History & Mission of the
Council for Professional Recognition & CDA

History of Council

Founded in 1985, the Council for Professional Recognition is a nonprofit organization located in Washington, DC. The Council promotes improved performance and recognition of professionals in early childhood care and education — the people who work with children from birth through five years of age in early childhood centers, family child care homes, and as home visitors.

In keeping with its goal to meet the growing need for qualified child care staff, the Council administers the Child Development Associate (CDA) National Credentialing Program. The CDA Program is designed to assess and credential early childhood care and education professionals based on performance.

The Council sets the policies and procedures for assessment and credentialing, publishes the Competency Standards and other material used for CDA credentialing, and administers the assessment. Other professional improvement activities of the Council include: publishing materials to support professional development activities, including the CDA preparation process; administering a Military School-Age Credential; and operating a CDA Professional Preparation Program (CDA P3 ).

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History of CDA

The concept for the CDA Credential was initiated in 1971 as a national movement to improve the quality of child care and was funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF). Following three years of development work, the first CDA Credentials were awarded in July 1975.

The Credentialing Program was administered by the CDA Consortium from its inception until 1979 and by Bank Street College from 1979 to 1985. In the spring of 1985, ACYF initiated a cooperative agreement with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) for the purpose of creating a separate nonprofit organization to administer the CDA Program. This organization, named the Council for Professional Recognition, began administering the CDA Program on September 1, 1985.

Currently, the Council serves as a collaborative partner and maintains a cooperative agreement with ACYF/Head Start Bureau to support staff development for teachers, teacher aides, and home visitors employed in Head Start, Early Head Start, and other child care programs. This partnership supports career paths that encompass CDA and academic credentials.

The total number of caregivers who have obtained the CDA Credential since the inception of the program is now more than 200,000. The number of child care providers applying for the CDA Credential has grown to nearly 15,000 annually, as a result of an increase in demand from many public and private employers for qualified trained staff. Furthermore, 49 states plus the District of Columbia incorporate the CDA Credential into their child care center licensing regulations.