“Put a Little PEP in Your Step”

Sue Erpelding, Wyoming (CounciLINK, April 2013)

CDA Stories“Put a little PEP in your step!” is a motto Sue Erpelding lives and works by. Sue not only runs her own Family Child Care business out of her home, but is also the Statewide Coordinator for Providers Empowering Providers (PEP). PEP is the statewide Family Child Care network for Cheyenne, Wyoming.

One of the reasons Sue is so dedicated to the Family Child Care field is because the majority of child care programs in Wyoming are provided in a Family Child Care setting. As part of Sue’s dedication to her field, she is working to “help eradicate” the mindset that Family Child Care providers are equivalent to “babysitters.”

As an 11-year veteran of the CDA credential, Sue states, “Family Child Care providers are early care and education professionals.” This understanding is something Sue hopes that not only non-child care providers will grow to recognize, but also other Family Child Care providers themselves.

Sue says, “We need to help others realize the important role we play in the lives of the children and families we serve. I think obtaining a CDA helps Family Child Care providers understand and recognize the importance of their work and helps them to feel more professional.”

Sue Erpelding was also the Council’s first applicant for the PD Specialist program and the first to complete the PD Specialist training online. Having previously served as a CDA Advisor, she stated, “I felt it was important to become a PD Specialist because observing Candidates in the Family Child Care field (I believe) requires a unique perspective.”

When asked her thoughts on the PD Specialist online training, she had nothing but positive things to say. Working in the Family Child Care field, Sue liked that the training was self-paced. She found the content to be thorough and the system very easy to navigate.

Having renewed her CDA credential just last year, Sue is truly a model of commitment to the Family Child Care field and the professional development of ECE providers.

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