Pre-service staff education and training qualification requirements vary substantially across state child care licensing standards. If states set requirements, staff are typically required to have a certain degree or credential and/or a set amount of post-secondary coursework within a child care related field; states may also include hours of experience as a staff qualification. As of 2018, no state licensing standards require lead teachers to have a bachelor’s degree in center-based programs serving infants and toddlers, and only the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Minnesota, and Vermont require assistant teachers/aides in these settings to have a CDA or equivalent.28 No states require lead teachers in a home-based setting to have a bachelor’s degree or higher, and only the District of Columbia and Hawaii require assistant teachers/aides to have at least a CDA or equivalent in these settings.28 A large number of states lack any minimum educational requirements for care providers (including the majority of states for center- and home-based assistants/aides), and several states require only a high school diploma, but no specialized post-secondary training (see Table 2 for variation).28
Table 2: Number of States with Licensing Standard Requirements for Staff Education and Training, by Setting, Staff Position, and Number of States in 2018
| Center-Based Providers | Home-Based Providers* |
---|
| Lead Teachers | Assistants | Lead Teachers | Assistants |
BA or above | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
AA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Some higher education/training beyond a CDA, less than an AA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
CDA or equivalent | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
Some higher education/training, less than a CDA | 11 | 5 | 12 | 3 |
High school diploma/GED | 9 | 7 | 8 | 4 |
None | 19 | 35 | 24 | 41 |
Source: Data compiled based on Figure 4.3 in Whitebook, et al. (2018).
Notes: State counts include the District of Columbia.
*Source does not report data for three states for home-based lead teachers and one state for home-based assistants/aides.
As of 2016, all state QRIS include requirements for staff qualifications, and most state QRIS specify education and credentialing indicators.30Most state QRIS require center-based teachers to have a bachelor’s degree at the highest quality rating level, although few states have the same requirements for home-based providers.31 In 2016, 36 and 20 statesviii include CDAs or a state-equivalent credential as an indicator for center-based and home-based providers, respectively.30 As of 2019, of the 40 statewide QRIS, 39 included specific staff training and qualification standards for center-based providers, and 38 specify training and qualification standards for home-based providers.33
Few states, however, have educational requirements for child care staff that align with professional recommendations (see Table 3 for details). For example, no states have minimum educational requirements for lead teachers in center-based or home-based care settings that align with standards as provided by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) or the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and National Research Council (NRC). Many states offer scholarships to child care professionals pursuing higher educational attainment; for example, states offer scholarships for pursuit of the following credentials: CDA (36 states), associate’s degree (41 states), bachelor’s degree (40 states).28,ix
Over the past several years, a national collaborative led by child care professionals developed a unifying framework to provide recommendations to the child care field on how to define the early childhood education profession. Several of the central recommendations resulting from the Power to the Profession collaboration centered around improving and unifying the pathways to training and qualification for the early education workforce. The unifying framework advocates for three professional designations, accompanied by professional licensing, to define the ECE workforce. Licensing in their model is awarded upon completion of an accredited professional preparation program, completing field experience, and passing an assessment.32 The recommended model, endorsed by 15 national organizations in the child care field, represents momentum toward improved workforce qualification standards for child care professionals across the country.
