Pre-Service Training

for Entry-Level Child Care Workers

I. Introduction

There are over 2 million adults who provide child care for approximately 11 million children under the
age of six in the United States. Caring for children is one of the few professions in which practitioners
may begin working with “clientele” (that is, young children) with little or no pre-service training. Pre-
service training requirements are left entirely to state regulation, and most states have few, if any,
requirements for child care workers before they begin caring for children1.

Many child care providers have only a high-school education; many do not even have that and some
states do not require it2. A recent study (Burton, Whitebook, Young, Brandon, & Maher, 2002) found that
about 20 percent of center teachers, 43 percent of center assistant teachers, and 44 percent of family child
care (FCC) providers have a high school education or less. Also, most caregivers have had little or no
training in how to care for children before they start work, and most states have no requirements for pre-
service training. Only 10 states currently have any such requirement for family child care providers, and
only 13 have pre-service requirements for child care staff in a center3. Several other states have
established requirements to be completed within the first several months or a year of initial employment.
These training requirements range from 6 clock hours of training (required of family child care providers
in Delaware) to the Child Development Associate credential (required of center teachers in the District of
Columbia). The Department of Defense requires 40 hours of pre-service orientation training. All told,
only 25 states require pre-licensing or pre-service training or training within a short time of hire, either for

1
NACCRRA, 2007. We Can Do Better: NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Standards and Oversight.
2
Ibidem.
3
National Child Care Information Center, 2006. http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov
 Minimum Pre-Service Training Proposal-DRAFT

family child care providers or center teachers. These requirements are summarized in the Appendix to this
paper.4

Research has clearly established the link between training and higher-quality child care. For example, one
such study (Kaplan & Conn, 1984) found that after completing 20 hours of training, child care center staff
showed improved care-giving skills, such as attention to children, providing activities to enhance the
children’s social development, and improving the classroom environment and educational materials. In
another study (Rhodes & Hennessy, 2000) that assessed the impact of training for center-based providers
with similar levels of education and experience, providers who completed a 120-hour training over a 24-
week period showed greater sensitivity, more positive relationships with children and less detachment
than their peers who had not completed the training. Another study that focused on the value of training
(Burchinal, 2002) found that family child care providers who reporting attending any training workshops
had higher scores on an assessment of global quality (the Family Day Care Rating Scale). These providers
were also less detached from the children. Notably, training was shown to be more strongly associated
with quality than were other factors such as experience, group size or adult: child ratio.

NACCRRA advocates the adoption of a minimum standard for pre-service training, for all child-care
workers caring for at least one unrelated child for pay, before working with children. The adoption of this
standard is the first of 12 key recommendations from NACCRRA’s 2007 report on training for the child
care workforce5. It is clear that additional training can help bridge the gap to prepare child care workers
for the unique needs of their young charges. There is strong public support for such a requirement.
NACCRRA’s 2005 parent poll showed that parents overwhelmingly endorsed basic training for child care
providers. Nearly all of the parents in the poll (95%) favored requiring training before child care
providers work with children. Parents told us that the most important areas for training included first
aid/CPR, child development, discipline, child behavior, working with children with special needs,
communicating with parents, and age-specific courses.

A small number of states have established training requirements that can serve as models for a standard of
minimum pre-service training. These may include a set number of clock hours, specific training courses

4
National Child Care Information Center, 2006. Due to the continually evolving landscape of state-level child care
regulations, some states’ requirements may have changed since that date.
5
NACCRRA, 2007. NACCRRA’s National Survey of Child Care Resource & Referral Training: Building a Training
System for the Child Care Workforce.

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approved by the state, a set of standardized modules, or a Child Development Associate (CDA)
credential. The examples highlighted below all mandate approximately 40 hours of training, and share a
common set of required topics covering child development, appropriate practice, and health and safety
issues. NACCRRA recommends that a standardized minimum pre-service training requirement
incorporate elements from these models.

II. Models of Pre-Service Training for Child Care Workers

Florida requires a 40-hour Introduction to Child Care training course for child care center personnel.
Child care workers are also required to pass a competency exam and take an additional 5 clock hours in
early language and literacy development. The course is broken into Part I (30 hours, required of center
staff and family child care providers) and Part II (required only for center staff). Center staff have up to
90 days to enroll in the course and 1 year to complete it, while family child care providers must complete
the Part I course BEFORE being registered or licensed. Part I of the training totals 30 hours. For Part II,
an additional 10 hours must be completed, drawing from a list of permitted courses covering more
specialized topics. See below for an outline of these requirements. Coursework is offered online and is
administered by the state, as is the required competency exam.

