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Resource Development :: Training :: Credentialing/Accreditation :: CDA Credential

Resource Development

Umbrella’s Childcare Development program offers professional development, mentoring, and technical assistance programs for licensed and registered child care providers. We provide evening and weekend training opportunities, consultation services and on site visits. Providers may access our extensive resource library and will receive our bi-monthly newsletter.

Child Care Referral Program - For Providers

Once you have become a registered or licensed provider with the State of Vermont you are automatically enrolled in the referral program. Every month you will receive a call from one of our referral specialists inquiring about openings you may have. If you have openings we will work with you to market your program to fill child care slots to your preferred capacity.

Child Care Provider Networks of Caledonia and Southern Essex Counties

Child Care Provider networks offer provider to provider support and encouragement. “We share the joys and challenges of our profession with others who have similar experiences.”Child Care provider networks develop relationships with other organizations and agencies, associations, and school districts to promote and enhance quality child care. Child Care networks have important benefits that may include:

  • Local training
  • Exchange of project ideas
  • Large toy lending libraries
  • Resource libraries
  • Theme box libraries
  • Art supply closets
  • Leadership opportunities
  • Professional membership opportunities
  • Encouragement, support, and understanding

There are currently five Child Care Provider networks in Caledonia and Southern Essex Counties.

Lyndonville Network Group:

Anneka Bickford @ 626-3676
Terri Hunter @ 626-8794
Meets at various locations monthly on the first Wednesday of each month from 6:30 – 8:30.

St. Johnsbury Group:

Theresa Stevens @ 748-8675
Meets at Umbrella, Inc. 970 Memorial Drive, St. Johnsbury, on the second Tuesday of each month from 6:30 – 8:30

South Ryegate/ Orange County Group:

South Ryegate - Cindy Boyce @ 429-2219
Orange County - Meri Saladino @ 222-4236
Meets at the South Ryegate Church, South Ryegate, on the third Wednesday of each month from 6:30 – 8:30.

Danville / Walden Network Group:

Heather Copp @ 748-3913
Meets at the home of Heather Copp in Danville on the third Wednesday of each month from 6:30 – 8:30.

Concord Network Group:

Stephanie Simpson @ 695-2521
Meets at the Concord Library monthly on Tuesdays from 6:30 – 8:30.

The Networks are partially funded through The Starting Points Grant
Made available from Vermont Child Care Services Division , Waterbury, Vermont.

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Training Opportunities for Early Childhood Professionals

Check out the latest copy of the Early Childhood Bridge for a complete list of training opportunities! Please be aware that training times may change without notice. Please contact Marie Sullivan (ext. 316) to register for all training to receive the most accurate information.

Training Registration Form  (PDF)

Credentialing and Accreditation

What is Credentialing and Accreditation?

There are thousands of early childhood professionals who work in family child care homes, child care centers, preschools, kindergartens, and after-school programs around the country. How do families help ensure that their child is receiving the best care and early education possible? Looking for programs that are credentialed and accredited can be a powerful tool for raising the quality of early childhood education.

Why are Credentialing / Accreditation important?

  • Demonstrates a commitment to strengthening and provides a high quality program for children and families.
  • Defines accepted professional standards of excellence in the field.
  • Serves as a learning tool for best practices for children and facilitates the implementation of these best practices for children.
  • Is a commitment to an on-going evaluation and involvement process.
  • Recognized by the profession as a vital part of a coordinated system of professional development.

What types of Credentialing / Accreditation are available?

Licensed Center Accreditation

  • NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children)
  • NAC (National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs)
  • NECPA (National Early Childhood Program Accreditation)
  • NSACA (National School-Age Care Alliance Accreditation)

Family Child Care Accreditation

  • NAFCC (National Association for Family Child Care Accreditation)

Individual Credentials

  • CDA (Child Development Associate Credential)
  • CCP (Certified Child Care Professional)
  • NAC (National Administrator Credential)

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NAEYC (The National Association for the Education of Young Children) Accreditation

Purpose - The purpose of the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs, the accreditation department of the National Association for the Education Of Young Children is to improve the quality of care and education provided for young children in group programs in the United States. The Academy achieves its purpose by developing professional development resources, disseminating public information about high-quality programs, and administering a national, voluntary accreditation system for early childhood programs.

