Credentialing Early Childhood Paraprofessionals in the United States: The Child Development Associate and other frameworks

The United States has two national credentials for paraprofessionals (persons who do not hold a bachelors degree, and are therefore not eligible for state certification). The first of these is the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, currently overseen by the Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition in Washington, DC[1] [1] The figures contained within this article are reprinted with the permission of the Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition, Washington, DC, USA. . The Council is affiliated with NAEYC. This credential has undergone a number of changes, which were the subject of a recent book by Bouverat and Galen. The second credential is called Certified Childcare Professional (CCP). It is awarded by the National Child Care Association, a professional trade association of licensed private child care centers, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Primary attention will be given to the CDA National Credentialing Program by the author, who is a CDA Representative (an assessor and validating agent in the program).