Opportunities for Free Staff Training

Staff training is important, and not just because it is required in order to maintain licensure. Training is also key to offering high quality services and maintaining a successful child care operation.

There are many places where child care professionals can buy quality training programs. But there are also some excellent training opportunities that are available for free, like those below. Also, all of the programs below have been approved for continuing education credit by the North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education.

Your first stop for free programs should be ProSolutions Training, which offers twenty courses, each of which requires 1-2 hours to complete.

In addition, some of the best and most reasonably priced training programs are available from the Martin-Pitt Partnership for Children. There are also some great tip sheets for child care professionals available from Child Care Resources, Inc.

Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment is a 2-hour online training offered by Prevent Child Abuse - North Carolina. Beginning in September 2016, this training is required for all child care center staff and for all operators of family child care homes (Temporary Rules, 10A North Carolina Administrative Code 09 .0604-.1731). Each person must complete the training within two months of beginning work, and then every three years afterward.
Stewards of Children is a 2-hour training in child sexual abuse recognition, response, and prevention. It is provided at child care centers and other locations by the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, and is an excellent complement to Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment. More information about Stewards of Children is available in the video below, and from ECU's TEDI BEAR Children's Advocacy Center at 252-744-8334.

The North Carolina Child Care Immunization Course is a half-hour online training offered by the Immunization Branch of the Women's and Children's Health Section of the North Carolina Division of Public Health.
Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns is a 1-hour online training from the federal Centers for Disease Control. As described in the video below, the course is designed to help child care professionals identify kids with possible developmental delays, and to help professionals talk with parents about them.