The Center for Children and Childhood Studies’ program, the Camden Campaign for Children’s Literacy, has developed a new initiative to foster high quality teaching skills among childcare associates. The CCCL initiative, Childcare Literacy Training’s Child Development Associate (CDA) certification program officially began on September 8th, 2003. Forty-three Camden childcare centers are participating in the program and 228 CDA candidates have registered.

The Child Development Associate certification program is a national program that provides childcare and early education professionals with performance based training, assessment and credentials. The Camden Campaign for Children’s Literacy’s CDA certification program provides the required courses, workshops and mentoring to Camden’s childcare associates for free.

CCCL’s CDA program is the most comprehensive program of its kind and is a pioneer among all programs offered. Participants not only attend three hours of weekly course instruction, but also receive weekly mentoring and technical assistance to deal with the process of receiving the CDA certification through the national office. The CDA is offered as part of two specific tracks, the Infant Toddler CDA or the Pre-School CDA.

As a result of CCCL’s CDA program, more than 2500 children will benefit from the new skills acquired by their center’s childcare associates. The Center for Children and Childhood Studies is particularly proud of the program for the innovative strategies it has developed, its availability to all Camden childcare professionals, and its ability to deliver training in a cost effective manner.

By: Angela Connor-Morris, Senior Program Director-Service and Outreach
September 8, 2003