Early Childhood Trauma Informed Care Certificate

This program was designed to be of benefit to the following individuals:

• Childcare providers
• Child Development Specialists
• Child Life Specialists
• Early Childhood teachers
• Owners of in-home child care
• T-K through 3rd grade educators

Participants who earn the ECTIC Certificate will benefit by:

• Moving up on the Child Development Matrix
• gaining expertise and practical skills for implementing trauma informed care in early childhood settings

The ECTIC Certificate Program offers 25 full scholarships to students who apply and are found eligible. Scholarships are awarded by the Quality Counts California Workforce Development Grant through the California Department of Education (CDE), Early Learning and Care Division and will be paid directly to the University.

To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must be currently working in the Early Childhood Education sector in San Bernardino County (either full-time or part-time). Examples of acceptable employment titles include: assistant teacher, associate teacher, lead teacher, site supervisor, program director, etc.

Applications will be reviewed for scholarship eligibility on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are awarded a scholarship, you will be asked to provide the name and address of the early childhood program that you are currently working for, as well as your Workforce Registry number. Please note, we will not contact your employer; we will only provide this information to the grant funder. If you do not currently have a Workforce Registry number, a Higher Education Mentor can assist you in getting one.

To support the success of scholarship recipients, those awarded will be expected to participate in the following:

• Creating a workforce registry account in San Bernardino County (if the participant does not already have one)
• Create an educational plan with an advisor
• Meet with a Higher Education Mentor twice throughout the program (via phone or zoom)
• Complete 3 reflective journals during the certificate program

For any questions regarding this scholarship opportunity, please contact Dr. Amy Van Schagen. 

Dr. Amy Van Schagen developed the ECTIC Certificate after seeing a need in the community for higher education to offer courses in TIC. This certificate was created through support from Quality Start San Bernardino and a community grant from Kaiser Permanente. Dr. V conducted research in the community to identify barriers to accessing higher education for early childhood educators. The ECTIC certificate is designed to address some of these barriers by providing courses that are taught online, affordable, and applicable for college credit.

Dr. V is an Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at CSUSB, and serves as the Program Coordinator for the ECTIC Certificate, ECAL Certificate, and the M.A. Child Development program. Prior to receiving her M.S. and Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she worked for almost five years as an early childhood teacher. Dr. V has a passion for equity and higher wages in the early childhood workforce, and building access for all young children to have high quality early learning experiences. Outside of her career, Dr. V enjoys hiking, running, the beach, playing with her dogs, and spending time with family. Dr. Van Schagen will be teaching CAFS 5740: Trauma Informed Care in Practice.

Dr. Wilcox-Herzog is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at CSUSB. She has taught at CSUSB for over 20 years. Dr. Wilcox-Herzog is the founder and faculty supervisor of the CSUSB Infant/Toddler Lab School. Dr. Wilcox-Herzog received her Ph.D. in Child Development and Family Studies at Purdue University.

Dr. Wilcox-Herzog has taught children from birth through 8 years old and teaches classes in early childhood education and child development. Her professional development over the past 30 years has focused almost exclusively on ways to increase child care quality via teacher training and education. She has engaged in various projects that have utilized assessment, personal reflection, and targeted training opportunities to improve teacher’s interactions and curricular offerings with young children. Dr. Wilcox-Herzog supervises assessment efforts for the San Bernardino QRIS System, Quality Start San Bernardino.

Dr. Wilcox-Herzog will be teaching CAFS 5730: The Impact of Trauma on Child Development.

Dr. Becerra has worked in Child Development for over 20 years.  He has worked at every level - as an assistant, a teacher, a site supervisor, and a director.  For the last 10+ years, he has been a Director for multiple school districts overseeing multiple child development programs, including for two years when he was the county-wide director of early learning for the Orange County Department of Education. 

Dr. Becerra holds a Doctor of Education Degree (Ed.D) in Early Childhood Education, a terminal degree (Ed.S) in Early Childhood Education, a Master's Degree (M.Ed) in Educational Leadership and Administration, and a certificate in School Business Management. He is a certified PK-12 Administrator, Chief Business Official from CASBO, and Personnel Administrator from Association of California School Administrators. Dr. Becerra has been teaching as an adjunct professor at various colleges for the last decade.

Dr. Becerra will be teaching CAFS 5735: Trauma Informed Care Using a Safety Based Approach.