Is This Program for You?

If you are patient, creative, dependable, and have good communication skills, stimulating the physical, emotional, intellectual, and social growth of young children may be the rewarding career you are looking for.

Students entering the Child Care Services program should:

• Like working with children.
• Be able to communicate well with children and adults.
• Have a caring attitude.
• Be dependable and organized.
• Have good reading skills.

Program Basics

• Technical diploma requiring a minimum of one year to complete.
• Day classes.
• High school articulation and college transfer courses accepted.
• Financial aid available.
• Classes start in August.
• Advanced standing for early childhood experience may be granted with Southwest Tech instructor approval.
• Complete First Aid / CPR with AED for Infant/Children
• Join The Registry of Wisconsin Early Care Professional Development
• Complete the Fieldprint Fingerprinting Check

Additional Practicum Requirements

• Health Physical (must use SWTC forms) including a 2-step TB Skin Test the first year and a TB test each year after.
• Security swipe card: $5 (money is refunded when the card is returned).
• Program Name Tag: $3.

Graduation Requirement

• CPR/First Aid is a graduation requirement for all students.

Admission and Program Requirements

• Submit Application
• To make sure your classes are the right fit, we consider any previous college credit you've earned, Accuplacer or ACT scores, high school GPA, or an assessment at your registration session. Submit High School Transcripts, College Transcripts, and Test Scores to: Southwest Tech, Attn: Admissions, 1800 Bronson Blvd, Fennimore, WI 53809
• Admissions Meeting: After applying and submitting transcripts, make an admissions meeting with the advisor by clicking "Make an appointment" in the Advisor block on this page.

Program Requirements

• Prior to August 1^st, each face-to-face Field Experience 1 student will need to complete and submit the health requirements listed below, to be able to participate in the required lab time on campus.
  • Physical Form
  • Background Information Disclosure - complete in MySWTC listed in "My Documents"
  • TB skin testing
  • Fact Sheet
  A current Tdap vaccination is required for childcare students.
  • Current BLS for Healthcare providers CPR certification

Helpful Academic Background

• Have good language, math, and reading skills.
• Have taken related family and consumer education courses in high school.

Program Fees

• This program is eligible for Financial Aid.
• Estimated cost for each semester can be found under the Curriculum tab. Please note that costs are approximate and are based on the current academic year.
• Please discuss additional fee questions with the program advisor or instructor.

Program Outcomes

At the completion of the program, students are expected to be able to:

• Relate knowledge of child development to practice
• Create relationships with children, family and the community
• Apply observation, documentation and assessment strategies
• Implement developmentally appropriate teaching and learning activities
• Demonstrate professionalism
• Follow health, safety and nutrition practices

Technical Skill Attainment (TSA)

This TSA scoring guide will be used to document your attainment of technical program outcomes for the Child Care Services Degree. To meet the requirements on the scoring guide, you will be asked to draw upon the skills and concepts that have been developed throughout the program and are necessary for successful employment in your field. Results will be used to inspire continual improvement of teaching and learning in Wisconsin Technical College System. In addition, this assessment will provide feedback to you about your performance.

With the rise in two-career households and single parent families, the job market for trained childcare workers continues to flourish. Besides entering the job market, individuals who complete this program and decide to continue in the Early Childhood Education associate degree program will be given advanced standing for the completed courses. Graduates of this program may find jobs in the following types of occupations.

• Autism Therapy Assistant
• Child Care Teacher: Takes responsibility for planning and implementing developmentally appropriate programs for children in a child care setting
• Child Care Teacher's Assistant/Teacher's Aide: Assists the classroom teacher at the day care, pre-school, or elementary level
• In-home Provider/Nanny: Responsible for full- or part-time childcare in the child's home.
• Family Day Care Provider: Provides developmentally appropriate programming for eight or less children in provider's home.
• Head Start Teacher Assistant
• Paraprofessional in an Elementary School
• Preschool Teacher: Teaches in a program licensed by the Department of Health and Family Services.

Southwest Tech's Career Connections Center offers Services to assist students looking for job placement.

Credit for Prior Learning

Experience Pays! You've Been There... You've Done That... Let's See If You Can Get Credit For It!

Credit for prior learning gives you opportunities to earn credit for college-level knowledge that you have already acquired. This may be the result of work or volunteer experiences, certifications, apprenticeships, military training, extensive self-instruction, or professional development. Credit for Prior Learning affords you the opportunity to accelerate the completion of your educational goals.

For more information on Credit for Prior Learning see our Credit for Prior Learning page.

At any time, you may Request Credit for Prior Learning.

Child Care Services Courses that may have Credit for Prior Learning options:

Course #	Course Title	Challenge Exam (Demonstration)	Challenge Exam (Standard)	CLEP	Credential	Portfolio
10-307-148	ECE: Foundations of ECE
	Professional Preschool Credential
10-307-167	ECE: Hlth Safety & Nutrition
	Professional Preschool Credential
10-307-179	ECE: Child Development
	Professional Preschool Credential
10-307-188	ECE: Guiding Child Behavior
10-801-195	Written Communication
	College Composition CLEP test would also be accepted for credit. However, the challenge exam is the preferred method.
10-809-172	Introduction to Diversity Studies