Top Ten

Forty quality initiatives include indicators related to professional development (PD). These include features that licensed center-based programs are required to complete in order to achieve points or levels within their initiative. The most common features of professional development indicators are training (95%), closely followed by a professional development plan (68%). Content of professional development trainings varies greatly by initiative. A little over a  third of quality initiatives (39%) include an introduction the ERS tools in PD training. Just under a third of quality initiatives include a training on health and safety practices (34%) and an orientation to the initiative (32%). Some also incorporate business practices (29%), child development information (29%), and information on special needs into trainings (27%). Over half of quality initiatives (56%) used training content other than what was listed. This includes content such as: state-specific director courses, other professional growth and development activities, and training on state-specific Early Learning Guidelines.