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Career Pathway: A progression of education qualifications, credentials and training that build upon one another and enable early childhood practitioners to advance in their careers. Career pathways can be flexible, with multiple entry and exit points, to allow the workforce, made up of diverse learners and non-traditional students, to acquire the necessary career-related skills and knowledge. Career pathways allow individuals to move along or within a Career Ladder/Lattice.
Center Based Child Care: Early care and education provided in nonresidential group settings, such as within public or private schools, churches, preschools, child care programs, or nursery schools.
Certification (Staff): The process by which an individual or institution attests to or is shown to have met a prescribed standard or set of standards.
Child Care Assistance: Any public or private financial assistance intended to lower the cost of child care for families.
Child Care Availability: Refers to whether quality child care is accessible and available to families at a reasonable cost and using reasonable effort.
Child Care Desert: A geographical area where there is an inadequate supply of high quality, affordable, and accessible child care options.
Child Care Health Consultants (CCHC): Licensed health professionals with education and experience in child and community health as well as in early care and education. CCHC have knowledge of resources ad regulations and are typically helpful in linking health resources with child care facilities.
Child Care Provider: An organization or individual that provides early care and education services.
Child Care Resources and Referral Agencies (CCR&R): Local and statewide entities that provide a range of services to the community, such as guidance and referrals to parent seeking child care; professional development and trainings for early childhood professionals; as well as parenting and other educational resources for families. Some CCR&R also administer child care subsidies.
Child Care Subsidy: A type of Child Care Assistance primarily funded by the federal CCDF program.
Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG): The source of discretionary funding for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). The CCDBG was originally enacted under the Omnibus Budged Reconciliation Act of 1990. In 2014, Congress reauthorized the CCDBG for the first time since 1996, and included new laws and requirements related to the quality and availability of CCDF child care programs and related activities.
Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF): A federally funded program that provides block grants to states to subsidize the child care expenses of working parent/families so they can participate in educational or training opportunities. Each state creates its own CCDF Plan that is approved and administered by the Office of Child Care (OCC) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The CCDF also funds activities intended to improved the overall quality and supply of child care for families, such as by providing Technical Assistance and promoting coordination among early learning and after-school programs.
Child Care and Development Fund Plan (CCDF Plan): A plan developed by a designated CCDF child care agency in each state, territory, or tribe that serve as an application for CCDBG funds. Plans provide a description of, and assurances about, the grantee's child care programs and services available to eligible families. States must promote public involvement in their CCDF Plan's development/review process and submit their plan to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for review and approval every three years.
Child Development: The process by which children acquire skills in the areas of social, emotional, intellectual, speech and language, and physical development, including fine and gross motor skills. Developmental stages describe the expected, sequential order of gaining skills and competencies that children typically acquire.
Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential: A widely earned credential administered by the Council for Professional Recognition.
Child Protection Services (CPS): An official public agency responsible for receiving and investigating reports of suspected child abuse or neglect and for ensuring that prevention and intervention services are provided.
Coaching: A relationship-based process led by an expert with specialized knowledge and adult learning competencies that is designed to build capacity for or enhance specific professional dispositions, skills and behaviors. Coaching is typically offered to teaching and administrative staff, either by in-house or outside coaches, and focuses on goal-setting and achievement.
Coaching-Based Child Care/Community-Based Organization (CBO): A nonprofit organization that provides educational or related services to children and families within their local community. CBOs that provide child care may be associated with faith-based organizations or other non-profit organizations. CBOs are subject to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Competencies: Refers to the range of knowledge and observable skills that early childhood practitioners need to provide effective services to children and families. Competencies, sometimes referred to as "core competencies," are typically linked with states' early learning guidelines and provide a framework for professional development at various career stages.
Comprehensive Services: An array of coordinated services that meet the holistic needs of children and families enrolled in a given program, from health and developmental screenings to family literacy trainings and parent education.
Consultation: A collaborative, problem-solving process between an external consultant with specific expertise and adult learning competencies and an individual or group. Consultation typically facilitates the assessment and resolution of an issue-specific concern, a program-/organizational-, staff-, or child-/family-related issue, or addresses a specific topic.
Continuing Education Unit (CEU): Refers to credits that early childhood professionals earn by demonstrating that they have attended training/Professional Development and can understand and apply what they have learned. CEUs are often regarded as a bridge between In-Service Training and college credit.
Continuity of Care: Refers to the provision of care to children by consistent caregivers in consistent environments over a period of time to ensure stable and nurturing environments. Research shows that maintaining continuity and limiting transitions in a child's first few years of life promotes the type of deep human connections that young children need for optimal early brain development, emotional regulation, and learning.
