Q. What is the CDA?
A. The Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential is a National Credentialing Program based on the knowledge of the nation’s leading scholars in early childhood education. The CDA credentialing process is a powerful, cohesive professional development experience, infused with meaningful activities that facilitate the reflective practice of working professionals. It is the baseline credential for people in the early childhood education field. We offer the CDA in English and Spanish to individuals working with children from ages 0-5 years.
Q. Who should apply for the CDA?
A. Family Child Care Providers can apply for the Family Child Care CDA as well as assistant teachers and teachers who work with children between the ages of 0-5 years, who do not have a degree or a related degree in child care. Some of the daycare centers in Passaic County require individuals they hire to possess a CDA Certification. Other centers may require individuals to possess a four-year degree.
Q. How much does it cost?
A. The CDA costs $1,260 plus additional fees. Those additional fees are a non-refundable $100 registration fee, a $26 material fee and a $50 textbook fee. Upon completion of the CDA, there is a Credentialing Exam fee of $425 that gets paid directly to the Council for Professional Recognition.
We do not offer financial aid assistance but we do offer two types of payment plans for participants:
Payment Plan A
Total cost $1,260
Tuition per session $315 (total of four sessions)
Each session consists of five weeks.
Must be paid in full before the first class of each session.
Payment Plan B
Total cost $1,320
Payment plan includes an additional $60 processing fee
$88 per week for 15 weeks beginning with the first class.
A $25 late fee is added to any payment not made on time. Payments are submitted to the Fiscal Department.
We accept students who are part of the Board of Social Services program and the Department of Labor One Stop Career Centers Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) program.
If you have any additional questions or would like to schedule an appointment to register for the CDA course, please contact 973-684-1904 Ext. 234.
Q. What are the CDA Requirements?
A. 120 hours of course work and 480 hours of paid or volunteer supervised fieldwork. (A Child Abuse Record Information, background check, and fingerprinting are a requirement at any licensed Child Care Center where they choose to work.)
These should be completed throughout the CDA course.
- Professional Resource File
- Philosophy Statement
- Competency Goal Statements (30- 500 words)
- Formal Observation
- Parent Questionnaires
First Aid/CPR for Infant/Child ($82 if taken at 4CS of Passaic County Inc.)
Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. -3 p.m. (Must be pre-registered to attend.)
Q. When is the CDA being offered?
A. The CDA course is offered twice a week, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The hours and days of the week that the classes are offered are subject to change.
Q. Does the CDA program come with job placement or assistance?
A. We have two placement coordinators that assist current CDA students with job placement and or a center to complete their 480 volunteer hours. Placement is not guaranteed and it is the participant’s responsibility to keep in contact with the Placement Coordinator. If you have any questions regarding CDA placement, please call 973-684-1904, Ext. 233 for English and for English/Spanish 973-684-1904, Ext 229.
Q. How do I register for the CDA?
A. Individuals interested in registering will need to contact 973-684-1904, Ext. 234 to schedule an appointment. Individuals will need to submit their High School Diploma/GED, Photo Identification, Social Security Card/Tax Identification Card, and Basic Skills Entrance Exam.
Q. What additional training do you offer?
A. We offer training that is sponsored by New Jersey First Steps (NJFS), for individuals working with infants and toddlers, such as the New Jersey Birth to Three, Director’s Track Series, SIDS and Shaken Baby Syndrome, Guiding Principles, and Program for Infant and Toddler Care (PITC). These trainings are free to all participants and most of them are offered in Spanish with the exception of the Director’s Track Series. We also offer free Parenting Classes and free Strengthening Families Initiative (SFI) training for parents/caregivers and staff.
Paid training we offer:
- We offer first aid and CPR training for $82 per person. If individuals only need to take CPR, the fee is $65 and if they only need First Aid, the fee is $60. In order for you to reserve a space in the First Aid/CPR Training you will need to pay the fees listed above. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. We will not pre-register anyone without payment.
- We also offer paid training based on the needs of Passaic County Day Care Centers. We charge $150 per hour with a minimum of two hours.
- Every year, we host a Professional Development Conference for a fee. Every year we have a different theme and provide two, two-hour workshop sessions, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, that relate to the theme. We also invite a different keynote speaker to speak in the morning and have a variety of vendors and presenters for our participants to experience.
Q. How do I register for training?
A. Individuals can register for training on Professional Impact NJ (PINJ) Registry, www.pinjregistry.org . Individuals will also be able to view and register for upcoming training 4CS of Passaic has to offer on the PINJ. If individuals do not have a PINJ account, they would need to visit www.pinjregistry.org and click on the “Register Now” tab and follow the instructions in order to register for an account. If any individuals have difficulty with their PINJ account, they will need to contact PINJ directly.
Q. How can I find out more information about Grow New Jersey Kids?
A. Grow NJ Kids, New Jersey’s Quality Rating Improvement System, is New Jersey’s program to raise the quality of child care and early childhood education across the state. For parents, it provides information on selecting 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. Any Passaic County Licensed Child Care Center interested in Grow NJ Kids, please visit www.grownjkid.com or call 973-684-1904, Ext 229.
Grow NJ Kids is now being offered across the state to Family Child Care Providers. Any Passaic County FCC providers interested in receiving more information about Grow NJ Kids, please visit the www.grownjkid.com or call 973-684-1904, Ext. 232.
Q. How do I open up my own Day Care Center?
A. If any individual is interested in opening up a Licensed Child Care Center in the state of New Jersey, we ask that you please review the Manual of Requirements for Child Care Centers http://www.nj.gov/dcf/providers/licensing/laws/CCCmanual.pdf. For any additional information please contact the Department of Children and Families Office of Licensing toll-free Telephone at 1-877-667-9845 or if you are in Passaic County, to contact the local telephone number at 1-609-826-3980.