Commitment to Power to the Profession and NAEYC’s Unifying Framework

Child Care Aware of Minnesota believes that an effective, diverse, well-prepared, and well-compensated early childhood education field is the driving force behind high-quality early care and education experiences for children and families. Our organization helped inform Power to the Profession (P2P), a national collaboration that defined the early childhood education profession. With the support and input from our organization as well as several other national organizations & stakeholders in Early Childhood Education, P2P established the Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession in 2020. The framework has several recommendations for educators, employers, owners, professional preparation programs, states, and the federal government with the goal of advancing a unified, diverse, equitable, and effective early childhood education profession.

Following the lead of Child Care Aware of America, staff and stakeholders in the Child Care Aware of Minnesota system gathered together to form a strategic plan group and sub groups, tasked with identifying the current and future ways that P2P is embedded in our work.

Child Care Aware of Minnesota shares the values and principles of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct position statement and supplements, which outline each of our ethical responsibilities to children, families, co-workers, employers, community, and society.

We believe that we must hold ourselves and each other accountable to the responsibilities outlined in the Unifying Framework and the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct. As we do, it is imperative that we also measure the efficacy of our work and evaluate our practices on an ongoing basis.

Everyone that provides care to a child, whether in a family child care setting, child care center, family friend and neighbor care, or legally unlicensed care, is a part of this framework because of their responsibility to educate and provide positive guidance to young children. They play a crucial role in the growth and development of every child in their care.

Members of the early childhood education field will be accountable for the following responsibilities:

1. Planning and consistently implementing intentional, developmentally appropriate learning experiences that promote the social and emotional, physical, and cognitive development, health, and learning of each child served

2. Establishing and maintaining a safe, caring, inclusive, and healthy learning environment

3. Consistently observing, documenting, and assessing children’s learning and development using guidelines established by the profession

4. Developing ongoing reciprocal, culturally-responsive relationships with families and communities

5. Actively advocating for the needs of children and their families while holding positive expectations of them
6. Actively advancing and advocating for an equitable, diverse, and effective early childhood education profession that is well-compensated
7. Engaging in reflective practice, curiosity, and continuous ongoing learning