CareLink Training

Registration forms are required WEEK prior to the first session of all trainings.

Payment for classes registered for online is due a minimum of 5 business days after registration and at least one week prior to beginning of said class unless other arrangements have been made and authorized by CareLink Program Director.

What's involved in operating a family childcare as a small business? Gather basic information on: the steps to provider certification, writing contracts, and setting health and safety policies and procedures. This course the first half of a course designed to acquaint you with the basics you'll need to get started in family child care. This is the course required by Cahild care licensing before you open a Family Child Care Home.

Part B is a followup course to Part A. It covers areas of the work not specifically covered in Part A. It looks more closely at Child Development, curriculum development, health and safety issues and taking care of yourself, your family and the families whose children you care for.

Getting Started classes are held on Saturdays and run from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. They provide 6 contact hours of training. The presenter for this class is Michael Sandberg, the CareLink Education Specialist and fee is $5 for QRS members and $10 for non QRS members.

CareLink's CPR & First Aid classes are instructed by Kim Field. The adult, infant and child CPR portion runs select Saturdays from 9:00 am to 11:30 am and costs $35. First Aid runs directly following the CPR section from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm and also costs $35. If you register for both the total cost is $50.

†Please note that these are American Heart Association courses and are good 2 years.

****Please note that registration for online training must be completed 2 weeks prior to beginning date of course****

Also note that each month 2 single night courses will be offered, one QRS related and one not. Details of these courses will be posted when available. They have been added to the schedule as TBA's so providers will have a sense of when and where courses will be held.

Classes that are eligible for CEU's(Continuing Education Units) are indicated by a red asterick. The appropriate number of CEU's are automatically assigned to anyone who attends at least 80% of the training hours listed. Each hour of attendance equals .1 CEU. (For example, a 30 hour course with full attendance will entitle the attendee to receive 3 CEU's.) Any CEU's assigned will appear on the participant's certificate of attendence.

Online Courses are offered using a software called ¡°Moodle.¡± The way the course works is after you have registered, your name is sent to the course administrator, who enters your name and email address as a course participant. She will also create a ¡°key¡± that you will use to grant you access to the course. You will go to the site (all specifics will be provided after you sign up) and register inventing a password for yourself.

The course when opened will give you specific directions about the assignments. The assignments may require you to look for something online, read a resource that has been mailed to you, read a document that is linked to the site (you click on the icon for these), or write. When you write you will either write in the online journal that can be read only by you and the instructor or you will be instructed to email your assignment to the instructor. You will get the assignments back with comments, (journal assignment feedback can be read in your journal). This work can be done at any time you choose. When you have completed all the modules, the instructor will mail you a certificate. The course will last a few weeks longer than the number of modules in the course. So a 18 hour course will have 6 module and will last 6-9 weeks. Specific closing dates will be emailed to you by the instructor. It is best to keep up with the assignments. People who get behind (not completing a module a week), often don¡¯t complete as it gets overwhelming. There may also be times when you can ¡°chat¡± with other participants and the instructor on the site. And there will be questions and comments posted as threads that you may be asked or invited to respond to. The course will require approximately as many hours of work as you will get credit for. So an 18 hour course will actually take approximately 18 hours of work to complete.

Ask yourself if online courses are for you. You must be able to organize yourself and manage your own time. You must be a self starter. You must be somewhat comfortable with your computer. You have to be able to open PDF files, navigate using a browser, attach documents and open attachments, & send emails. You also have to have a reliable internet connection and computer available on a consistent basis.

Curry Ander, M.Ed. returned last March from Sicily, Italy and previously Cornwall, England where she was working in the Navy Child Development System as a large Center Director and Training and Curriculum Specialist. Among many other job titles Curry has held, she is now a Research Associate for the University of Maine's Center for Community Inclusion and Disabilities Studies, and has been a private consultant and trainer, an Accreditation Facilitator, and a preschool classroom teacher. Her favorite role has been and still is as a workshop presenter who can learn from the participants who take the time to attend and search for new ideas.

Terri Bellas has been working with young children and their families for over 25 years. Terri earned her Master¡¯s Degree in Counseling / Psychology at Goddard College in 1998. In additionshe has extensive experience and training in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. Visit her at www.terribellaslcpc.com.

Ruth Burke is currently the Education Specialist for Child Care Connections, the RDC for Cumberland County. Prior to taking that position, she owned and operated a family child care home for nine years in Auburn, Maine. Ruth holds a BS degree in Business Administration and a Master¡¯s Degree in ECE from Wheelock College. She has been a trainer for MRTQ since 2005 and an adjunct instructor for the Early Childhood Department of Andover College/Kaplan University since 2008.

