Creating Better School-Age Care Jobs

Download or read book Creating Better School-Age Care Jobs written by Center for the Child Care Workforce and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Built on the premise that good school-age care jobs are the cornerstone of high-quality services for school-age youth and their families, this guide presents model work standards for school-age care providers. The guide begins with a description of the strengths and challenges of the school-age care profession. The model work standards are designed to be used to assist in articulating what school-age care providers need to have a high-quality work environment, to evaluate how a particular program measures up to providing a high-quality workplace, to assist in setting goals to improve job conditions and measure effectiveness, and to provide information for enlisting the wider community in advocating for the resources youth programs need to succeed. The model work standards are then presented, organized in 13 categories: (1) wages; (2) benefits; (3) job descriptions and evaluations; (4) hiring and promotions; (5) termination, suspension, severance, and grievance procedures; (6) program assignments, work hours, and planning time; (7) communication, team building, and staff meetings; (8) decision making and problem solving; (9) professional development; (10) professional support; (11) diversity; (12) health and safety; and (13) physical setting. Some standards indicate two possible levels of quality, a high-quality level and a striving level. Standards essential to a good adult work environment are designated. The guide's appendices include information for school-age program staff, directors, parents, boards of directors, and schools regarding the use of the model work standards; an explanation of the essential model work standards; procedures for calculating a self-sufficiency wage depending on the community; measures of program quality; and an action plan worksheet. (KB)