BOCA minutes - member meeting March 24, 2025 at 1:00 PM

Location of Meeting:
Virtual (GoToMeeting)
https://transcripts.gotomeeting.com/#/s/6dfc878489c60bff78b0ba8cf7c1b96156a3443058b406b0f2521a56a55da945

In Attendance:
Board:
Rebecca Compton Dr. Day Care
Haley Paige Coggeshall Club/Haven Middletown
Amy Vogel Dr. Day Care

Members:
Jessica Vargas The Children’s Workshop
Raya Perry My Learning Tree
Missy Davis MLK
Denise Greene West End Community
Becky Acorn Academy

Members arriving after 1:08 were not recorded

Guests:
Kristy Whitcomb, Director, Center for Early Learning Professionals
Sharon Terreault, TA Manager, Center for Early Learning Professionals
Christina Silvi, PD Manager, Center for Early Learning Professionals

Agenda:

Welcome and introductions
Guest speaker: Kristy Whitcomb, Director, Center for Early Learning Professionals
Introduction and Overview
Approved PD
External Professional Development and Training
Review of process to seek pre-approval and receive an approval code (has not changed)
Overview of External Training Verification Submission (new as of Fall 2024)
Technical Assistance and How to request
Legislative updates
Seeking BOCA board member nominations
Next Meeting: April 28, 2025
Member topics of discussion

Meeting Notes:

Meeting began at 1:05
Members introduced themselves
Kristy opened with info about CELP presentation
- Goal is to have a strong system of support
- 414 child care centers, 398 Family Child Care providers
- 299 identify as Spanish
- 95 English only
Christina Silvi went over PD opportunities available
- Some PD is offered at Warwick site, but most is online
- Have been expanding self-paced course catalog (on all topics)
- NEW: participants need to go through the RISES training verification process
- Upload certificate, put in hours, dates, etc. for review to apply hours to your RISES account
- Used to have “blanket approval” from national providers – are now listed under External Organizations on the website
- Still need to submit a certificate for these
Kristy – CELP pushes PD data nightly
- Higher Ed / diplomas, credit-bearing courses do not go into CELP. Those are uploaded to RISES account
- If you have questions, reach out
Sharon – Technical Assistance (specialized support)
- When you’re assigned a TA, it’s like a coach
- Reviewed tiers of Program Improvement and Technical Assistance