Wisconsin requires both family child care providers and child care center personnel to complete the
equivalent of a minimum of 40 hours of entry-level training in order to work with children. Several
options are available to fulfill this requirement, including college credits, a CDA, and others. All entry-
level requirements must be completed within 6 months of licensure for FCC providers; however, child
care teachers must complete the requirement before beginning work with children. One option to
complete the training requirement is through state-approved non-credit courses, offered by community
agencies and technical colleges.

The Department of Defense requires all individuals who will care for children to complete an orientation
course that covers child development, health and safety practices, regulations and procedures, appropriate
learning activities and environments, and professionalism and communicating with parents. In addition,
prospective caregivers must complete training in child abuse identification, reporting, and prevention. An
additional 24 hours of annual training is required for each staff. The additional training includes the
Caring for Children Training Modules, all of which must be completed by 18 months after hire. The
training requirements are summarized below.

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III. NACCRRA’s Proposal for a 40 Hour Standard of Minimum Pre-Service Training

NACCRRA recommends that all caregivers caring for at least one unrelated child for pay, on a regular
basis, be required to complete a minimum of 40 hours of pre-service training, before beginning
unsupervised work with children. This proposal outlines a minimum standard of training that emphasizes
basic health and safety practices and an understanding of children’s development. The proposal is
designed to support the content areas of the CDA credential, as a means of promoting continuing
professional development for caregivers. This training would not replace ongoing annual training
requirements, but would be an entry point for new caregivers. The training proposed would include
components that are standard for both family child care providers and child care center workers, as well
as training tailored to the setting (FCC providers vs. center staff).

The minimum training outlined here includes 16 hours in health and safety and 16 hours in child
development and guidance. An additional 8 hours would be completed in topics appropriate to the care
setting. This structure is based on the principle that a basic understanding of safety standards, child
development, and appropriate developmental practices are essential for all new child care providers
regardless of the care setting. However, some basic professional skills are necessary for family child care
providers, as small-business owners, while others are more important for center staff, who typically work
in a classroom environment and are supported by a director. Drawing on the models described above,
training should be drawn from the following topics:

Health/Safety/Nutrition: 16 hours—all of the following should be covered:

Nutrition
SIDS prevention
Shaken Baby Syndrome prevention
Child Abuse and Neglect: Identification and Prevention
Disease Control
Sanitation in diapering & hand-washing
Diapering and toileting practices
Fire safety and emergency preparedness procedures
First aid/CPR
Other health/safety topics

Child Development & EC curriculum: 16 hours—all of the following should be covered:

Child growth and development (“ages and stages”)—cognitive, social, emotional, physical
Age-appropriate play activities, learning through play
Planning curriculum and activities for child growth and development

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Promoting early childhood language development and literacy

Appropriate equipment, materials, and environment for learning spaces
Use of technology in early childhood education
Observing and documenting child behavior and progress
Special needs and developmental differences
Positive, age-appropriate guidance (discipline)
Communicating with families and promoting parental involvement

Training for the Child Care Setting: 8 hours

FCC Providers Child Care Center Staff
Regulations and Licensing Requirements Regulations and Licensing Requirements
Business Practices and Professionalism Classroom Management Strategies

Total Requirement: 40 hours

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IV. Process and Implementation

As this proposal has been developed in consultation with stakeholders in the field, several important
considerations have been raised about how such a mandatory training requirement would be
implemented. First among these is the question of which caregivers should be required to complete such
pre-service training. Clearly, child care workers with formal education in early childhood (such as a
degree or CDA) would not be required to complete all pre-service training, but rather those subjects such
as . In fact, many states have adopted a plan in which training requirements may be fulfilled by any of
several options, including college credits, a CDA, a high school vocational course, or a non-credit training
course.

In addition, careful thought should be given to whether this pre-service training requirement would apply
not only to workers in child care centers and family child care home settings, but also summer camps,
after-school programs, and “babysitters” who care for children during the summer or on weekends.
Furthermore, it will be important to resolve the question of whether workers who are always supervised
by another worker when in contact with children (e.g., an assistant teacher) should be required to receive
this training. This issue should be clearly defined before a standard requirement is finalized. NACCRRA
has taken the position that child care should be regulated for situations where a person is caring for at
least one other unrelated child on a regular basis for pay.