Linda Capone-Newton has worked in early care and education for 25+ years primarily in center based care and has two grandchildren who are refreshing her conflict resolution skills and reading the ¡°Peaceable Stories¡± books with her. She graduated from the Wheelock College master¡¯s program in 2002 and currently reviews Head Start programs and does training.

Katie Crowley is currently the Program Director at The Children’s Centers in Sanford and Kittery. She has worked in the field of Early Childhood Education for many years in various capacities including as a classroom teacher, family advocate and parent educator. Also, Katie has provided training to professionals in the field by working as an adjunct at Southern Maine Community College and as an instructor for CDA York County. Katie also continues her work as an information specialist for the Autism Society of Maine where she provides training and advocacy for the community. Katie has a Bachelor of Arts degree (Psychobiology) from Wheaton College, a Master of Science degree (Community Services) from Michigan State University and is currently enrolled in the Applied Behavior Analysis Certificate program at the University of Southern Maine.

Margaret Cushing has over thirty years experience in child care, including family child care and center based care. She has a Masters degree in Adult Education and Training and is currently working as Training Coordinator for Child Care Connections, Cumberland County¡¯s Resource Development Center.

Virginia Dearani is the founder of The Kalila Oon Center for Building Partnerships, that houses Roots & Fruits Cross-Cultural Preschool Program. Kalila Oon means ¡°Beloved One¡± in Arabic and Gaelic reflecting Virginia¡¯s ancestry and deep connection to diverse global spiritual traditions. Her work includes over ten years of violence prevention and peace education for people of all ages through experiential education, advocacy, and community bridge-building. Through staff development, team-building, and anti-oppression education she has consulted and trained various populations locally, nationally, and internationally.

Kim Field has been a family child care provider in the Buxton area for 19 years. Thirteen years ago she started working with Buxton fire and Rescue. Then, nine years ago, she added teaching CPR and First Aid to her other duties. People who have taken her training have found the combination of family child care experience and CPR ? First Aid expertise extremely helpful!

Staci Fortunato is the Statewide coordinator for Maine Safe Kids. They provide car seat safety trainings all over the state and train the technicians who do the local car seat safety checks.

Clare Fortune-Agan is the Community Educator and Children¡¯s Advocate at Caring Unlimited, York County¡¯s Domestic Violence Program. Clare attended Wells High School and Dartmouth College, where she received her Bachelor¡¯s Degree in Sociology. At Caring Unlimited, Clare provides community education and training to professionals, and also works with children while their mothers attend support groups.

Betty Gensel is a Certified Business Counselor with Women¡¯s Business Center at Coastal Enterprises, Inc. She has worked in child care for many years, and now specializes in child care business development. She offers workshops and individual counseling in the business aspects of child care, including start-up, marketing, financial planning and analysis, etc.

Bill Hager, currently Executive Director of Child Care Services of York County, had administered community based child care programs, working with parents, employers, and communities around balancing work and child care issues for over 30 years. He currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for USA for Child Care, and is the public policy chair of the Maine¡¯s statewide Early Care and Education Community (referred to a A.C.C.E.S.S.) Bill has authored a number of papers and reports on public policy and child care, and is the primary author of ¡°Child Care, Money and Maine: Implication for Federal and State Policy.¡±

Kathie Harper has been involved in the field of early childhood as a teacher, trainer, and parent for a good part of her personal and professional life. Her teaching experience ranges from working with two year-olds in a preschool setting to working with adults at the university level. Recently she has been working as a children's librarian and has developed some early literacy projects. She has always worked as an advocate for quality care and programming for children and the adults who work with them. Her own two children are now college age and Kathie is adjusting to the empty nest. She enjoys gardening and has just started a new career as a writer.

Sue Henri-MacKenzie is a single parent of 3 children with special strengths and needs. She has a BA in Psychology from Merrimack College and 25 years experience working with families and providers in the field of special education and community resources. She is fluent in American Sign Language. She has provided parents with individual support and workshops on various topics since 1988. Sue has been affiliated with Southern Maine Parent Awareness (SMPA) since 1988 and currently fulfills the role of educator/trainer and the title of Executive Coordinator.

Terri Hersom has been in the early childhood business for over 23 years, 16 with York County Head Start. I has been home based visitor, combination teacher and center supervisor, kindergarten teacher, a school age supervisor, day care worker. She has a bachelors degree in self design, early childhood education, from College for Life Long Learning, (UNH) and an Associates degree in early childhood education, from Hesser College. She is a Mother of 2 grown children and grandmother of 2 toddler boys. She lives in New Hampshire and enjoys gardening, reading and knitting in her spare time.

