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Education and Training Requirements Vary by Provider Type and Rating Level

• Caregivers working for state-licensed early care and education (ECE) providers need minimal formal education levels to enter the workforce, but they also must complete annual in-service training.
• Minimum required annual training hours are higher for caregivers working for center-based providers than for family child care home providers.
• Caregivers working for providers participating in the Tennessee Star-Quality Child Care Program, Tennessee's quality rating and improvement system, must complete more annual training hours, depending on the provider's star rating.

Various Professional Development Opportunities Exist, but Results Are as Yet Unproven

• Ongoing training can help ensure that all caregivers are trained in core ECE skills regardless of formal education. Yet the research evidence is mixed concerning the benefits of different types of professional development (PD) activities available in Shelby County.
• The predominant form of PD is through noncredit workshops, and the Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance and the Shelby County Child Care Resource and Referral agency are major providers of these activities at no cost to caregivers. However, there is currently little research evidence suggesting that this type of PD is associated with improved classroom quality or children's outcomes.
• Coaching, mentoring, and formal peer support are not as widely available in Shelby County as workshops, though caregivers expressed interest in them. Individualized coaching is associated with improved classroom quality, and suggestive evidence exists in support of formal peer support.
• Data constraints limit the ability to fully examine the PD of the ECE workforce.