For the purposes of the Guide, the terms "early childhood" and "early education and care" will be used interchangeably to indicate the early years of life from birth through age five, as well as the programs serving families and children in this age range. Only in reference to school-age child care is this range expanded to include children through age twelve (during out-of-school time). This Guide promotes a comprehensive perspective of services and supports for young children and their families that include health care, education and care, mental health, family support, and parent education.

The intent of this Guide is to provide an overview of early childhood career opportunities in Wisconsin, a summary of key programs and resources, definitions of common terms, and a framework for individualized professional development planning. It is designed to assist readers in navigating the maze of possible careers, career requirements, and career paths in early childhood. It is our hope that a sense of common career and professionalism will continue to develop among the broad base of early childhood personnel in Wisconsin.

History of the Career Guide
The Career Guide was originally written and published in 2001. Since that time, Wisconsin has led a national trend to focus on early childhood as a means to support school, work, and life readiness for all of its citizens. The state continues to support quality initiatives for programs for young children and their families and has renewed emphasis on community based preschool programs for four year olds, quality child care, and articulated and coordinated systems of professional development. The state has redesigned the approach to teacher licensing and on-going professional development. This revised version of the Career Guide maintains the descriptions of the program delivery systems and opportunities for careers working with young children and their families as well as updates new initiatives and movement toward the vision of a coordinated system of professional development.

Traditional models of early childhood have been separated by method of service delivery, funding sources, and population to be served. These divisions have slowly blurred as groups who traditionally communicated infrequently have begun working together to blend and collaborate in the delivery of early childhood services. The development and revision of this comprehensive Career Guide (including child care, public education, Head Start, health, mental health, parent education, family support, family literacy, and early intervention) is an indication of the on-going significant progress which has been made in unifying Wisconsin's early childhood community.

Beginning in 1990, the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA) began facilitated discussions regarding professional development in the child care community. In 1993 a grant was developed through a partnership between WECA and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), representing the first formal opportunity for Wisconsin child care and public education to work together. The result was a series of three Early Childhood Care and Education Summits. At these meetings, a set of goals and principles was generated, which lead to the creation of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners.

Other efforts related to professional development were also taking place simultaneously. The Wisconsin Professional Development Initiative was created to advance professional recognition for the child care workforce. In 1993 Wisconsin was awarded a grant to develop the Registry, the Wisconsin Professional Credential for Child Care Administrators and mentoring within the child care field. The Wisconsin Departments of Workforce Development (DWD), Public Instruction (DPI), and Health and Family Services (DHFS) worked closely together, sharing information to fill funding gaps and to develop recommendations to strengthen early childhood.

In 1997 the first "Intersecting Interests" forum brought additional people together to create a broader sense of professionalism within the Wisconsin early childhood community. "Intersecting Interests" higher education articulation forums are held annually to continue the dialogue and celebrate progress in articulation and systems building.

A number of statewide efforts designed to support professional development and systems change have come together over recent years. There is continued work to promote articulation between the Wisconsin Technical College System and the University of Wisconsin System. The statewide "2 + 2 Initiative" paved the way for the two systems to sign a joint agreement in April 2000 targeting system articulation agreements in early childhood as a priority. The Wisconsin Technical College System recently completed their Associate Degree in Early Childhood which is consistently taught in all the local campuses. Higher education mini grants from the DPI State Improvement Grant, UW System, UW Waisman Center, and T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood(r) Wisconsin are creating models of collaboration across systems. T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood(r) Wisconsin continues to support the development of early childhood professionals through educational scholarship opportunities. Wisconsin is implementing legislation (PI34) which re-designed public school teacher licensure requirements, creating a competency-based system that utilizes mentors and professional development plans to support ongoing professional development. Teacher training institutions are aligning their courses with the new PI34 standards describing knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

Other recent changes have included a closer alignment between special education and general education, and a renewed emphasis on providing services in inclusive settings. Representatives from Early Intervention: Birth to 3, Head Start, and special education for 3 through 5-year-olds have begun joining the conversations and contributing resources for building collaborations and bridging systems. In order to provide the full-day, full-year Head Start services needed by an increasing number of working families under Wisconsin's Welfare to Work Program (W-2), a variety of collaborative Head Start/child care program designs have also been developed.

Wisconsin has continued its educational leadership by supporting communities in initiating 4 year old kindergarten (4K) programs that are developed in partnership with child care and Head Start. The state has received funding from national foundations, the Trust for Early Education and the Joyce Foundation, to increase access to 4K programs and to support community efforts that bring all early childhood programs to the table to participate in comprehensive planning initiatives. The requirement that staff in these programs meet DPI licensing requirements has increased the interest in access to ongoing professional development opportunities.

Working through the DHFS Maternal and Child Health Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) grant, the state also committed to create an early childhood comprehensive system that bridges health, education and care, mental health, family support, and parent education. Through this initiative and the Strengthening Families work, we have a stronger commitment to supporting professionals in having basic knowledge and resources in all areas as well as demonstrated competencies specific to their job.

All of these changes are guided by the Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners Action Plan and the Early Childhood Comprehensive System Unified Plan both of which describe in detail the vision for professional development in Wisconsin. Given the energy and attention to early childhood through these and other initiatives, the need for a guide to early childhood careers in Wisconsin is obvious. This revision will provide both a road map for those interested in entering the profession and a resource for those currently trying to navigate within the system. As previously referenced, support is building in Wisconsin for the vision of a common profession and career matrix for early childhood professionals. While this Guide represents the current status of the early childhood field in Wisconsin, it is also intended to move us closer to our vision of a unified early childhood career system.