Goals - NAEYC’s accreditation system is designed to meet two major goals:

  • to engage early childhood program personnel in a process that will facilitate real and lasting improvements in the quality of the program serving young children.
  • to evaluate the quality of the program for the purpose of accrediting those programs that substantially comply with the Criteria
    for high-quality programs. /the following policies and procedures are designed to achieve both of these goals.

Eligibility - To be eligible for accreditation an early childhood program must:

  • serve a minimum of 10 children within the age group of birth through 5 in part-or full-day group programs and / or school- age children served before and / or after school with at least two adults present at all times. School-age programs are eligible if a majority of the children are 8 years old or younger. If the program serves only school-age children, it may be more appropriate to seek accreditation from the National School-Age Care Alliance (NSACA), NAEYC does not accredit family child care homes. Family child care providers may become accredited by the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC).
  • have been in operation at least one year prior to receipt of accreditation. (Programs may apply and participate in self-study activities
    during their first year of operation but a validation visit cannot be scheduled until the program has completed one full year of operation.)
  • be licensed by the appropriate state/local agencies or if exempt from licensing, demonstrate compliance with its own state’s standards for
    licensing, health and sanitation, and building safety of early childhood programs subject to licensing. In states which have no standards for certain kinds of programs, those programs are eligible to apply for accreditation.
  • include all of the program that comes under the eligibility criteria in the self-study and validation process. For example, if a program serves
    infants , toddlers, and school-agers, all these groups must be put forward for accreditation. Similarly, a program that serves children full-day cannot submit only its morning or afternoon program.

Overview - The accreditation process involves three steps:

  1. The first step is the self-study. Program personnel and families conduct the self-study to determine how well the program meets the Academy’s Criteria, make needed improvements, and report the compliance with the Criteria on the Program Description form provided by the Academy. Early Childhood programs voluntarily choose to participate in the accreditation process. Programs receive the materials needed to initiate the self-study following the payment of the application fee. Administrators, teaching staff, and families use these materials to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the early childhood program.
  2. The second step is validation. Trained validators make an on-site visit to verify the accuracy of the Program Description.
    The program administrator develops and implements a plan for making needed improvements and once satisfied that the program is adequately meeting the Criteria, submits the results of the self-study to the Academy by completing a rating scale called the Program Description. When the personnel decide that the program is ready and the Academy staff determine that the Program Description is complete, an on-site visit is arranged. The purpose of the on-site visit is to validate that the information contained in the Program Description is an accurate reflection of the daily operations of the program.
  3. The third step is the accreditation decision. A commission considers the validated Program Description and makes the accreditation Decision. The Commission consists of Academy staff commissioners and external commissioners (appointed by the NAEYC Governing Board to the Accreditation Commission Decision Panel) who audit the staff reviews to ensure reliability and validity.

Accreditation decisions are made by early childhood professionals acting as commissioners who meet in Washington, D.C., monthly. The accreditation decision is a professional judgment within the limits of NAEYC’s Criteria for High-Quality Early Childhood Programs that considers all components of the program as well as its unique characteristics. To learn more go to www.NAEYC.org

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The CDA Credential

The Child Development Associate (CDA) National Credentialing Program is a major national effort to improve the quality of child care. Focusing on the skills of child care providers, it is designed to provide performance-based training, assessment, and credentialing of child care staff, home visitors, and family child care providers in their work with young children and their families. The CDA Competency Standards, which serve as the foundation for staff training and evaluation, is the basis for this activity.

The Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition (the Council), sets the policies and standards for the CDA National Credentialing Program and awards the Credential. These standards define the skills needed by caregivers to service children and families and were carefully developed and validated by the early childhood profession. The proof that a caregiver has acquired and demonstrated these competencies is through the award of the CDA Credential.

Who are CDAs?

There are approximately 60,000 CDAs (1995 statistics) across the country.
By definition, a Child Development Associate (CDA) is a person able to meet the specific needs of children and who, with parents and other adults, work to nurture children’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth in a child development framework.

The CDA Program

The unique characteristics of the CDA Program serve as a model of innovation in the field of early childhood education. The design of the program is based on the assumption that competence can be demonstrated and that both training and assessment should be competency-based. A CDA assessment is the process by which a caregiver’s competence is evaluated by the CDA National Credentialing Program.

