The CCC offers diverse training opportunities to guide providers through essential topics like First Aid and license renewal through the Child Development Associate (CDA) program. Any lead teacher in a child care setting must have a CDA certification.
“Starting child care in the home is like starting a business,” said Perrone. “If an individual takes care of more than two children not their own for over three hours per day, they must be registered or licensed. We educate them and support them throughout the process.”
Centers and group family child care are licensed by OCFS, and they contract with CCC to do other modalities, such as legally exempt enrollment, family child care registration and school-age child care programs.
“We continue to work with them through regular inspections,” Perrone said. “Our teams make sure in-home providers and school-age programs are adhering to regulations, and we follow up on any complaints (typically made by neighbors or parents),” Perrone said.
For current providers that are already licensed, CCC assists them with a variety of components, such as nutrition education, education department trainings, technical assistance, infant-toddler programming, mental health topics, health care planning, services for special needs children, set up of classrooms and home environments, curriculum development, and observations.
“We also coordinate registration and inspection services in NYS modalities of care,” said Perrone. “And we teach child abuse prevention courses. In a child care setting, NYS regulations require employees who suspect child abuse or neglect to call the hotline and complete the report themselves. In addition, any potential abuse or lack of supervision needs to be reported to their licensor.”
CCC, in partnership with the OCFS, ensures these procedures are followed per child care regulations through training and technical assistance.