A related issue is whether this pre-service training should be completed before a worker is hired by an
employer, completed before having contact with children, or completed within some reasonable period of
time while working with children under supervision of a worker who has met the requirement.
NACCRRA supports having workers complete the training within a short time period (such as 90 days
from first hire) as long as they are directly supervised by a caregiver who has already met the training
requirement.

It is also important to articulate several related questions regarding “ownership” of the training: whether
the pre-service training is to be provided by the employer, whose responsibility it is to cover the costs of
the training, and whether the training would “follow” the worker to another employer when changing
jobs. NACCRRA recommends that training be considered the responsibility of the worker, and that
documentation of this training should be adequate to allow the training to transfer when workers change
jobs. A competency assessment such as a knowledge exam at the end of training, accompanied by a
certificate of completion, would permit this “portability”.

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In addition, NACCRRA recognizes that existing systems and training curricula are already available, with
training currently provided by community colleges, community agencies such as CCR&Rs, and many
large private employers. These existing systems are an asset that should be maximized to support pre-
service training. Important issues to consider include verification of training courses and systems to
ensure they are meeting the training framework. It would also be important to support systems to help
connect providers to the training they need through a variety of formats and settings. It would also be
essential to establish a period of time (such as 2-5 years) for states to create and/or expand their training
infrastructure to meet additional training needs, before a pre-service training requirement goes into effect.

Finally, NACCRRA emphasizes its support of public investment in training the child care workforce.
NACCRRA is actively working to support the reauthorization of the Child Care Development Block
Grant, and calls for an increase in the amount of funds for the quality set-aside. Strengthening the child-
care workforce should be an important priority for the use of quality set-aside funds. An increase in the
pre-service training requirement would require appropriate funding and should be part of a broad national
strategy to improve quality.

V. Summary/Conclusion

Establishing a minimum pre-service training requirement for child care workers is expected to yield a
wide range of benefits at many levels. Children will clearly benefit from the improvements in the quality
of care-giving they receive. There will be public health benefits such as reductions in the spread of
communicable disease, injuries and deaths from preventable accidents as well as SIDS, and child abuse
and neglect. Implementing such a requirement will also yield benefits for parents, for the centers who
employ child care workers, and for the caregivers themselves. Parents will benefit from the additional
peace of mind knowing that their children are in the care of professional caregivers who are prepared and
qualified to care for their children. The instability and frequent turnover that are features of so many
child care arrangements will likely be reduced by a minimum entry-level training requirement, and this
greater stability will have a positive effect on parental employment and productivity.

Parents will also benefit from caregivers sharing their knowledge, which can improve parents’ ability to
care for their own children and promote their children’s well-being and development. Employers of child
care workers will benefit from reduced turnover among workers who are better prepared to face the
challenges of caring for young children and better trained to provide high-quality care. Finally, caregivers

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will benefit from additional preparation to carry out one of the most important jobs in our society: caring
for young and children and helping to prepare them to enter school. The introduction of a standard of
minimum training for entry-level caregivers will help caregivers to embark on a career ladder, advance
their professional skills, achieve better wages, and treat child care as the vitally important professional
role that it is.

The need for a minimum standard of pre-service training for child care workers has already been
recognized in the states that have already implemented or are considering introducing minimum training
requirements. NACCRRA applauds these efforts and calls for policymakers and professionals in the field
to develop a consensus on content and how best to implement a standard minimum pre-service training
requirement nationwide, for both family child care providers and child care center workers. NACCRRA is
working directly with stakeholders and experts in the care and education of young children to develop this
consensus.

The introduction of a minimum standard of pre-service training requirement for child-care workers will
yield important benefits for children, parents, employers and caregivers. The time for this important step
has arrived--the nation’s children deserve no less.

