Early Childhood Training Requirements
Early Learning Professionals hired BEFORE August 1st, 2019; are required to take 10 hours of in-service training a year. This includes anyone who will be left unsupervised with children. These are calculated using the fiscal year (July 1st – June 30th)
Family Home Owners, Assistant Teachers, Lead Teachers, Program Supervisors, Assistant Directors, Directors.
Managers are to take 10 hours of Child Development and 10 hours of Leadership Practices (Professional Development & Leadership) within 36 months.
You can complete training from any Washington State authorized Trainer, Organization, or Conference. Other training you may want to take will need to be approved by MERIT before they are applied to your training profile.
Must be taken with DCYF.
- Blood Borne Pathogens
- Safe Sleep
- Completed Background Check (May require fingerprint process)
DCYF Training Portal Click HERE
To be completed outside DCYF Not STARs Hours
- Food Handler Card (Health Department)
- Child First Aid/CPR (In-person class)
- TB test
Go to the MERIT registry to take the Child Care Basic.
If you were hired AFTER August 1st, 2019 early learning professionals are required to take their first 2 years of training (after completing the Child Care Basic) through DCYF. This training is called: EQEL (Enhancing the Quality of Early Learning)
Initial Training (Year 1): Complete the 30 Hour Child Care Basic and other preservice requirements.
Following Year (Year 2): 10 hours of free training provided by DCYF contractors.
The Next Year (Year 3): 10 hours of free training provided by DCYF contractors for your in-service hours.
Year 4: You are free to take courses from DCYF/MERIT authorized trainers and organizations to meet your in-service requirement.
Note: You can take courses of interest with other organizations during this period, but they will not apply to the EQEL 10 hours of training you are required to take with DCYF contractors.
For more information on training requirements, you can click the link below and it will take you to the DCYF “Professional Development, Training, and Requirements” page.