CT Charts-A-Course Early Childhood Professional Registry Reaches 10,000 Participants and Receives National Approval

Connecticut was one of six states to receive an award at the 2011 National Registry Alliance Conference last week in Lake Geneva, WI. 

Over 95 individuals gathered at the annual conference to discuss the development and implementation of state early childhood workforce registries, which are quickly becoming a national trend and have been included in the guidelines for state child care plans and the early childhood Race to the Top applications. Currently, 24 states have fully-operational registries that gather data on the qualifications of individuals working in all sectors of the early childhood field. 

Connecticut’s Registry, which began in 2007, is housed at CT Charts-A-Course, the state’s professional development and program improvement system. In September, the registry reached 10,000 participants. This past spring, it went through the National Registry Alliance Program Eligibly Review process, which involved a peer review process that assessed the CT Registry to determine whether it met national standards for operation and the collection and reporting of workforce data. 

“This is a wonderful achievement for us,” said Darlene Ragozzine, Executive Director of CCAC. “Our Registry can now participate in national efforts by the Alliance to report workforce data collected in a standardized manner by states. There is no question that workforce issues are at the center of the discussion of high quality early childhood programs and registries can support states in reporting about their workforce.”

The five other states to receive approval were:  New Jersey, Missouri, Montana, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Connecticut’s Registry is funded by the Department of Social Services, which also funds CT Charts-A-Course.  

CT Charts-A-Course is located in Hamden.