Credentials for the Infant/Toddler Child Care Workforce. A Technical Assistance Tool for Child Care And Developemnt Fund Administrators

摘要

A critical step toward professionalism of a discipline is the establishment of a credential defining the qualifications for those authorized to work in the field. Such credentials exist in the fields of medicine, education, law and accounting, for example. In fact, the presence of a credential is one point of distinction between professional and non-professional fields of endeavor. The National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative (hereafter, the Initiative) has broadly defined the term credential for the infant/toddler child care workforce to include any combination of requirements (training, courses, experience) that, when considered together, translate to formal recognition of individuals that work with infants and toddlers in child care programs. Accordingly, an infant/toddler credential is a qualification that asserts that the holder has specialized knowledge and skills that serve as a foundation for high quality interactions and care of babies and toddlers. The credential is formal recognition of this professional achievement.