Mary Hunter is a Family Resource & Support staff at Southern Maine Parent Awareness. She provides direct service to families and professonals requesting support around special needs and special education. Mary holds a degree in Early Childhood Education and managed Early Care & Education Centers for over 20 years. Her focus on individualized programming for children and families encouraged inclusion and collaboration in working with diverse populations.

Giovanna Hurley M.Ed. is a developmental psychologist with thirty years experience. She has been practicing as a licensed psychological examiner in Maine for over twenty years specializing in the fields of developmental disabilities, autism and attachment. Giovanna currently contracts with CDS, Woodfords Family Services and the Spurwink Clinic where she does individual and team developmental and psychological evaluations. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Maine Psychological Association and the Maine Association of Infant Mental Health.

Kellie Irving has a Masters degree in Early Childhood Special education from the University of New Hampshire and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Infant Toddler development from the Erikson Institute in Chicago. She is a state certified teacher of children with disabilities ages birth through five and has been working with the CDS system since 2003. Kellie has experience working as a classroom teacher as well as providing individualized instruction for children in their home and classroom settings. She participates in weekly CDS eligibility assessments for Part C services and has been trained in several Developmental assessment tools. Kellie has academic and professional experience working with families of diverse cultural backgrounds, and supporting families in accessing community resources and support services.

Valerie Jones is a social worker who has experience working with children and families in educational, counseling and support settings. She is the Program Coordinator at the Center for Grieving Children located in Portland, Maine. The Center has provided peer support, education, and outreach to grieving children, their families, and the community for over 20 years.

Nicole Kaszubinski is the early childhood occupations instructor at Noble High School within the Sanford Regional Technical Center program. Nicole has been an early childhood specialist and educator for over a decade. She has her B.S. in Community and Human Services with a concentration in child and family studies. She is currently a full-time graduate student at the University of New Hampshire studying Early Childhood Education. She is also the mother of three young children.

Lisa Legere is an Educational Specialist for Carelink RDC. She has a Master's Degree in Physical Therapy and has been working with children and families for 6 years. Some of her work includes preschool teacher, home visitor, family assessment worker, parent education instructor, Happiest Baby on the Block Educator, and Internationally Certified Instructor of infant massage. She loves to be involved in the community and working with individuals involved with children. She lives in Southern Maine with her husband and preschool aged son

Amanda Lonsdale has been involved in training parent leaders and parent educators for over 10 years with a strong focus on parent involvement and empowerment. She has worked in the area of community building with PROP in Portland, family reunification and parent education with Families and Children Together, parent education with Mainley Parents and early childhood parent involvement trainings with Strengthening Maine Families. In addition Amanda has co-authored an online parenting curriculum for parents of teens, conducted research around substance abuse with refugee communities, worked in child care settings and does groups facilitation trainings. Amanda draws much of her experience from being a mother of three beautiful children. Amanda is currently the Coordinator of Strengthening Maine Families, a statewide program through the Children¡¯s Trust.

Cindy Lozier, owner of His and Herbs Evergreen Cleaning; first conducted a workshop on Tick Awareness in 2005. She also offers Green Cleaning 101 workshops. Both are designed to respect the web of life. The Tick Talks focus on education and natural solutions to tick management and bite prevention. The Green Cleaning workshops aim to lessen our dependence on synthetic chemical cleaners, replacing them with natural processes.

Juliane McLellan, MS, has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maine in Orono in Child Development. My Master¡¯s Degree is in Early Childhood Education from Wheelock College in Boston. This specialized degree is from one of the only four schools in the country that offer a Master¡¯s Degree in Early Childhood Education with a focus on Leadership. I taught Preschool and Kindergarten for years and am certified to teach K-8 in the State of Maine. Currently, I am an Early Childhood Consultant, Education Specialist at Midcoast RDC, and an Adjunt Faculty member in The ECE Department at York County Community College.

Priscilla Mike has been in the human service field for twenty five years. She received her MS degree from the Central Connecticut State University's Department of Counseling and Marriage/Family Therapy. She has worked as a child care provider, a caregiver with mentally challenged citizens and others with disabilities. She has also counseled families and children, ages three to eighteen, at a Community Mental Health Facility in Connecticut, volunteered as an Advocate for children at the Fact Program in Wichita, Ks., and worked with the Salvation Army Family Shelter Program in Hartford, Connecticut. Since August, 2002, she has been training for the Maine Roads to Quality system and has taught in several locations around the State.

