The Office of Early Childhood ~ Connecticut Early Childhood Professional Registry (the Registry) takes your privacy and the protection of information about individual participants seriously. We are committed to maintaining the security of that information. The questions and answers below explain why we collect information on the early care and education workforce in Connecticut, who else may see that information, and how we will protect your privacy.

Why is the Registry collecting information?

The Registry is a tool for the early care and education field to collect information about education qualifications and program details. The Registry works in different ways for professionals, programs, public officials and advocates. This information will be used to:

• Bring professional recognition to all those who work in early childhood
• Assist individuals and program directors in professional development planning
• Assist individuals and program administrators in documenting the credentials required by law (i.e. for licensing regulation and state-funded programs) and by accrediting organizations (i.e. NAEYC)
• Inform policymakers and state planners about the early childhood workforce to track progress in meeting state workforce goals
• To support the case that for better compensation.

As you will see below, as an individual participant, in most cases your personal information is not disclosed in a way that reveals your identity and is used only in combination with the information of other participants. That means that the information is reported by large groups of people, for example, "the average educational level of all assistant teachers in licensed centers," rather than the actual educational level of any individual teacher. There are limited exceptions to this rule, and we explain those exceptions below.

Your participation in the Registry will be a benefit to you personally as a record of your education, training and employment. This record can be used for career advancement, program reporting, accreditation, and applying for scholarships without your having to report the same information multiple times. Your participation will also benefit the early childhood field as a whole, as we help our teachers, directors, and administrators improve the quality of care and education for young children.

As a participant, what access do I have to my own data?

Individual participants may view and change most of their personal information in the Registry. Participant education and training information can only be entered or changed by OEC Registry staff members. This is because the OEC Registry staff must verify all education and training information so it can be accepted by other agencies without your having to provide it to them. Additionally, name changes must be done by OEC Registry staff. As a safeguard to your personal identity you must submit legal documentation to verify a name change.

The Registry used to contain Social Security Number (SSN) as an option but no longer does. How have you protected the SSN for those who gave it?

The use of the SSN is no longer necessary. Each individual has a Registry identification number. We use other fields and information to endure that you are the right person when we enter new information. If you gave your SSN when it was optional for the Registry use, it was and remains encrypted in the database.

Who has access to my data and for what purposes?

The general rule of the Registry is that only combined summary data that do not identify any individual participant will be available to authorized users for appropriate purposes. These purposes include workforce planning and professional development, research and evaluation, telling the public about the qualifications of teachers, and program reporting.

Some authorized users have a legitimate need for limited information about individual participants such as School Readiness liaisons who must view read-only program level reports containing individual's qualifications in funded programs as part of their jobs.

Individuals with administrative access to a program may view the profiles of their own employees. This includes any documents scanned to the participant's profile. Typically these items include transcripts, diplomas, first aid and CPR cards and other professional development activities. These are usually a part of personnel records for your employer.

Individuals with administrative access to a program will be required to verify your current employment to complete your Registry entry. They will use the employment, education, training and scholarship information about their staff for professional development planning and to establish staff qualifications any requirements.

If your program receives state-funding: School Readiness liaisons (if relevant), and state and federal level access individuals will also be able to view the data on staff in publicly funded programs for reporting purposes.

If you request licensing Head Teacher approval, the OEC licensing staff assigned to final approval will be able to view limited data to ensure the request has been verified.

If you request the Early Childhood Teacher Credential, the Office of Early Childhood staff assigned to final approval will be able to view limited data to ensure the request has been verified.

If you work for a program pursuing accreditation, the accrediting body may be granted time-specific restricted access to view limited data to ensure any reports of education qualifications and professional development have been verified.

If you work for a program pursuing accreditation under active agreement with the Accreditation Facilitation Project, the AFP staffer assigned to your program may view the profiles of employees of the program for the purpose of supporting program improvement.

What is shared when I apply for scholarship funds?

Please see the FERPA Statement at www.ccacregistry.org for information pertaining to shared information based on financial aid assistance under FERPA.

The Office of Early Childhood's Registry unit may view all individual and program information. The Registry unit needs to view this information to maintain the system, verify employment and education data, administer scholarship requests, manage special initiatives, and report on the early care and education workforce. The Registry unit will also use individual participant information to inform the requirements of accreditation (i.e. NAFCC, NAEYC), the Connecticut Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), the Council on Professional Recognition (for the CDA credential), and other accrediting or credentialing entities.

ChildCare Education Institute, the developer and hosting company for the Registry, also has access to the data.

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, you may contact Connecticut Early Childhood Professional Registry at OEC.registry@ct.gov, or (800) 832-7784.