The ability of the center director to function skillfully as both a leader and manager is central to the quality of care the children receive, the comfort that parents feel while they are at work, and the overall success of the child care center operation.

While professional development systems for child care teachers have grown in recent years, there has remained a gap in management and leadership training opportunities for center administrators.

USA Child Care Management Leadership Institutes are designed to strengthen and improve the leadership and management skills of child care administrators and directors. This training supports the critical role of the center director, thereby contributing to the overall stability of program staff, which is a high predictor of child care program quality.

Training Model
The USA Child Care training model provides high quality, reality based training, delivered by experienced faculty members who have themselves directed child care programs.

Using a Facilitated Learning Community model, the Institute trainings:

• Honor the experience and knowledge of the child care professional;
  
• Are highly interactive –balancing theory and practice;
  
• Are developed with participant input;
  
• Strengthen mutually supportive connections within the provider community;
  
• Motivate participants to recommit to serving children and families; and
  
• Promote leadership in advocating for and providing child care services for all children.

• Content
  Participants are polled in advance to learn what management skills they’d like to improve and topics they’d like to learn more about.
  
  
• Participation
  Rather than lecture about management skills, trainers lead discussions where the knowledge of all participants is shared.
  
  
• Role-playing
  Participants practice skills and strategies they’ve learned in role-playing scenarios and receive helpful feedback and encouragement from the group.
  
  
• Flexibility
  Agendas are developed to meet the unique needs of each community.

Training Topics
The following training sections are offered as part of the Management Leadership Institutes:

Section One: The Multi-Faceted Role of the Child Care Administrator: The Heart and Soul of Child Care Management and Strategic Planning
Focuses on the recognition that the heart and soul of child care leadership and administration is the commitment to providing optimal services for children and families. The program administrator leads the way by integrating both the caring and the strategic thinking necessary to successfully manage complex program operations and goals.
Sample Topics include: Aspects of Leadership; Strategic Thinking; the Importance of Mission and Vision; and Making the Most of Change.

Section Two: Fiscal Management: Dollars and Decisions for Quality Care
Focuses on the importance of sound fiscal management of program operations, resource development and the policy decisions that must be made in order to ensure that children and families have access to high quality, affordable child care services.
Sample Topics include: Essential Budget Elements; Assessing Program and Community Needs; Resource and Fund Development; and Grant Writing

Section Three: Creating and Sustaining a High Quality Child Care Workforce
Focuses on the administrator’s role in the development and sustainability of an effective team of child care staff, working together to implement the center mission and vision.
Sample Topics include: Characteristics of the Successful Teacher; Recruitment, Interviewing and Selecting Staff; Job Descriptions as an Effective Management Tool; Communication Styles; and Advocacy and Personal and Professional Growth.

Head and Heart
The Management Leadership Institutes have been a resounding success, and much of it is attributable to a training approach that balances skill and will. The "Head and Heart" model is designed to leave participants both emotionally renewed and intellectually enriched.

An Institute trainer describes the head and heart approach as the critical piece that distinguishes the Institute from other training programs. Most individuals get into child care because of their heart, but because resources are scarce and challenges are great, can only sustain if they’re strong in the head.

The words of participants say it best of all:

"This session inspired me to evaluate where I am, who I am, and how I do the work and carry the vision for children and families."

"The situations presented were real issues that I deal with."

"The sessions have validated, inspired, and challenged me."

"I have learned that both heart and vision are needed to be a true leader."

For more information on the USA Child Care Management Leadership Institutes, call (703) 709-0800 or e-mail usacc@usachildcare.org.