You are the second most important influence in a child’s life after their family. The Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County is here to help you be successful.
Instructions, Process and Forms for Election of Private Child Care Provider Representative
Thank you for your interest in serving on the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County (ELCHC) Board of Directors. The ELCHC is a single-county Coalition incorporated as a not-for-profit under Florida State Law and is qualified as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501c3 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The purpose of the ELCHC is to ensure cohesiveness, efficiency and an integrated delivery of early childhood care and education services to the children and families of Hillsborough County ages birth through 12.
In its Articles of Incorporation, all of the authority of the Coalition, its governance and management, is vested in the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors is a volunteer board, composed of fifteen to twenty-four Directors. Some Directors are mandated by legislation, some are appointed by the Governor, and others are nominated or elected. ELCHC will have two vacant seats open on its Board of Directors:
A representative of private for profit child care providers (including family child care home providers)
A representative of faith-based child care providers
These seats are considered to be a ‘Designated Director’ and per the ELCHC governing Bylaws, the representative that occupies the seat must be elected by a vote of their constituents. The term of office for each Director seat is four years.
ELCHC Board of Directors currently has an average of 6 regularly scheduled meetings per year. Special meetings may be scheduled on an ‘as needed’ basis. As a working Board, members are expected to serve on at least one other Board Committee, help in the promotion and outreach of the ELCHC mission and vision, and participate in Coalition events and activities. A detailed outline of Board member responsibilities is given to each member during an Orientation session delivered to each Board Member at the start of their term of service.
Election Process
Nominations
Providers interested in serving on the ELCHC Board of Directors in the capacity of a representative of a private for profit child care provider (including family child care home providers) and faith-based child care provider must currently be a Voluntary Prekindergarten Program provider or School Readiness provider in good standing with the Coalition. **Please note, you must be a private for profit childcare provider to be eligible for the private for profit seat. You must be a faith-based childcare provider to be eligible for the faith-based seat.
Persons may nominate themselves or be nominated by someone else. However, all nominations must be made on a nomination e-form and be submitted via the ELCHC website. In order to be included in the final slate of candidates, the nominee must accept the nomination.
All nomination forms must be received electronically by the date and time indicated in the Election Process Timeline (see here). The ELCHC will not be responsible for nominations not received due to the fault of email transmissions.
Voting
The new Director will be elected from the slate of candidates developed from those nominated. Voting will be handled electronically only. Voting will begin on November 14th, 2023 at 3pm.
Election will be by plurality vote not by majority vote. Meaning, the candidate with the highest vote total will be elected to the Board seat. The Election procedure will be administered by ELCHC staff and certified by the Board Secretary. The election results will be ratified by the Board and announced by the Chair at the ELCHC Board of Director’s regular scheduled meeting on February 19, 2024 at 3:00 pm (The meeting is open to anyone who wishes to attend). The election results are not considered official until ratified by the Board.
In the rare case of a tie, ELCHC will conduct a ‘run-off’ vote for that particular seat and amend the Election Process Timeline as needed. Any changes to this process will be noted on the main provider page of the Coalition web site at http://www.elchc.org/providers.
Questions?
Please direct all questions to Nancy Will at nwill@elchc.org.
REGISTRATION
All registrations for IECP learning events and workshops are completed online. Registrations are received on a first-come, first-served basis and seating Is limited. An account to our online platform is required for all learning event registrations regardless of cost or type of payment used.
PAYMENT
Payment, if required, can be made online at the time of registration. Cash or money order can be accepted on location 48 hours prior to the start of a learning event.
REGISTRATION CANCELLATION POLICY
Registrants have up to 48 hours before a scheduled learning event to cancel. A refund will be made to the online account on file. Cash or money order payments will be issued a credit through the online platform If an event is cancelled 48 hours before, or if we cancel an event due to low enrollment or unexpected circumstances.
LEARNING EVENT CANCELLATION POLICY
The event sponsor reserves the right to cancel a learning event due to low registration. If a session is cancelled, those registered will be contacted by email and notified of the cancellation. A credit will be applied to the cnline account on file.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
You are encouraged to log on virtually or arrive in person 5-10 minutes prior to the start time of your learning event. Participants arriving more than 15 minutes late WILL NOT BE ADMITTED TO THE SESSION. Partial in-service credit may be offered, if applicable. Make up sessions WILL NOT BE OFFERED for any learning event. ANTI-
DISCRIMINATION POLICY
The IECP shall not discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, disability/handicap, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation or age in any aspect of learning event, training workshop or professional development. The ELCHC also reasonably accommodates individuals with disabilities, handicaps and/or religious beliefs.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)
Any person with a disability/handicap requiring reasonable accommodations should call 813.515.2340 no later than seven business days prior to the scheduled learning event.
LEARNER SECURITY POLICY
The ELCHC strives to protect the privacy of learners that attend our learning events. Because each learner must register through our online learning platform, each record Is restricted from public access. Learners can obtain a copy of their certifications as well as their own demographic/contact Information provided. For online support, learners may call 813.515.2340 for assistance accessing their records. Learners are required to verify their Identification at all learning events by showing a state or government issued ID with photograph.
PROPRIETARY INTEREST POLICY
Individuals who participate in ELCHCs learning events have the right to know about the proprietary interest a trainer/ Instructor may have in a product or service prior to attending. All trainers/instructors are required to disclose proprietary Interest In any produce Instrument device, service and/ or materials discussed at an event training, program, or workshop, as well as the source of any compensation related to the presentation.
CEU AWARD POLICY
Continuing Education Units (CEUs) may be awarded for all learning events three hours or longer in duration. Learning events less than three hours will be awarded in-service hours upon completion. CEUs will be awarded upon successful completion of the learning event. To successfully complete the learning event, learners must arrive on time, attend all required sessions, be an active participant and complete all related assignments or surveys as defined by the trainer/instructor. Online training must have an engagement score of 75% or more. For all online training – CAMERAS MUST BE ON – NO EXCEPTIONS. Participants names for online training must match the name provided at registration. Any required assignments or surveys will be outlined in the Training Description on our online platform. Learners are encouraged to contact trainers/ instructors with any questions and/or clarification needed regarding the successful completion of assignments or surveys. In-service hours will be awarded in place of CEUs if the learner does not meet the requirements of successful completion as defined by the instructor/trainer. * Trainings may be recorded for educational purposes.
ACHIEVEMENT BONUS
To earn an achievement bonus, you must be teaching in Hillsborough County and meet all the requirements of the course, including pre/post assessments, homework assignments, reflection, and LMS instructor evaluation (if applicable). Each individual is limited to four training achievement bonuses per training cycle, and bonuses will not be given for previously completed coursework. Additionally, a W9 form must be submitted, and the address on the form must match the address on your LMS account. If you have any questions, please contact Abbey Landa at alanda@elchc.org.
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
Upon the successful completion of a learning event/ training participants will receive a Certificate of Completion that can be retrieved from their individual online account
CHILD CARE
All learning events/training sessions are designed for adult audiences. We ask that all registrants make the necessary childcare arrangements. Childcare is not available.
