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By Denise H. Horton
Because of a $770,000 grant from the Goizueta Foundation to UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences, child-care providers throughout Georgia soon will have expanded training opportunities .
The five-year grant will be used to establish the Childhood Development Associate Training Project in support of the Georgia Early Learning Initiative, a program established by Gov. Roy Barnes to improve the quality of child care and early learning opportunities for Georgia’s children.
“A key component of improving child care is to enhance the credentials of our caregivers,” says Bill Garrett, director of the early learning initiative. “This grant is designed specifically to improve the quality of what’s currently offered and to improve access to training opportunities for caregivers.”
Family and Consumer Sciences is one of several colleges and technical schools in Georgia that offer the 120-hour intensive Childhood Development Associate course, which is administered by the National Council for Professional Recognition. CDA provides entry-level credentialing for people who work in earlychildhood education.
“This generous gift allows us to collaborate with other colleges, technical schools and child-care organizations to expand the CDA-training options in local communities,” says Chris Todd, FACS associate dean for outreach and extension.
Included in the grant, which will be led by Karen Shetterly and Anita Smith, are plans to pilot-test an academic credit option.
“Allowing those who have received CDA accreditation to apply those hours toward an associate or bachelor’s degree provides an added incentive for people who are working in early child care to dedicate the necessary time to this program,” says Shetterly.
Smith, a member of the child and family development department in the college, has been recognized throughout Georgia for her work with the CDA credentialing program, while Shetterly currently administers the CDA program through the UGA Center for Continuing Education.
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