Cost of Care: The monetary cost of providing early care and education services. Major contributors to the cost of care include staff wages and salaries, benefits, rent, supplies, Professional Development and training. The cost of care can be different from the actual price of care charged by the provider.
Center Based Child Care: Early care and education provided in nonresidential group settings, such as within public or private schools, churches, preschools, child care programs, or nursery schools.
Certification (Staff): The process by which an individual or institution attests to or is shown to have met a prescribed standard or set of standards.
Child Care Assistance: Any public or private financial assistance intended to lower the cost of child care for families.
Child Care Availability: Refers to whether quality child care is accessible and available to families at a reasonable cost and using reasonable effort.
Child Care Desert: A geographical area where there is an inadequate supply of high quality, affordable, and accessible child care options.
Child Care Health Consultants (CCHC): Licensed health professionals with education and experience in child and community health as well as in early care and education. CCHC have knowledge of resources ad regulations and are typically helpful in linking health resources with child care facilities.
Child Care Provider: An organization or individual that provides early care and education services.
Child Care Resources and Referral Agencies (CCR&R): Local and statewide entities that provide a range of services to the community, such as guidance and referrals to parent seeking child care; professional development and trainings for early childhood professionals; as well as parenting and other educational resources for families. Some CCR&R also administer child care subsidies.
Child Care Subsidy: A type of Child Care Assistance primarily funded by the federal CCDF program.
Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG): The source of discretionary funding for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). The CCDBG was originally enacted under the Omnibus Budged Reconciliation Act of 1990. In 2014, Congress reauthorized the CCDBG for the first time since 1996, and included new laws and requirements related to the quality and availability of CCDF child care programs and related activities.
Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF): A federally funded program that provides block grants to states to subsidize the child care expenses of working parent/families so they can participate in educational or training opportunities. Each state creates its own CCDF Plan that is approved and administered by the Office of Child Care (OCC) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The CCDF also funds activities intended to improved the overall quality and supply of child care for families, such as by providing Technical Assistance and promoting coordination among early learning and after-school programs.
Child Care and Development Fund Plan (CCDF Plan): A plan developed by a designated CCDF child care agency in each state, territory, or tribe that serve as an application for CCDBG funds. Plans provide a description of, and assurances about, the grantee's child care programs and services available to eligible families. States must promote public involvement in their CCDF Plan's development/review process and submit their plan to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for review and approval every three years.
Child Development: The process by which children acquire skills in the areas of social, emotional, intellectual, speech and language, and physical development, including fine and gross motor skills. Developmental stages describe the expected, sequential order of gaining skills and competencies that children typically acquire.
Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential: A widely earned credential administered by the Council for Professional Recognition.
Child Protection Services (CPS): An official public agency responsible for receiving and investigating reports of suspected child abuse or neglect and for ensuring that prevention and intervention services are provided.
Coaching: A relationship-based process led by an expert with specialized knowledge and adult learning competencies that is designed to build capacity for or enhance specific professional dispositions, skills and behaviors. Coaching is typically offered to teaching and administrative staff, either by in-house or outside coaches, and focuses on goal-setting and achievement.
Coaching-Based Child Care/Community-Based Organization (CBO): A nonprofit organization that provides educational or related services to children and families within their local community. CBOs that provide child care may be associated with faith-based organizations or other non-profit organizations. CBOs are subject to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Competencies: Refers to the range of knowledge and observable skills that early childhood practitioners need to provide effective services to children and families. Competencies, sometimes referred to as "core competencies," are typically linked with states' early learning guidelines and provide a framework for professional development at various career stages.
Comprehensive Services: An array of coordinated services that meet the holistic needs of children and families enrolled in a given program, from health and developmental screenings to family literacy trainings and parent education.
Consultation: A collaborative, problem-solving process between an external consultant with specific expertise and adult learning competencies and an individual or group. Consultation typically facilitates the assessment and resolution of an issue-specific concern, a program-/organizational-, staff-, or child-/family-related issue, or addresses a specific topic.
Continuing Education Unit (CEU): Refers to credits that early childhood professionals earn by demonstrating that they have attended training/Professional Development and can understand and apply what they have learned. CEUs are often regarded as a bridge between In-Service Training and college credit.
Continuity of Care: Refers to the provision of care to children by consistent caregivers in consistent environments over a period of time to ensure stable and nurturing environments. Research shows that maintaining continuity and limiting transitions in a child's first few years of life promotes the type of deep human connections that young children need for optimal early brain development, emotional regulation, and learning.
Cost of Care: The monetary cost of providing early care and education services. Major contributors to the cost of care include staff wages and salaries, benefits, rent, supplies, Professional Development and training. The cost of care can be different from the actual price of care charged by the provider.