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CDA® Renewal Checklist & Guide
The CDA® Renewal Journey
So, you're planning to renew your Child Development Associate® (CDA) credential?
Before taking the first step, it's essential to understand the process and gather the necessary documents for a smooth CDA renewal process. ProSolutions Training is here to help you prepare and fulfill CDA® Renewal Training requirements.
In this CDA Renewal Guide, we'll walk you through background information on the CDA, provide essential resources, and share a helpful checklist highlighting the action steps needed to renew your credential.
Let's dive in!
Your CDA® Credential at a Glance
The Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential™ is the most widely recognized credential in early care and education. CDA Training gives educators essential skills to provide outstanding care and succeed as ECE professionals.
To keep up with the latest best practices, the Council for Professional Recognition requires the CDA to be renewed every three years.
Everything You Need to Know to Renew Your CDA®
CDA® Renewal serves to ensure that educators like you are well-informed on early education fundamentals. To renew your CDA, you'll submit an application and provide several supporting documents. Remember to submit both the application and payment before your credential expires.
As of May 2022, the Council has created a free CDA Renewal Procedures Guide to provide information on what you must do to keep a CDA.
Grab your free guides:
- The CDA Renewal Procedures Guide (for preschool, infant-toddler, and family child care settings)
- The CDA Renewal Procedures Guide – Home Visitor Edition
Your CDA® Renewal Checklist
Wondering how to keep your CDA current? We’ve created the CDA® Renewal Checklist to help you easily navigate the renewal process. In this checklist, we highlight the requirements for each of the three categories: Professional Development, Continued Work with Children, and Safety.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Continued Professional Education
First up: completing continuing education. It’s a key part of the CDA renewal process and you can tackle it in one of three ways:
- 4.5 continuing education credits (CEUs)
- 45 clock hours of child development or ECE training
- 3 credit hours from courses at an accredited college or university
Remember, it's super important to finish all your CDA renewal training hours after the issue date of your most current CDA® Credential. This makes sure everything you've learned counts!
To provide verification of completion, you must provide one of the following:
- College or university transcript
- Training agency formal verification letter
- Training verification form
ProSolutions Training's CDA® Renewal Training includes 45 clock hours/4.5 CEUs. We offer CDA Renewal Courses for each type of CDA® Credential. Plus, access your CDA Renewal Classes whenever you want with our 24/7 online access.
Our user-friendly dashboard is your key to quickly completing your training – take full control of your pace! You decide whether to study for a few hours or go for a full day marathon (up to 8 tests per day).
After sailing through the CDA Renewal Classes online with ProSolutions Training, we'll provide you with a verification of your training.
Heads-up: The Council doesn't accept training logs or unapproved state registry printouts as valid proof of training.
2. Membership in a national or local early childhood professional organization
Your next big step in the renewal process is to show proof of a current membership in an early childhood professional org.
There are loads of professional groups in the early childhood education field you can be a part of. Besides ticking off a requirement, joining these groups can help you grow professionally in a bunch of ways.
Perks on joining:
- Stay current on early childhood issues
- Join in group efforts to promote positive change
3. Training and Membership Verification
Last up on the Professional Development to-do list is to pick a Verifier. They're the ones who'll check your training and membership documentation.
The Verifier can be any of the following:
- an education coordinator,
- a center director,
- assistant director,
- or another authorized staff person.
Note: The Council does NOT take training and membership submissions.
CONTINUED WORK WITH CHILDREN
1. Complete 80 Hours of Work Experience
Staying fresh when it comes to teaching and caring for little ones is key. This means you must log 80 hours working with children. The work setting should match your specific credential type.
Clock these volunteer or paid hours within a year before you hand in your application.
2. Recommendation from an Early Childhood Education (ECE) Reviewer
You need an ECE Reviewer - someone who can verify your 80 hours of hands-on experience and give you a solid recommendation. They should have seen you in action, doing what you do best in the past year.
Do your ECE Reviewer a favor by passing along these documents. It'll smooth out the process when they're filling out info for your renewal application.
- Information Early Childhood Education (ECE) Reviewer (preschool, infant-toddler, and family child care settings)
- Information Early Childhood Education (ECE) Reviewer for Home Visitors
One more thing: Your ECE Reviewer can also be your Verifier. Two birds, one stone!
SAFETY
1. First Aid and Infant and Child (Pediatric) CPR certification
It's all about safety with kids for the final part of the renewal journey. You must provide proof of valid certification in First Aid and Infant and Child (Pediatric) CPR to renew your CDA.
You need to attend these trainings in person or use a combo of in-person and online courses. Your certification must be current when you apply for renewal.
Seal the deal with a confirmation of completion in the form of a:
- Completion Card
- Certificate of Completion
- Letter on the training agency’s official letterhead
Apply for Your CDA® Renewal
Once you’re ready to dive in, you've got the option to apply for your CDA Renewal online or on paper, and you can do it a whole 6 months before your CDA runs out.
Before you jump into the online process, head to the Council website and check out the free CDA® renewal tutorials. These quick, helpful videos will guide you through the online process.
For those of you who want to keep it old school, the CDA® Renewal Procedures Guide has a paper application for you. Just fill it out and mail it the traditional way.
On the Road to Renewal
So, there you have it—your go-to CDA® Renewal Checklist & Guide! By now, the road to renewal should look a lot clearer and less overwhelming.
Your next pit stop? Enrolling in CDA® Renewal Training courses with ProSolutions Training—let's hit the road together!