Kay Mishkin lives on a quiet street in South Portland with her husband, son, and two cats. During the week her home also serves as a family child care business. She currently serves 8 children mostly 7-8 months old; all teething, all part time and all boys! Kay has operated her child care home since 1980, with a few breaks for resting up. It has always been her goal to convince people that family child care can be a professional undertaking as well as being personally rewarding.Over the years, Kay has been an active member ]of the Maine Family Child Care Association and has presented training around the State of Maine, through out New England, and at some National conferences.

Sherrie Noonan owns Shining Star CDC. She has a Master's in Early Childhood Education and taught Kindergarten for 28 years. Her Professional Development has led her to be a trainer with Maine Roads to Quality and looks forward to teaching adults in this field.

Cathy Paglio is the Family Literacy Coordinator at Windham Adult Education. She worked in Headstart as the Center Director/Lead Teacher for 22 years. Cathy also has her own business Workshops on Wheels, she will visit centers offering workshops for providers or Parent Groups.

Philip Printz, Early Childhood Consultant brings his years of caring for and teaching young children as well as working with those who provide for them everyday from a family setting to a classroom. He provides an interactive session, focused on those attending with real life examples and practical suggestions.

Anne Quirion joined Raising Readers over 10 years ago. A native of Maine, Anne's career has been diverse but always focused in healthcare. As Program Manager she brings over 30 years of experience to this successful initiative, drawing from a background in dental hygiene, education, managed care, and lots of time sharing books with her own kids. As a unique collaboration between MaineHealth and EMHS, Raising Readers promotes reading aloud to all children by providing beautiful new books at birth and at each well child visit thru age five. Books are given by trusted healthcare providers who reinforce the value of regular story times, it's affect on early brain development, and future school readiness.

Jessica Regis, trained Playmaker from the Life is Good Playmakers in Boston, brings her experience and energy to children with power plays and cool downs. Jess is the Director of First Steps Child Care for Sanford Community Adult Education. She has been working with children of various ages and their families for 12 years. Jess is a mother of two children ages 16 and 10 and has earned an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education.

Jackie Ryan has worked in various fields with youth and children for 28 years from teaching, counseling, being a job coach, family support worker, afterschool coordinator and director. Jackie now works at First Lutheran in Portland, Maine as a Youth Director and Day Camp Director. She loves to see children and youth having fun and being active which is why she is so passionate about teaching games and activities to child care professionals.

Michael Sandberg is the education specialist for CareLink RDC. He has been in the field for over 35 years. He has been a classroom teacher for both preschoolers and school aged children, taught teachers at the college level, and consulted in classrooms and Family Child Care settings throughout Maine. He is also a registered family therapist and has a part time counseling practice. He also has two almost grown children who strive to keep him aware of how little he really knows!

Debora J. Schofield has been working with children, families and the Early Childhood field for over 20 years. She began as a family childcare provider and went on to be a teacher in Head Start, case management and has been the director of three different child care programs. Her work has included working with families and children with special needs as well. Debora has a BS. In Early Childhood and a Masters in Early Childhood as well. Debora lives in South Portland with her husband. They have five grown children, one grandchild with another on the way this winter. Debora is currently the Education Specialist at Child Care Connections, the Cumberland County Resource Development Center. She is a trainer everyone enjoys!

Darshana Spach is a licensed social worker and has a Master's degree in Early Childhood Special Education. She has conducted research in topics related to developing cultural competence and working with high risk populations such as refugee and immigrant families, families involved with the child welfare system, and families experiencing poverty. She has over ten years of experience working directly with families with children prenatal to five years old, as a home visitor, teacher, and program coordinator of an accredited early education center. She loves her work with early childhood educators and when possible serves as adjunct faculty for SMCC's ECE Department. Darshana works for a private research and evaluation company in South Portland (HZA), and has been a trainer for Maine Humanities Council for about three years.

Kristen Stevens, after working as a kindergarten coordinator and art specialist at the Peabody Afterschool in Cambridge, earned her teaching credential and Masters in Education at the University of San Francisco. She taught third grade in Redwood City, California and eventually returned to the east Coast. As the director of the Tobin Afterschool Program she was responsible for keeping six staff members and sixty- five children happy, engaged and sane in the afternoons.

Jeannie Sullivan has worked in the field of early education for 20 years. She has worked as a Classroom Teacher and Literacy Specialist. She currently holds a position as an Education Specialist at Mid-Coast RDC and is also an Education Consultant specializing in the area of literacy.

Georgeann Tudisco M.Ed. is a graduate of Utah State University and the University of New Hampshire where she received her Masters in reading while doing research on the use of puppetry to increase comprehension is the owner/director of The Learning Place Day School. She has used puppets in her classroom for over twenty five years. Join her in the joys of puppetry!

