Each On Site Supervisor works directly with the Executive Director and Program Coordinator to create programs and special events at the site. The Teacher Director coordinates directly with school personnel on daily issues pertaining to the school itself.

Teacher Aides involve themselves with the children whether it is with homework, an art and crafts project, a kickball game or just to listen about the day's adventure. They work with the children in every aspect of the program and we are very fortunate to have a majority of our staff return year after year. We are a family that works together in every aspect of the word. The staff contribute to the program and have input regarding the type of enrichment programs that they think the children would most enjoy. By working together, the program is a better place for our staff, our children and our families.

Enrichment programs at LCC range from yoga and dance to Lego robotics (children and the instructor work together to create a robot out of Legos). Another popular enrichment program is our Poetry Workshop at which an instructor works with the children for several weeks to create a "Book of Poems" that is published and distributed to all. At the culminating Poetry Reading event, children read their poems to an audience of school personnel, parents and the other children. WOW... what great readings are created!

Ms. Lapadula states "I am very proud to be a part of the Lakeland Children's Center." Check out our website www.lakelandchildrenscenter.com; email us at lklndcc@aol.com or call us at 914-528-8119.

Training Kits for Directors Make

Training Easy and Fun!

The Institute for School Age Child Care (ISACC) has created a fun, cost efficient and unique resource in response to the many challenges school age directors face in training their staff. CCCW/ISACC Training Kits allow directors to provide quality training on topics pertinent to school age staff on-site and at convenient times for all staff.

Training Kits have been created in 5 topic areas:

Creating an Inviting School Age Program Environment
Integrating Project Based Activities in Your School Age Program
Effective Supervision and Behavior Management of School Age Children
Making School Age Program Planning Intentional and Meaningful
Homework Assistance in Your School Age Program

Each Training Kit comes with everything directors need to provide training: Attendance Sheet, Training Agenda, Training Outline with Trainer Notes, Training Activities, Materials Packet, Resources,Training Evaluations for Staff and a Training Evaluation of the Kit for the director.

How does this all work? It's very easy. Directors of school age programs must attend a Council calendar training on the topic they want to present to staff within 6 months of the Training Kit training. Click here to view the Council's current Training Calendar and see when Training Kit trainings are scheduled.

After attending a Training Kit training, directors rent the Training Kit for a two week period. After the staff training, the director returns the Kit, with the completed evaluations and attendance sheet, to the Council. Training certificates for the staff are then sent to the program director.

The next Training Kit Training is Thursday December 8 10:00 am - 12:00 pm on Effective Supervision and Behavior Managment for School Age Children.

Don't miss out on the newest, greatest method of training staff on-site. Register now for a Training Kit training!

National AfterSchool Association

(NAA) Information

The National AfterSchool Association (NAA) is the leading voice of the afterschool profession dedicated to the development, education and care of children and youth during their after school hours. NAA provides information to after school professionals in the areas of policy and advocacy, professional development, and publishes many resources and research papers on such issues as New Directions in Youth Development, Standards for After School, Code of Ethics, Leadership Lessons, and After School Today.

The 2012 NAA Annual Convention will be held in Dallas, TX from April 2 -4, 2012. With over 150 workshops that enhance professional development, the annual convention provides the opportunity to meet, share ideas and learn from other after school professionals from around the country. The NAA Science and Art Fairs lets you interact with afterschool participants, and the Exhibit Hall will boast over 100 vendors. Register for this fun event here.

Click here for the Leadership Lesson "Multitasking is a Myth" and here for the Leadership Lesson "Managing the Millennials".

TA Tip of the Month: Program Planning

An intentional, thoughtful program planning process is an integral part of any school age program. To ensure that the goals of the program are met in both the activities and the environment, consistent program planning provides staff with a blueprint to implement these activities.

Staff working with the same group of children should be provided with paid, scheduled, uninterrupted time to plan the group's activities for a set period of time (i.e., weekly or monthly). Resources, such as Summer Sizzlers and Magic Mondays: School Age Theme Activities and Ideas and Activities for After-School Programs that provide ideas for activities should be available to the staff. Online resources that staff can access include: www.thinkfinity.org, www.sedl.org, www.thirteen.org/edonline/afterschool, and www.schoolagenotes.com.

