///Jumpstarting ECE Careers/// Guided by the belief that all students should be college- or career-ready, in 2011 the Council provided an opportunity for high school students enrolled in Career & Technical Education (CTE) Programs to earn the Child Development Associate® (CDA) credential™. Earning a CDA® credential in high school jumpstarts successful careers and channels faculty expertise. The CDA is the only portable, national and multi-language credential of its kind. A CDA opens career opportunities for thousands of graduates every year.
The Child Development Associate (CDA) national credentialing program is "the best first step" for all educators in early child care and education.
The CDA brings vision and unity to the field about what professionals who work with young children should know and be able to do effectively in any setting -- Center-Based Preschool, Infant & Toddler, Family Child Care and Home Visitor.
The CDA is the only portable, reciprocal, competency-based, national credential recognized in all 50 states, territories, the District of Columbia, community colleges and the United States military.
The CDA credentialing system is based on the knowledge of the nation's leading scholars in early care and learning. Utilizing multiple sources of evidence, the CDA national credentialing system is the only comprehensive system of its kind that recognizes the essential competencies needed by entry-level and all early childhood professionals.
