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Policy 

All staff will increase their knowledge and skills for their career by participating in professional development opportunities.  These trainings are designed to assist staff in acquiring or increasing the knowledge and skills needed to provide high-quality, comprehensive services within the scope of their job responsibilities. Professional development activities will meet Oregon licensing standards, Head Start Performance Standards, the Head Start Act, and QRIS standards for quality. 

Procedure 

  1. All new staff will participate in onboarding training as an orientation of the goals and underlying philosophy of the program and on the ways they are implemented. 
  2. All site staff shall receive an orientation within the first two weeks of employment and before they can have unsupervised access to children. The operator shall have documentation for each staff person of the date and type of orientation received and the person providing the orientation. Orientation shall ensure that staff are familiar with the contents of the orientation, as described below, and shall include, but is not limited to:
    1. Individual responsibilities in the event:
      1. The building must be evacuated (e.g., fire); 
      2. An emergency requiring staff and children to remain inside under unusual circumstances (e.g., power outage, environmental hazard); or 
      3. A child or staff is injured or becomes ill; 
    2. Licensing requirements 
    3. Agency and site policies 
    4. Procedures for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect 
  3. All staff will complete a minimum of 2 hours of training on recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect that is specific to Oregon law within 30 days of employment and annually thereafter.
    1. All staff who count in staff to child ratios must complete OCC approved training on recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect, and health and safety training, prior to having unsupervised access to children and functioning in their position. 
  4. All staff will receive training to implement reporting procedures for any significant incident that affects the health or safety of a child, staff member, contractor or volunteer that occurs in a Head Start setting. 
  5. Site Directors, Head Teachers and Teachers shall complete OCC approved health and safety training within 30 days of employment. 
  6. All infant caregivers must complete OCC approved training on safe sleep, prior to having unsupervised access to children and functioning in their position, and within 30 days employment.
  7. Key people in food preparation must have food handler certification, pursuant to ORS 624.570, within 30 days of employment or have current certification on file. Food handler’s training must be kept current during employment at the center. Key people include cooks, kitchen staff who handle food, and classroom staff who serve meals from a communal source. 
  8. Within the first 90 days of employment, all staff shall complete first aid and Infant and Child CPR training or have current certification in first aid and Infant and Child CPR on file. 
    1. First aid and Infant and Child CPR training must be kept current during employment. 
    2. First aid training shall include the following components: bleeding; burns; poisoning; choking; injuries; shock; seizures; sprains and breaks; dental emergencies; and head injuries. 
    3. CPR training must have practical hands‐on instruction. CPR courses that involve an online component with hands‐on instruction may be accepted. 
  9. All staff will complete a minimum of 15 clock hours of professional development per year. 
  10. Site directors, head teachers, and all teachers shall attend not less than 15 clock hours of professional development per year, and are encouraged to complete at least 24 clock hours of professional development per year to maintain QRIS quality standards for five-star sites. 
    1. Of the 15 clock hours, at least eight clock hours shall be in child development or early childhood education. 
      1. The following core knowledge categories are accepted for the child development and early childhood education requirement: Diversity (D), Family and Community Systems (FCS), Human Growth and Development (HGD), Health Safety and Nutrition (HSN), Learning Environments and Curriculum (LEC), Observation and Assessment (OA), Special Needs (SN), and Understanding and Guiding Behavior (UGB). 
    2. The annual 15 clock hours of training or education must include OCC approved health and safety training curriculum. 
    3. If an individual has worked in the facility less than a year, the training requirements will be prorated as follows: At least 1.25 clock hours for each month worked in the current license period. 
  11. During the first year of employment, a staff person may count up to two hours of orientation and their most recent training in first aid and CPR, food handler’s training, if applicable, and child abuse and neglect training as part of the 15 clock hours of training required but may not use these toward the eight hours required in child development or early childhood education. 
  12. During subsequent years of employment, a staff person may count 5 hours of first aid and CPR training or food handler’s training as part of the 15 clock hours of training. Duplicate training on recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect can be accepted again after three years, and every three years thereafter towards the 15 clock hours of staff training required for licensing. 
  13. All staff who work directly with families on the family partnership process, will have or obtain within eighteen months of hire, at a minimum, a credential or certification in social work, human services, family services, counseling or a related field. 
  14. Child and family services staff will participate in training on best practices for implementing family engagement strategies in a systemic way. Such training for child and family services staff, including staff that work on family services, health, and disabilities, will build their knowledge, experience, and competencies to improve child and family outcomes. 
  15. Education staff will participate in research-based approaches to professional development annually. Such professional development will focused on effective curricula implementation, knowledge of the content in Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five, partnering with families, supporting children with disabilities and their families, providing effective and nurturing adult-child interactions, supporting dual language learners as appropriate, utilizing positive strategies to understand and support children’s social and emotional development, tools to address and manage challenging behaviors, preparing children and families for transitions, and using data to individualize learning experiences to improve outcomes for all children. 
  16. Education staff have the opportunity to participate in research-based, coordinated coaching. Education staff are prioritized for coaching based on identified strengths, areas of needed support, and which staff would benefit most from intensive coaching. Education staff not selected for intensive coaching will receive other forms of research-based professional development aligned with program performance goals. Coaching will: 
    1. Include opportunities to be observed and receive feedback and modeling of effective teacher practices directly related to program performance goals; 
    2. Align with school readiness goals, curricula, and other approaches to professional development; 
    3. Utilize a coach with adequate training and experience in adult learning and in using assessment data to drive coaching strategies aligned with program performance goals; 
    4. Provide ongoing communication between the coach, program director, education director, and any other relevant staff; and, 
    5. Include clearly articulated goals and a process for achieving those goals; and, 
    6. Ensure assessment results will not be used to solely determine punitive actions for staff identified as needing support, without providing time and resources for staff to improve. 

Policy Council approved: 02/2024

Updated: 09/2024

Reviewed: 09/2024

This policy complies with Head Start Performance Standard: 1302.92(b)(1)