Table 3a: State Variation in Child Care Workforce Qualifications
| Variation |
---|
State | Education Recommendations for Center-Based Assistant Teachers Align With NAEYC Standards | Education Recommendations for Center-Based Lead Teachers Align With IOM/NRC Standards | Education Recommendations for Center-Based Directors Align With IOM/NRC Standards |
Alabama | No | No | No |
Alaska | No | No | No |
Arizona | No | No | No |
Arkansas | No | No | No |
California | No | No | No |
Colorado | No | No | No |
Connecticut | No | No | No |
Delaware | No | No | No |
District of Columbia | Yes | No | Yes |
Florida | No | No | No |
Georgia | No | No | No |
Hawaii | Yes | No | No |
Idaho | No | No | No |
Illinois | No | No | No |
Indiana | No | No | No |
Iowa | No | No | No |
Kansas | No | No | No |
Kentucky | No | No | No |
Louisiana | No | No | No |
Maine | No | No | No |
Maryland | No | No | No |
Massachusetts | No | No | No |
Michigan | No | No | No |
Minnesota | Yes | No | No |
Mississippi | No | No | No |
Missouri | No | No | No |
Montana | No | No | No |
Nebraska | No | No | No |
Nevada | No | No | No |
New Hampshire | No | No | No |
New Jersey | No | No | Yes |
New Mexico | No | No | No |
New York | No | No | No |
North Carolina | No | No | No |
North Dakota | No | No | No |
Ohio | No | No | No |
Oklahoma | No | No | No |
Oregon | No | No | No |
Pennsylvania | No | No | No |
Rhode Island | No | No | No |
South Carolina | No | No | No |
South Dakota | No | No | No |
Tennessee | No | No | No |
Texas | No | No | No |
Utah | No | No | No |
Vermont | Yes | No | No |
Virginia | No | No | No |
Washington | No | No | No |
West Virginia | No | No | No |
Wisconsin | No | No | No |
Wyoming | No | No | No |
State Count | 4 | 0 | 2 |
Data as of 2018. Whitebook, et al. Early Childhood Workforce Index – 2018.
For additional source and calculation information, please refer to Methods and Sources.
Table 3b: State Variation in Child Care Workforce Qualifications
| Variation |
---|
State | Education Recommendations for Family Child Care Assistant Teachers Align With NAEYC Standards | Education Recommendations for Family Child Care Lead Teachers Align With IOM/NRC Standards | State Funds a Scholarship Program That Supports Higher Education Attainment for Early Educators |
Alabama | No | No | Yes |
Alaska | No | No | Yes |
Arizona | No | No | Yes |
Arkansas | No | No | No |
California | No | No | Yes |
Colorado | No | No | Yes |
Connecticut | No | No | Yes |
Delaware | No | No | Yes |
District of Columbia | Yes | No | Yes |
Florida | No | No | Yes |
Georgia | No | No | Yes |
Hawaii | Yes | No | Yes |
Idaho | No | No | Yes |
Illinois | No | No | Yes |
Indiana | No | No | Yes |
Iowa | No | No | Yes |
Kansas | No | No | Yes |
Kentucky | No | No | Yes |
Louisiana | No | No | Yes |
Maine | No | No | No |
Maryland | No | No | Yes |
Massachusetts | No | No | Yes |
Michigan | No | No | Yes |
Minnesota | No | No | Yes |
Mississippi | No | No | No |
Missouri | No | No | Yes |
Montana | No | No | No |
Nebraska | No | No | Yes |
Nevada | No | No | Yes |
New Hampshire | No | No | No |
New Jersey | No | No | Yes |
New Mexico | No | No | Yes |
New York | No | No | Yes |
North Carolina | No | No | Yes |
North Dakota | No | No | Yes |
Ohio | No | No | Yes |
Oklahoma | No | No | Yes |
Oregon | No | No | No |
Pennsylvania | No | No | Yes |
Rhode Island | No | No | Yes |
South Carolina | No | No | Yes |
South Dakota | No | No | No |
Tennessee | No | No | Yes |
Texas | No | No | Yes |
Utah | No | No | Yes |
Vermont | No | No | Yes |
Virginia | No | No | Yes |
Washington | No | No | Yes |
West Virginia | No | No | Yes |
Wisconsin | No | No | Yes |
Wyoming | No | No | Yes |
State Count | 2 | 0 | 44 |
Data as of 2018. Whitebook, et al. Early Childhood Workforce Index – 2018.
For additional source and calculation information, please refer to Methods and Sources.
- State counts include the District of Columbia.
- Two states offer scholarships for CDAs that were not included in the original table in Whitebook et al. (2018): Missouri (https://teach-missouri.org/) and South Carolina (http://sc-ccccd.net/TEACH/TEACH_Scholarships.html).