Alden Turner serves as the Senior Area Manager for SBA¡¯s Portland office and administers its loan guarantee programs, Government Contracting business certification process and its small business export development programs in five counties in Southern and Western Maine. He serves as the District International Trade Officer (export programs) and also serves as the state¡¯s Disaster Program liaison between the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and SBA¡¯s Office of Disaster Assistance in Atlanta, GA. Turner has over 30 years in public service in New England and his background covers many facets of economic and community development including small business lending, and direct loan and grant development and administration in agriculture, housing, non-profit and municipal sector development.

Barbara Turner worked for 20 years teaching preschoolers at the University of Maine at Orono Children's Center before persuing her Masters Degree in Early Childhood. For the last several years she has been doing training around the state.

Betsy Van Betuw, LCSW, has a Master's in Social Work and has worked with children and families for the past 25 years. She is a school social worker in an elementary school. She also works at the Kids First Center presenting programs for parents who are going through separation and divorce. These programs focus on how to help children through this process and helping parents to better understand what children are feeling. She also facilitates divorce support groups for children as well. She is also a visit supervisor at an agency in Westbrook. She has worked a lot with parents who are in conflict.

Cheryl Walker has been in the field of early childhood education for nearly 30 years. She has worked as a teacher of toddlers and preschoolers in family child care and center based settings. She was the education manager for a large Head Start program in Massachusetts for 15 years. She continues to teach at the community college level and supervise student teachers. She is currently an early childhood education consultant and trainer and lives in Wells, ME.

Margaret Watkinson has owned and taught children with her husband in Topsham in their family child care home since 1989. In 1996 they became licensed as a small facility and have had a working and social relationship with parents with all sorts of parenting styles and backgrounds. Meeting the needs of children & understanding families while balancing the demands of NAEYC best practice and State regulations can keep us all in this field! Margaret earned her MS in Special Education from USM in 2001, and served as a director and developmental therapist for the Brunswick CDS preschool for young children identified with special needs.

Anne Williams, BSN, MEd. has practiced as an Infant Mental Health Specialist since 1986 when she completed her Masters in Education at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and internship in Infant Mental Health at the Infant Parent Institute. She teaches toddlers at Peopleplace, a cooperative preschool and infant mental health theory and practice to a variety of adult populations. Anne has consulted in a variety of infant toddler settings, including Early Head Start. Anne has taught the Introduction to IMH course over 30 times.

Heidi Williams, USDA Food Program/Child Care Benefit Network Coordinator, has been employed at CareLink Resource Development Center for 5 years. She is the proud mother of 3 ?a 15 year old son and 2 beagles named Cletis & Romeo.

Biddeford St. Louis CDC	2/11/12	Getting Started in Family Child Care Part A
Biddeford St. Louis CDC	3/24/12	Getting Started in Family Child Care Part B

Location	Course Title	Course Dates	Course Times	Contact Hours	Presenters	Cost
Biddeford St. Louis CDC	QRS: Getting the Most Out of Staff	2/2/12	6:00pm to 8:30pm	2.5	Michael Sandberg	$10
In order to be a quality program, we really need staff that are committed to giving the best service to children and families.In this sharing session we will compare ways to keep staff motivated and involved. Included will be discussions of methods for giving feedback and motivating staff to make necessary changes.
Sanford Sanford YMCA	Project Joy	2/7/12	6:00pm to 8:30pm	2.5	Jessica Regis	$5
Too often we look at play as a break from learning when in fact it is during play that some of the most valuable learning occurs. Join "Life is good" trained Playmaker, Jess as she demonstrates techniques to connect with and guide children in play and learning through the use of exuberant physical play, storytelling, yoga, and movement. Participants will learn innovative games and activities that can be easily integrated into playgroup settings with preschool-age children. Please dress comfortable.
Biddeford St. Louis CDC	Block Play	2/13/12	6:00pm to 8:30pm	2.5	Margaret Cushing	$10
These words can strike either fear or enthusiasm in the hearts of child care providers. Fear because many behavioral problems can surface in the block play area. Enthusiasm, because the block area can be the source of tremendous learning. Come learn how to manage the area and how to facilitate learning in math, science, literacy, social/emotional and other developmental areas in a play environment.
Waterboro Forever Young	Helping Children to Build Friendships	3/6/12	6:00pm to 8:30pm	2.5	Margaret Cushing	$10
Being a friend requires skills that children must learn. As an early care and education professional, we need the skills to help the children in our care learn how to be a friend. Join us as we re-discover the magic of early friendship and how we can best create a developmentally appropriate environment to support these emerging social skills.

CareLink RDC Training