The Health, Safety, and Nutrition competency area focuses on how to establish and maintain an environment that ensures children’s safety, health, and nourishment.

Use it! Child Care Basics provides the foundational knowledge and skills that an early learning provider needs in the workforce. As a state-approved trainer, you have the ability to build upon that foundation through the trainings that you offer. As you use the Core Competencies for Early Care and Education Professionals to develop high-quality training, you can expand on how to respond to the needs of children. Think about the categories within health, safety, and nutrition.

• Knowledge of Regulations
• Environmental Safety
• Responding to Health Needs of Children
• Nutrition

How can you expand the knowledge of the workforce within these categories? Add new resources to your toolbox: check out the Alignment Awareness and Education Campaign on www.dcyftraining.com. Providers can use these trainings to expand their knowledge about WAC 110-300 regulations. As a trainer, you can use these trainings to become knowledgeable about the regulations and assist providers with using these as a resource.

Think about the resources that you have in your toolkit regarding health, safety, and nutrition. Read Health, Safety, and Nutrition for the Young Child by Lynn R. Marotz. This book has a wealth of knowledge that aligns with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) standards. You can incorporate hands-on training with the table on page 20 to teach providers proper body mechanics for adults. What else can you add to your resource toolbox?

We would like to introduce you to this quarter’s nominated trainer: Connie Dougherty of Child Care Action Council (CCAC). Connie teaches for the CCAC Olympic Peninsula region.

“Connie is an amazing trainer with a wealth of experience and knowledge behind her. She is the epitome of professional in every way. She also takes the time to really get to know her audience and is skilled in finding ways to draw on that knowledge throughout her classes. Her classes are detailed and meaningful and she strives to meet the needs of those she is training, whether it be staff, providers, or other professionals in the field. Not only does she care and advocate in regards to PD, but she also mentors many trainers along their own journeys.” - Heidi

Thank you, Connie, for all of your hard work in supporting the professional growth of those around you!

Our online training library, formerly known as deltraining.com, has a new name as we continue the transition to a unified agency under the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. All previous training completions and options will still show on the new site – now dcyftraining.com.   

Here’s what’s new about the online training:

• The State Approved Trainer Modules are currently unavailable while DCYF updates them. For new trainers, this will not affect your trainer application and you can move forward in the process without reviewing the modules. When the modules are live, DCYF will send out an update to all trainers letting you know that the modules are available to view (this won’t be mandatory).
• New Alignment Awareness Education Campaign trainings are in the online training catalog. These were developed as part of the DCYF alignment process to prepare providers and licensors in complying with the Foundational Quality Standards for Early Learning Programs (WAC 110-300). These trainings can help build up your toolkit with current information regarding WAC regulations.

The following trainers were approved in October & December 2018. Welcome, and congrats!

What would you be interested in reading each month? Please complete this survey to let us know what you’d like to read about each quarter.