Child care providers undergo required trainings

Twenty child care providers from Saipan and Tinian recently participated in a training on a series of 21 parent-completed questionnaires designed to screen the developmental performance of children between the ages of one month to 5 ½ years.

The training, held on Oct. 29, 2022, was held at the Evergreen Learning Training Center in Chalan Kanoa and was facilitated by Grace Mallari, Evergreen Learning Training and Development specialist, together with Erlaine Evangelista, Evergreen Learning coach. 

The training was officially called “Introduction to Ages and Stages Questionnaires 3rd Edition,” which is a comprehensive, reliable screening tool that measures development in five domains: communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal-social.

During this five-hour training, participants who had not been previously trained on the ASQ-3 learned the purpose and benefits of ASQ-3 as a screening tool. Participants also engaged in hands-on exercises on how to administer, interpret, and communicate screening results. 

This training is made possible through funding from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Care, and CNMI Child Care and Development Fund Program under the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs.

On Oct. 22, a total of 20 participants from different child care centers completed a series of trainings, consisting of four Brain Builders modules, which included brain basics, cognitive development and the stages of growth, executive functions, and social-emotional development. 

Module 1s included the brain parts, their functions, and the stages of brain growth and development. The phrase “executive function” refers to a set of skills. These skills underlie the capacity to plan ahead and meet goals. They are skills that display self-control, follow multiple-step directions even when interrupted, and stay focused despite distractions. Social development deals with how children establish friendships and build relationships, handle conflicts with peers, establish conflict resolutions to solve social challenges, and interact with others. Lastly, emotional development is the ability/capacity to manage and/or regulate emotions and strong feelings, which often lead to building the ability to manage successful interactions and relationships with others. 

These training modules were facilitated by Melissa Palacios, Science of Early Learning coordinator. She was assisted by Rayanna Fitial, Science of Early Learning administrative assistant, both from Evergreen Learning. The training was conducted via Zoom. 

Previously, on Oct. 8, 2022, Saipan-based child care centers participated in two-hour trainings on required health and safety training topics that included Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, among other subjects, at the Evergreen Learning Training Center in Chalan Kanoa.

The training, conducted by Maricar I. Pena, Evergreen Learning’s quality care specialist, had a total of 12 participants in the morning session and 14 participants in the afternoon session.

It taught participants about preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, using safe sleep practices, and preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome, abusive head trauma, and child maltreatment.

During the morning session, participants learned factors that have been linked to sudden infant death and the ways to reduce the risk, and they explored practices that create a safe sleep environment for babies. In the afternoon session, participants learned the dangers of shaking babies and causing abusive head trauma. They also learned to identify strategies for coping with and calming a crying baby. (Saipan Tribune)