Accreditation and Professional Development

In order to provide quality care, child care providers are encouraged to maintain and continue their education and professional development through a variety of early childhood development trainings and conferences.  Besides meeting New York State regulations, licensed registered child care providers are required to attend 30 hours of training in nine topic areas within each licensing period of two years.  Legally Exempt providers are encouraged (but not mandated) to attend 10 hours of training to increase their knowledge and understanding of children and families.  The Child Care Council of the Finger Lakes will assist child care centers and individuals with any professional development trainings and assist providers seeking Child Development Associate (CDA) certification and accreditation.

The Child Care Council of the Finger Lakes ensures that our research and professional trainings are responsive to the provider’s needs and fully covers the nine topic areas in a variety of ways.  We periodically invite guest speakers to build on the provider’s professional expertise by bringing a wealth of new early childhood information to all child care providers.

The Child Care Council of the Finger Lakes provides professional development and training in following ways.

• Videoconferences – these are sponsored by the State of New York (SUNY) and are held monthly in our offices according to a specific schedule. SUNY Videoconferences pertain to specific child care and early childhood issues and meet SUNY Early Childhood Development criteria.


• Trainings – professional development trainings are also held at the Child Care Council of the Finger Lakes on other topics not covered through Videoconferences and involve such topics as record keeping, health related subjects, nutrition, and topics that assist the child care provider with their professional development.  We often invite guest speakers to address current child care issues of interest. 


• Individualized trainings – the Child Care Council of the Finger Lakes also provides one-on-one individual training to all licensed registered child care providers in their home and also one-on-one assistance to any Legally Exempt provider requesting such assistance.

For those topics not covered but needed to procure accreditation or certification,
the Child Care Council will refer the day care provider to the appropriate resource. 

EIP Scholarship/Financial Assistance

EIP (Educational Incentive Program) Scholarship/Financial Assistance is made available through SUNY (State of New York Educational System) to licensed registered child care providers in need of fiscal assistance to attend professional development training programs.  EIP applications may be found on the SUNY (www.eip@tsg.suny.edu).  All EIP requests and applications must be received by the Child Care Council before trainings occur.  Providers that want to attend a specific training using EIP funds are asked to submit a copy of their EIP application with their registration form.  We will need a Request for Release of Information form completed by you if you need us to track your application status.  This allows our Education Coordinator to track the document through SUNY.  The child care provider is responsible for making and maintaining contact with SUNY during the application process.  If you do not receive notification from SUNY within four (4) weeks from submission, please contact us at the Child Care Council and we will assist you. 

Registration Procedures:

• Pre-registration is required for all training sessions.


• Registration forms must be received by the Child Care Council with payment prior to the class session or training date.


• Providers interested in one-on-one technical assistance and training are asked to contact our Education Coordinator in order to schedule a time and date for a personal visit. 


• Providers are eligible for EIP financial assistance.  Please contact our Education Coordinator for more information.

• The Child Care Council of the Finger Lakes has the right to cancel classes or trainings due to low enrollment (less than 3 individuals), inclement weather or the trainer has an emergency situation.  You will be notified and informed of the rescheduled training session.


• The Child Care Council of the Finger Lakes does not provide refunds or
  credit vouchers for “no-show” at trainings unless there are extenuating circumstances. Should the provider need to cancel for extenuating reasons, the Council will refund the providers cost or provide a credit voucher with an expiration date of no less than six months from the date issued to the provider but only if the provider cancels at least three (3) business days
  prior to the class.