Next month, Dallas County childcare providers will be able to receive necessary training without having to travel out of town.

Hosted by the Dallas County Cooperative Extension System, the Regional Day Care Provider Training is open to day care providers, parents, teachers, grandparents, Head Start, and Kids and Kin participants.

“The purpose is to train childcare providers in this area,” said Callie Nelson, Dallas County Extension Coordinator. “They have to have so many continuing education units (CEU’s) each year, so Extension offers training in their areas of need.”

The program will include research-based information on child development – helping children cope with stress, child nutrition – addressing obesity and diabetes, daycare for children as a business, and food safety. Those who attend the entire training will receive four CEU’s.

Nelson said that because Dallas County has such a high incidence of childhood obesity and diabetes, childcare providers need to begin educating children about health and nutrition at an early age.

Facilitators for the training will be Regional Extension Agents (REA’s) Valerie Conner, Sharon Gilbert, Janice Hall, Sallie Lide-Hooker and Christine Thomas, a Mentor for the Montgomery and Dallas County Family Child Care Partnership.

“I think this will be a really good training,” Nelson said. “This is a collaborative effort by all REA’s and is open to the public.”

Immediately following the childcare training, the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) will provide training on Emergency Preparedness and Mass Immunizations.

“This is a statewide, outreach program to inform the public of what can be done in the event of a mass outbreak of a disease,” said Diana Fendley.

Fendley, the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the ADPH’s Area Seven, said that studies have shown that the public does not react positively to immunization sites during times of disease outbreaks.

“We just want to seek input from the public on what can be done, because we’re trying to build a trust relationship with the public,” she said.

Participants from the childcare provider training who also attend the EPMI will receive one additional CEU from the Alabama Family Guidance Center.

The childcare training is scheduled for Saturday, June 25 from 9 a.m. to 1p.m. at Northside Baptist Church. The EPMI training is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Registration for the childcare training is required. Registration forms are available at the Dallas County Extension Office. The $10 registration fee, along with the completed registration forms are due no later than June 15, and may be returned to the Extension office, or mailed to P.O. Box 40, Selma, Alabama 36701. Checks should be made payable to the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

For more information, please contact the Dallas County Cooperative Extension at (334) 875-3200.