The candidate presents evidence about his or her work in relation to the CDA Competency Standards. The evidence is collected from several sources:
A written examination, an oral interview, an observation while working with children, questionnaires submitted by parents, and a candidate’s file of professional resources and competency statements. The information is reviewed by a committee and a decision is made whether or not to award the CDA Credential to the candidate.

The CDA National Credentialing Program includes goals by which candidates demonstrate their competence. The six competency goals demonstrated by CDAs are:

  • Establishing and maintaining a safe, healthy learning environment;
  • Advancing physical and intellectual competence;
  • Supporting social and emotional development and providing positive guidance and discipline;
  • Establishing positive and productive relationships with families;
  • Ensuring a well run and purposeful program responsive to particular needs; and
  • Maintaining a commitment to professionalism.

The CDA Credential is awarded for three child care settings: Center Based Programs, for which candidates receive endorsements for infant/toddler and preschool programs; Home Visitor Programs, and Family child Care Programs. Additionally each endorsement offers a bilingual specialization. For more information go to the CDA web site.

What funding is available to assist with credentialing / accreditation fees?

The Vermont Child Care Service Division has funding available in the form of mini-grants. Applications are accepted throughout the year, due by the first day of the month. For more information, or to receive an application, call 800-649-2642, or visit the Agency of Human Services Child Care Services page.

Grants

C-1 Grant – provides $150.00-$1250.00 (depending on the size of the program). Awarded to licensed early childhood programs seeking NAEYC accreditation.

C-2 Grant – provides $650.00 – $950.00 (depending on the size of the program). Awarded to licensed early childhood programs seeking NECPA accreditation.

C-4 Grant – provides $495.00, awarded to registered family child care providers seeking NAFCC accreditation.

C-5 Grant – provides $325.00 awarded to registered family child care providers and licensed child care center employees seeking CDA credential or renewal.

C-7 Grant – provides $495.00, awarded to registered family child care providers and licensed child care center employees seeking CCP Certification through NCCA.

C-8 Grant –provides $900.00 per site to licensed school-age child care programs seeking NSACA accreditation.

Vermont Child Care Apprenticeship Program

Registered apprenticeship brings together on-the-job skill development and education. Improving one’s life through learning a trade and being paid for this knowledge has meant that compensation is also a traditional part of the Registered Apprenticeship system.

Job Skills - On-the-job skill development is monitored and nurtured by the apprentice – supervisor/mentor relationship. Vermont supervisors use the “continuous improvement assessment” model as a part of their effort to support skill development in a clear effective and respectful way. 4,000 hours on the job experience is required of child care apprentices.

Education - 297 hours of Related Instruction is required of Vermont’s Child Care Apprentices. This includes the following college level courses: Foundations of Learning; Child Development, Art and Music for Young Children; Integrated Preschool Curriculum; Program Management; and Supervision and Leadership.

Course content was developed by the child care industry in collaboration with higher education institutions. Course content is delivered in ways that support a variety of learning styles and strengths. Instructors are selected and approved by the Child Care Industry and Careers Council and the college. Twenty-seven hours of instruction on health, safety, child abuse and related issues are also required of apprentices.

Compensation - Registered apprenticeship requires a commitment from employers to increase wages for apprentices as they increase skills and education. Apprentices and their supervisors/mentors receive between .25 – 2.00/hr above what is paid by the employer. The U.S. Dept. of Labor, the Child Care Service Division, and the council work collaboratively on this vitally important strategy to reward and retain skilled workers.

Supervisors take Leadership and Supervision course work. Apprentices take classes in Leadership and Supervision as well as Program Management. In this way, the Vermont Child Care Apprenticeship Program is directly improving services to children and families, and strengthening child care businesses.

The Vermont Child Care Industry and Careers Council, Inc. was incorporated in July 2000 and obtained Not-For-Profit status with the IRS in May of 2001. The Council oversees the Vermont Child Care Apprenticeship Program and the Workforce Endowment Fund. For more information contact:

Vermont Child Care Industry and Careers Council, Inc.
53 Valley View Road, Middlebury, VT 05753
Phone: 802-388-4220 Web site: www.workforcedev.org/child
Coordinators: Daphne Moritz – (802) – 763-8526 or Sue Ryan – (802)- 660-2914

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Resource Development :: Training :: Credentialing/Accreditation :: CDA Credential