Quality Improvement Programs
To provide quality care a caregiver should be committed to improving their skills. Community Child Care Solutions assists child care providers in improving the quality of their child care though programs like Grow NJ Kids (QRIS).
Grow NJ Kids (QRIS)
Grow NJ Kids, New Jersey’s Quality Rating Improvement System, is New Jersey’s program to raise the quality of child care and early learning across the state. For parents, it provides information a quality provider to help them make the most of their kids’ early learning opportunities. For child care and early learning programs, it provides resources that help raise their quality and continuously improve their programs.
For more information, contact Annette Janssen at 908-927-0869 ext 2471 or Nikki Byrant at 908-333-2465. For information regarding Family Child Care contact Marilyn Quintana at 732-934-2902
Yes.
New Jersey First Steps
New Jersey First Steps was created to assist early educators in offering the quality care to the infants and toddlers in their programs. Free workshops, mentoring and small grants are available to family child care providers and center staff. We also offer special training to directors of programs that care for infants and toddlers.
NJFS workshops are offered for free.
It depends. Sometimes the workshops are offered as a series, and sometimes they are offered separately. Check the registration form to see what the current offering is.
Yes. These workshops are designed with infant and toddler staff in mind. To fully benefit from the information shared, you should be with children in that age group.
Check the training brochure for individual workshop locations.
The Child Development Associate (CDA)
The Child Development Associate (CDA) is a nationally recognized credentialing program.
It is a competency-based credential awarded to individuals who work with young children, both as Family Child Care Providers or center-based staff and have met all of the requirements outlined by the Council for Professional Recognition.
The State of New Jersey, Department of Children and Families (licensing agency) recognizes the credential as equivalent to the Group Teacher certificate.
This course consists of 135 training hours, with no fewer than 10 hours in each of the following content areas:
- Planning a safe, healthy, learning environment
- Steps to advance children’s physical and intellectual development;
- Positive ways to support children’s social and emotional development;
- Strategies to establish productive relationships with families;
- Strategies to manage an effective program operation;
- Maintaining a commitment to professionalism;
- Observing and recording children’s behavior; and
- Principles of child development and learning.
Q&A
Community Child Care Solutions offers two options for CDA training opportunities: a classroom based class or an E-learning, online based class.
Community Child Care Solutions is offering the non-credit course at a cost of $1,000. Payment may be made in full at the time of registration or in 4 quarterly payments of $250.00.
The course is a 10 month program. Participants can obtain 135 hours of formal training.
Yes, but you must make them up at your expense.
You will need to pay a $425.00 assessment fee when you submit your application to The Council for Professional Recognition. This is the agency that will award you your CDA credential. You will submit your application to the Council at the completion of the course.
Look on the NJ Workforce Registry website for current scholarship information.
As of June 1st, 2013, the Council for Professional Recognition no longer requires CEU’s for CDA renewal. For more information regarding CDA renewal visit the Council for Professional Recognition’s website.