In ChildFriendly Pro's February 2026 Lunch & Learn, child care operator Krystal Churcher advised Alberta centers to spend professional development (PD) and release time funding before it resets, which she said happens with the provincial fiscal year on April 1, submit reimbursement claims on time, and choose training by educator stress points, center compliance risks and children's needs, with behaviour guidance and co-regulation ranked first in her six-week survey.
What the session covered
In this Director Lunch & Learn, host Krystal Churcher, a child care operator and Chair of the Association of Child Care Entrepreneurs, described Alberta's professional development (PD) funding and release time funding for certified early childhood educators, which she said covers eligible workshops, conferences and post-secondary coursework. She presented PD as an operational strategy linking training, competency, confidence and consistency to program quality. Churcher stated that educators burn out not from a lack of care but because they feel unprepared for challenges, face inconsistent expectations across the sector and feel unsupported when things go wrong. She connected competency to educator mental health and psychological safety, to staff retention after Alberta's rapid expansion of child care spaces, and to compliance, attributing many recent non-compliances to gaps in understanding the regulations rather than in reading them. Churcher noted that the session was an operator-to-operator discussion and did not represent the Government of Alberta. At the time of the session, she said, changes to PD funding were expected and an approved course list had not yet been published.
What are the deadlines and eligibility rules for Alberta PD and release time funding?
Churcher explained that Alberta PD funding runs on the province's fiscal year and renews on April 1, so the current year's funding must be used by the end of March. She stressed that centers must also submit claims for completed PD on time to be reimbursed. She said funding can apply to post-secondary courses and tuition, workbooks, workshops and conferences, and that many educators use the post-secondary option to advance their certification. According to Churcher, release time funding helps pay educators for time spent on eligible PD; at the time of the session, all certified educators were eligible. She argued that unpaid training after long working days is unlikely to support retention. A participant reported that university courses are covered only within an ECE program or a Bachelor of Education, even if the course itself is in child development. To have a webinar approved for PD funding, Churcher said the provider applies through the PD grant program. She advised centers to check their remaining balance and use it, and noted that changes to the program were expected within weeks.
How do centers choose PD topics and plan a PD day that changes practice?
Churcher recommended a yearly training plan: one annual PD day when families know the center is closed, quarterly refreshers of an hour or an afternoon after non-compliances or policy changes, coaching and mentorship built into the culture, and training practical enough to use on Monday. To pick the right topic, she suggested three tests: team fit, meaning what staff feel most stressed about and least confident in; center fit, meaning priorities, philosophy and the biggest compliance risks; and children fit, meaning what children and families need most. A PD day should produce shared language about practice and philosophy, shared tools such as scripts, routines and templates, and shared agreements on commitments. In a survey Churcher ran over six weeks, the most requested topics were behaviour guidance and co-regulation, followed by inclusion and diverse needs, documentation and incident response, regulations, supervision, safety, transitions and outdoor play, parent communication and conflict, and team culture and professionalism. She also suggested inviting a licensing officer, which she described as a free service where available, to cover regulation changes, common compliance risks and inspections.
PD funding and training planning checklist from the session
| Time | Key point | What centers should do |
|---|---|---|
| 02:26 | Churcher: training, competency, confidence and consistency lead to quality, calmer rooms, retention and easier compliance. | Treat PD as an operational investment, not a checklist item. |
| 04:02 | Churcher: educators burn out because they feel unprepared, face inconsistent expectations and feel unsupported. | Set consistent processes so staff know what to do when challenges arise. |
| 06:10 | Churcher: psychological safety comes from clear expectations, coaching, practical training and a safe place to ask for help. | Name who staff go to with questions and remove judgment from asking. |
| 10:07 | Churcher: many non-compliances stem from gaps in understanding regulations, not in reading them. | Explain what each regulation looks like on the floor during onboarding and refreshers. |
| 11:41 | Churcher: Alberta PD funding resets with the fiscal year on April 1. | Use remaining funding and submit reimbursement claims before the end of March. |
| 12:10 | Churcher: a yearly training plan can include one annual closed PD day and quarterly refreshers. | Schedule the PD day in advance and tell families. |
| 17:58 | Churcher: pick topics by team fit, center fit and children fit. | Survey staff on stress and confidence, and review compliance risks before booking training. |
| 19:12 | Churcher's survey ranking: behaviour guidance and co-regulation first, then inclusion, documentation and incident response, regulations and supervision. | Prioritize behaviour guidance training if the team reports the same need. |
| 20:52 | Churcher: licensing officers may attend PD days at no cost where available. | Invite a licensing officer to cover regulation changes, compliance risks and inspections. |
| 23:02 | Churcher: release time funding helps pay certified educators for time spent on eligible PD. | Claim release time so staff are paid for at least part of their training hours. |
How ChildFriendly Pro automates this
Churcher described tracking training needs, certifications and refreshers across staff as an ongoing operator task. ChildFriendly Pro's staff administration includes expiry alerts for staff records, so certifications and training renewals surface before they lapse; no product demo was shown in this session.
Next steps
- Register for the next Director Lunch & Learn for Alberta child care operators
- Staff administration and scheduling with expiry alerts for staff records
- Free PD Day Planning Toolkit for child care programs
- Free Alberta Child Care PD Directory sorted by topic
