Professionals
In this section you will find many resources to support your successful use of the Ohio Professional Registry (OPR). Please look around for all of the information and supports for early childhood, school-age and child serving professionals in Ohio for education, credentials, professional development verification, applications for OPR issued credentials, endorsements and certificates.
Background Check
The JFS 01177 “Individual Notification of Background Check Review for Child Care” from ODJFS is made available for individuals to view electronically from their profile, in the OPR. This is the notification that the individual receives letting them know if they are eligible or ineligible to work in childcare.
The JFS 01176 “Program Notification of Background Check Review for Child Care” from ODJFS is made available for programs to view electronically from the organization dashboard, in the OPR. This is the notification that the program receives letting them know if the professional is eligible or ineligible to work in childcare. It also lists the date the professional needs new background checks.
Background checks can take up to 30 business days for completion. For processing questions, please contact ccbackgroundcheck@jfs.ohio.gov.
Individuals will not receive a JFS 01176 notification, only the requested program(s) will receive a JFS 01176. If the program did not receive a JFS 01176, the professional must ensure they selected that program license number when they submitted the background check request. If the program was not selected, the professional can request a new background check and select the program from the search screen within the request.
Employment
An employment record is required to have an OPR profile. Please view our resource titled Employment Entry Guidance for more information on how to enter employment into your OPR profile.
An employment record is required to have an OPR profile. If you are currently unemployed you would select “Other Early Childhood Employment” and select “Currently not employed”. If you are a student, you would select “Other Early Childhood Employment” and select “Current Student”. If you do not see your exact role listed, please choose the option that closely reflects your employment type. Also consider the aspect of why you are using the OPR. Example: You are an instructor and wish to use the system for instructing, you would select “Other Early Childhood Employment” and select “Instructor and Program Technical Assistance” as that is how you are interacting with our system.
Professional Development Certificate
The number of hours needed for Professional Development (PD) Certificate each biennium is calculated based on either the date the program becoming STAR rated OR the date the professionals entered a qualifying role at a STAR rated program. Please use the prorating flow chart below to determine the number of required hours needed in the current biennium.
A qualifying role is an Administrator, a Lead Teacher or an Assistant teacher. Please check your employment records to be sure the roles are entered correctly as this will greatly affect the prorating in the system.
Only Ohio Approved Professional Development hours will appear on a Professional Development (PD) Certificate. Non-OA PD Events do not count towards the required hours.
The Professional Development (PD) Certificate hours requirement can be different for everyone depending on their prorating, however the number of points received for each Tier is the same.
Tier 1 Professional Development Certificate= 5 points towards your CPL
Tier 2 Professional Development Certificate= 7 points towards your CPL (2 additional points added to Tier 1’s points)
Tier 3 Professional Development Certificate= 10 points towards your CPL (3 additional points added to Tier 2’s points)
Any additional Ohio Approved Professional Development that is completed after you achieve a PD Certificate Tier 3, you will earn .5 points per 1 hour completed.
Professional Development Resources
Career Pathway Level Model
The Career Pathways Level (CPL) provides a common, point-based system for licensing and Step Up To Quality (SUTQ) star rated programs as an alternative pathway to meet the education requirements for a child care staff member or administrator. The CPL uses an approved framework to document formal education, experience, training, and current credentials to achieve one of six professional designations.
A CPL level can be increased based on your education verified in your OPR profile. Higher education on the progression outlined in the CPL model will increase your level as well as verified professional development to earn a Professional Development Certificate.
Your Career Pathway Level (CPL) is determined by many things, one of which is your Professional Development (PD) Certificate. Each biennium your PD Certificate resets to show you the required hours needed for that new biennium. When the PD Certificate resets, it removes any points you had prior for PD hours. But don’t worry, you will be Assessed As (found in the green circle at the top of your registry profile) until you either meet OR exceed the CPL of the previous biennium.
Career Pathway Level Model Resources
Career Pathways Model available on BOLD Beginning!
Career Pathways Level Model July 1, 2018
Career Pathway Level Model guidance document PDF / 5 Pages
CPL/Professional Development Certificate Requirements guidance document
Opening a Child Care or Family Child Care Program
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services assists with opening a child care program.
Please visit Become a Licensed Child Care Provider for information on becoming a childcare provider in the State of Ohio.
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services assists with opening a child care program. A representative from your local Resource and Referral Agency (CCR&R) can also assist you with opening up a child care program in Ohio.
To determine which local resource and referral agency is in your area, please visit our CCR&R Membership page, find your county on the map and click on it, then view the contact information located on the right side of the page.
Opening a Child Care or Family Child Care Program Resources
Verification of Education, Professional Licenses, Credentials, and Professional Development
Please view the Required Documents for Verification chart below:
Documents are reviewed in the order they are received and can take up to 45 business days for review by our team. To review the status of a document that you uploaded into your profile, navigate to the tab you wish to view, find the column labelled Status and you will find the status of the document here. If it is still submitted, that means one of our OPR Associates have not reviewed the document yet. If the document is verified, the document has been reviewed and confirmed authentic and verified. If the document is marked Unable to Verify, hover your mouse over the NOTES button to view the corrections that need made. Once you have made the requested corrections, re-upload the document for review.
Attendance will be provided by the instructor of the PD Event. You will not receive a certificate and the attendance will be be populated, either immediately upon or completion or within 14 business days, depending on what type of PD Event that you attended.
The Training Organization is responsible for the attendance of the PD Event that you completed, and should be contacted for assistance with their PD Event.
To determine who to contact follow these steps:
· Sign into your profile
· Click on the Professional Development tab
· Find the training
· Click ‘View’ in the Action column
· You are now on the Event Description page.
· Scroll down to “Event Information” section for the sponsor phone number.
· This is the Sponsor’s contact information.