The Early Childhood Health (ECH) program offers health and safety trainings to early childhood education professionals throughout the state. The goal of these trainings is to provide free, Ohio Approved professional development to help early childhood professionals learn more about relevant health and safety topics to better serve children in their care. 

ODH collaborates with frontline child care program staff to plan for future training topics.   ODH has trainings for home visitors, WIC professionals, community health workers, and others working with families of young children to promote healthy nutrition and active living with support and guidance from the Parenting at Mealtime and Playtime (PMP) program.

Trainings

The Health and Safety trainings offered by the ODH ECH program go above and beyond the basic health and safety trainings required for licensure. Ohio Approved hours are provided for all ODH ECH Health and Safety courses.  For information about health and safety training required for licensure, please visit the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) website.

New courses are continually being developed; check the Ohio Professional Registry for all available ODH ECH courses. Registration for these courses is available through both the Ohio Professional Registry and OhioTRAIN.  

Registration for these courses is done through both the Ohio Professional Registry and OhioTRAIN. 

The Ohio Department of Health offers online Ohio-Approved Training opportunities for Early Childhood Education professionals. All courses are provided free of charge. New courses are constantly being add to the list as additional courses become available.  

New course sessions open in the Ohio Professional Registry (OPR) at least twice per month. You should only register in OPR if you plan to complete the course in OhioTRAIN before the OPR course end date.  If you will not be able to complete the course prior to the OPR course date, please wait for the next session to register in OPR.

TO REGISTER: Online courses are hosted in OhioTRAIN.  To receive Ohio-Approved credit, you will need to register for the course in OPR, then register again in OhioTRAIN to access the online content and complete the course. Please see the instructions below.

OPR Registration:

To register for Ohio-Approved training hours, go to OCCRRA.org and click on “Find Trainings” Search for the OPR Course Title (from the list above) and register for the course.

To access the course content, you will need to register in OhioTRAIN:

• To register, go to OhioTRAIN
• If you have not used OhioTRAIN before, go to “Create Account” on the OhioTRAIN website and follow the directions; opt in for emails so that you will receive instructions about the course
• If you have an account but have forgotten your password, DO NOT create a new account. Do request a password reset.
• Once logged into OhioTRAIN, click on Course Catalog to open the search window and type in the course number or OhioTRAIN title to find the course.
• Some courses have a worksheet that you must complete along with the training.  When you are on the course page, click on the “Resources” tab below the course description to access the worksheet.
• Follow the OhioTRAIN Instructions to complete the Pre-Assessment, course content, Post-Assessment and Evaluation.
• Please allow 14 days after the listed close date for courses completed in OhioTRAIN to receive credit in OPR.

For questions, please contact Maria Jirousek at maria.jirousek@odh.ohio.gov

Parenting at Mealtime and Playtime Courses for Early Childhood Professionals

The Ohio Department of Health is proud to partner with the Ohio Chapter, Ohio American Academy of Pediatrics to bring a series of independent study courses for public health workers, home visitors, child care providers, and other professionals working with families in the early childhood populations. The courses do not qualify as Ohio-Approved training for child care professionals.

These courses use local experts to address the latest information about Parenting at Mealtime and Playtime (PMP) program that discusses approaches to prevent obesity and improve health for children 0-5 years of age. The purposes of the trainings are to increase understanding of developmentally appropriate guidelines on nutrition, healthy activity, and sleep all within the context of building resilient family-child interactions that support healthy habits.

To take these trainings, please go to OhioTRAIN. If you do not have an OhioTRAIN account, please follow the instructions to create one. If you have an account but have forgotten your password, do NOT create a new account. Instead, request a new password from the OhioTRAIN site. You may search the course using their title or course number listed below.

Childhood Health Bulletin Board Sign up

Childhood Health Bulletin Board Sign up - Receive these upcoming training opportunities and other timely information related to early childhood programs across the state.

For more information or if you would like to participate in the planning process, please email BMCFH@odh.ohio.gov.