The scholarship eliminated the financial barriers to me earning my CDA and helped me through the entire process.
– Assistant educator, Southeastern Missouri
Early Childhood CDA Scholarship Model
Early Childhood CDA Scholarship may best suit your needs if you want:
- A CDA in an infant/toddler, preschool or family child care home setting.
- To earn your national Child Development Associate (CDA) credential meeting the educational requirement through training clock hours.
- To earn a credential before earning your Associate degree.
- A CDA as a requirement for employment.
- NOTE: If you would like to earn your 120 clock hours through college credit hours, click here (hyperlinks directly to https://mochildcareaware.org/teach-missouri/cda-scholarship/) to apply for the T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI CDA Scholarship.
Eligibility – All applicants must:
- Be at least 18 years old and have a high school or equivalent diploma.
- Have worked at least one month with your current child care employer.
- Work directly with children birth to 5 years old daily in a licensed, license-exempt, or Six or Fewer Proider child care program.
- Work directly with children at least 15 hours a week in a child care program in the setting you are choosing to earn your CDA (infant/toddler, preschool or family child care).
- Work in Missouri and are authorized to work in the U.S.
To apply for the CDA Scholarship Project, click here.
Once your application is approved:
- A CDA Scholarship Counselor will contact you directly to schedule a phone review and discuss necessary paperwork.
NOTE: Your scholarship is not fully active until you talk to your CDA Scholarship Counselor and upload the required paperwork.
- After creating an account with us, you will upload all your past training certificates and transcripts. Our counselors will review these assigning each to one of the eight required CDA subject areas.
- If you need more training, your Counselor will discuss the subject areas you still need and available training options. We will cover up to $350 in training costs for you.
- You will have six (6) to nine (9) months to complete your training.
Once your training is completed:
- Your CDA Scholarship Counselor will purchase and send the CDA Competency Workbook for your chosen CDA setting.
- We will provide you with helpful resources to create your portfolio in a specific order and to meet the Council for Professional Recognition (Council) requirements.
- You will take the next four (4) months to create your Professional CDA Portfolio.
Once your portfolio is completed
- Your Counselor will assist you in applying to the Council for your CDA.
- We will walk you through the process and pay the $425 application fee for you.
- Your Counselor will explain how to navigate the exam and observation visit and interview as part of completing your CDA.
Congratulations! You’ve earned your national CDA credential
- Once you complete the necessary paperwork, you will receive a completion bonus of $215 from the CDA Scholarship Project.
- Six months later, with just a bit more paperwork, and verification that you are with your same early care and education employer, you will receive another $215 check. This means you’ve earned a CDA and $430!
NOTE: A CDA expires in three (3) years. Don’t worry though, we offer a fully paid for CDA Renewal Scholarship too!
View step by step instructions:
100% of the cost of this program will be financed with Federal money up to $1.3 million annually. No other funding sources support this program.