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APPENDIX

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MINIMUM PRE-SERVICE TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILD-CARE WORKERS

FAMILY CHILD CARE (FCC) LARGE/GROUP FCC TEACHERS IN A CENTER
STATE
PROVIDERS
Alabama 24 clock hours of training 24 clock hours of training
California 15 clock hours of training in preventive health 15 clock hours of training in preventive Regional Occupation Program
practices health practices certificate of training in child care, 95
clock hours in child care and
development and 150 hours of
experience
Colorado 15 clock hours introduced in 2007 Group leader requires CDA, or 12
semester hours ECE, or 6 semester
hours ECE + 2 yrs experience, or
department approved course
Delaware 6 clock hours of approved training provided by the Certificate from a vocation/technical Completion of a CDA, 6 semester
licensing department school child care program and 18 units, Training in Child Care course,
months of experience or vocational child care program and
6 months experience
District of Columbia CDA credential and experience
Florida 30-hour Family Child Care training course with a CDA credential held for at least 1 year, (Enroll in 40-hour Introductory Child
score of 70 or better on competency exam and 5 30-hour Family Child Care training Care training course within 90 days
clock hours of approved training in early literacy course with a score of 70 or better on of employment, complete within 1
and language development competency exam and 5 clock hours of year with a score of 70 or higher on
approved training in early literacy and competency exam. All child care
language development personnel must complete 5 clock
hours of training or .5 continuing
education units of training in early
literacy and language development

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for children 0-5 within 1 year of

employment.)
Hawaii CDA credential and 4 years of CDA credential or certificate in ECE
experience and 1 year of experience
Illinois CDA or CCP credential
Maryland 8 clock hours of approved training on specified 90 clock hours in early childhood
topics. If caring for infants must also get SIDS development and programming and 1
training. Orientation on child care licensing year of experience
regulations and application process is separate.
Massachusetts Orientation session approved by licensing office 5 clock hours of large family child care Completion of 2-year vocational
training approved by licensing office child care course
MINIMUM PRE-SERVICE QUALIFICATIONS FOR CHILD-CARE WORKERS (continued)
STATE FAMILY CHILD CARE (FCC) LARGE/GROUP FCC TEACHERS IN A CENTER
PROVIDERS
Minnesota CDA credential and 1,560 hours
experience
Mississippi CDA or Mississippi Child Care
Director’s credential and 2 years’
experience
New Hampshire Completion of a 2-year vocational
child care course
New Jersey CDA or CCP credential and 1 year
experience
New Mexico (45-hour entry level course, or
approved 3-credit course, or
approved equivalent, within 6
months of start of employment)
Oklahoma (Tier II entry-level training course
which equals at least 20 clock hours,
within 3 months of hire)

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Oregon Family Child Care Overview session

Rhode Island CDA credential
Texas Orientation plus First Aid/CPR (registered home); (8 clock hours preservice training in
Primary Caregivers in a “licensed” home must child development IF caregivers have
have a minimum of a CDA or CCP, or 72 clock less than 6 months prior experience)
hours of training
Vermont CDA credential and 2 years experience CDA credential
Virginia (If caregivers have only a GED, must
receive at least 12 clock hours child
care training within 1 month after
hire)

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MINIMUM PRE-SERVICE QUALIFICATIONS FOR CHILD-CARE WORKERS (continued)

STATE FAMILY CHILD CARE (FCC)
PROVIDERS
Washington
Wisconsin 40 hours of training. Provider in a licensed family
center must take non-credit Introduction to the
Child Care Profession and Fundamentals of
Family Child Care. If taking care of children under
2 must also take Fundamentals of Infant and
Toddler Care. (Providers may get a 6-month
probationary license and must complete the
training before the end of this period.
Wyoming
TOTAL 10
LARGE/GROUP FCC TEACHERS IN A CENTER
(Register with State Training
Registry and complete a minimum of
12 clock hours approved training,
within 6 months of hire)
2 non-credit, department-approved
courses in ECE (Introduction to the
Child Care Profession and Skills and
Strategies for the Child Care Teacher)
and 80 days experience. If taking
care of children under 2 must also
take Fundamentals of Infant and
Toddler Care.
100 clock hours of approved training
and 2 years experience
11 13 (requiring pre-service)

DoD/Military 40 hours orientation training including First 40 hours orientation training

Aid/CPR certification, child development and including First Aid/CPR certification,
guidance, recognizing child abuse, basic child development and guidance,
health/safety practices recognizing child abuse, basic
health/safety practices

Note: This information is taken from summaries provided by the National Child Care Information Center as of 2006. Some state’s regulations may have changed
since then; NACCRRA welcomes any updates or feedback to this information. Note that licensing thresholds and definitions of family child care home and

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large/group family child care home are not consistent across states. Readers should refer directly to state regulations for definitive information on state
requirements.

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