Staff should use the following questions to help guide them in the program planning process:

Do these activities build on the kids' interests and are they relevant to their lives?
Do the activities have a clear purpose and intention?
Are the activities appropriate to the ages and stages of the children in the group?
Are the activities fun and engaging, and provide children the opportunity for hands on experiences?
Will these activities give the children a sense of accomplishment?
Does the program have the materials or resources to implement these activities?

The Council offers technical assistance and training to maintain compliance with OCFS regulations and to familiarize school age staff with best practices in school age care. Contact Mary Ann Brendler at maryannb@cccwny.org or 914-761-3456 x 172 if you would like additional assistance on this topic or any other topic relating to school age care.

Upcoming Events and Workshops

Pre-registration is required for all workshops and conferences. When registering online at www.childcarewestchester.org, you automatically save $3.00 on standard workshops costing $33/$43.

Thursday, December 1, 10:00 am - 11:30 am

Information Session on School Age Accreditation

Training Categories: 5

Cost: Free Modality/Age: School Age

Trainer: Susan M. Edelstein, Director, ISACC, CCCW

Description: In the current outcomes-oriented environment, organizations are increasingly called upon to demonstrate the impact of their services. Accreditation is designed as a framework within which an organization can measure a variety of its achievements. Learn about the New York State School Age Accreditation and the Council on Accreditation models, and why school age accreditation might be right for your program.

Saturday, December 3, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Heartsaver CPR with AED & Heartsaver First Aid

Training Categories: 2, 3, 4 for each

Cost: $95 members, $105 non-members for both CPR & First Aid combined

Code: 12125 Modality/Age: All

Trainer: David A. Cadogan, President, Lifeline Rescue Training

Description: The CPR with AED workshop will cover the basic techniques of adult, child and infant CPR, how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and how to respond to a choking victim. The First Aid training will teach how to manage illnesses and injuries in adults, children and infants. Topics include First Aid Basics, Medical Emergencies, Injury Emergencies and Environmental Emergencies. Each participant receives a course completion card for each of the trainings valid for 2 years from the American Heart Association and a training certificate from the Council.

Wednesday, December 7, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Managing Workplace Stress

Training Categories: 2, 3

Cost: $33 members, $43 non-members

Code: 12126 Modality/Age: All

Trainer: Laura Cleare, Infant Toddler Specialist, CCCW

Description: Nurturing children is hard work. Managing stress and taking care of yourself while you take care of others can be difficult. Learn some strategies for building and maintaining your physical and emotional reserves.

Thursday, December 8, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Effective Supervision and Behavior Management for School Age Children

(part of the CCCW/ISACC Training Kit Series)

Training Categories: 1, 3, 4

Cost: $69 Workshop and Training Kit Rental; $35 Workshop Only

Code: 12128 Modality/Age: F, G, C, School Age

Trainer: Mary Ann Brendler, Management Consultant, CCCW

Description: The CCCW/ISACC Training Kit Series is designed to give child care professionals who work with school age children an additional resource to train program staff. This training explores supervision skills and strategies to protect the health and safety of children. Various techniques for effective behavior management are investigated.

Saturday, December 10, 9:00am - 6:00pm

Medication Administration Training Course

Training Categories: 2, 4, 5, 7

Cost: $150 Code: 12129 Modality/Age: All

Trainer: Elissa Guzzardi, Director, Health Services, CCCW

Description: The MAT Course is highly recommended for all child care programs and will cover all regulations for programs that administer medication and programs that only administer emergency medication.

Tuesday, December 13, 10 am - 12:00 pm

School Age Directors Network Meeting

Thursday December 15, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm

Managing Infectious Disease in Child Care Settings

Training Categories: 2, 4, 5, 7

Cost: $33 members, $43 non-members

Code: 12131 Modality/Age: All

Trainer: Elissa Guzzardi, Director, Health Services, CCCW

Description: Learn how to prevent, recognize and manage infectious diseases in early education and child care settings.

Saturday, December 17, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm

Professional Responsibility: The NAEYC Code of Ethics

Training Categories: 1, 4, 5

Cost: $33 members, $43 non-members
Code: 12132 Modality/Age: All

Trainer: Dana Doyle, Professional Development Coordinator, CCCW

Description: Participants will learn the history of NAEYC's Code of Ethical Conduct and the importance of a code of ethics for child care and early childhood education professionals when working with children and families.