Frequently Asked Questions
What is a CDA? A Child Development Associates (CDA) is a Credential awarded by the COUNCIL OF PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION out of Washington D.C. This credential is acknowledged and accepted Nationwide and serves as proof that the person holding the CDA is an educated, qualified, childcare professional. It is the equivalent of 12 college credit hours (120 clock hours or 12 CEU's) but also considers your experience in childcare. It is used nationwide to improve the star quality rating score of an in-home provider or child care center.
What kinds of CDA's are there? - You can choose: *INFANT TODDLER CDA / *PRESCHOOL CDA or *FAMILY (IN HOME PROVIDER) CDA
Which Class should I take, and which book Should I buy? - You should buy the book and take the class that is the age group you will be observed working with. Infant and Toddlers are for ages 6 weeks to 2 years old. Pre-School is for ages 3 to 12 years old, and Family is for all those that provide childcare in their homes.
LINK TO PURCHASE TEXTBOOKS:
What if I work with one age group but want to get my CDA in a different age group? You can do that. Just remember that you will need to be observed working with the age group that you are testing in and your parent questionnaires will need to be from children of the testing age group as well.
What if I want to get the Infant Toddler CDA AND the Preschool CDA at the same time? You can do that, but you must register for both at the same time using the SECOND ENDORSEMENT registration link found on the payment page. This saves you money. You will also need to call them to get information on their cost to test for BOTH endorsements at the same time. 1-800-424-4310
What if I already have my CDA in one rea but now want to get my CDA in another area? You can do that, but you must register using the SECOND ENDORSEMENT registration link found on the payment page.
How long does a CDA class take to complete? The online class takes an average of 8 weeks to complete, however you have up to one semester (6 months) from the date of purchase to complete the course. Live classes are completed by the end of the class. (Usually, 4 to 10 weeks.)
What if I don't finish in one semester? If you have a life event or emergency that keeps you from completing the CDA in the one semester time frame, you can find the link to purchase an extension under the CDA tab on our website. This extension does carry a fee but will give you an additional 60 days to complete your program. The good news is, you only must complete the online portion of the course in this time frame - you will STILL have a full 3 years after that to be observed and to take the final with the CDA COUNCIL. PLEASE NOTE: RED ROCK COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS RECEIVE 2 SEMESTERS (ONE YEAR) TO COMPLETE THE CDA COURSE AND CAN NOT REQUEST AN EXTESION AFTER THIS TIME HAS PASSED.
Who can enroll in a CDA class? Anyone who meets the following requirements:
*18 years or older - (or will be by the time they take their exam with the CDA Council.)
* Have a High School Diploma or equivalent (Or will have this by the time they take their exam with the CDA Council.)
* You must also have a minimum of 480 hours (about 12 weeks of full-time experience or 24 weeks of part time experience) in a child care setting during your lifetime. If you do not have this experience, you must obtain it BEFORE you take your exam with the CDA Council. This gives you a full year after you take OUR final to get that experience and then take THEIR final.
When I am finished with your CDA class - does that mean I have my CDA? No. After our program you will need to be observed working in a classroom with students and you will need to take your final exam with the Council. You will do this online. They do charge a fee for this test. The CDA assessment fee is $425.00, however, most states have either a scholarship and/or a reimbursement program in place to cover the cost of that test. Yes, the CDA Council does accept our certificate. However, scholarships and/or reimbursement programs change their acceptance requirements all the time. We cannot always guarantee our certificate can be used for scholarships. To see if your state has scholarships for this test go to www.cdacouncil.org and click on Scholarships and then your state.
What if I don't get a scholarship for the CDA assessment fee with THE COUNCIL? Our certificate is good for 1 year from the date of course completion. You can wait until you have the money saved and take the test when you can. You will have our certificate to show your employer, childcare licensing or other interested party to prove that you completed the class.
Will I get a transcript to use at my local college or for other reasons? Yes and No. Our program - Tick Tock Training- provides the certificate for the 120 clock hours needed to receive your National CDA from the CDA Council. This will get you the NATIONAL CDA. But, if you are looking for College Credit Hours you must enroll through RED ROCKS COMMUNITY COLLEGE for the CDA program and then choose Tick Tock Training as the provider of choice. Please note, our grants do NOT apply to Red Rocks Community College -you must apply for grants through them. Please go to:
APPLY TO RED ROCKS
https://www.rrcc.edu/child-care-innovations/child-development-associate-credential-program
Choose the CDA and then choose Tick Tock Training. (The KICKSTART nor the CHILDUP grant will not apply towards your enrollment at Red Rocks Community College). You must apply through them for the Shines Brighter CDA Scholarship program.
Can I use the hours I take towards the CDA as my yearly clock hours for childcare licensing too? In TEXAS yes. For other states this is completely up to your licensing representative and depends on the state you work in. Please contact them for prior approval.
What is a Directors Credential? We are certified in the state of Texas to certify students to open and/or Direct a Licensed Child Care Facility. This course takes an average student about 4 weeks to complete online or 4 days to complete at a live class. When you are finished with the class there is nothing more to do - you have your license. All you have to do is turn the certificate from us into your licensing representative.
Is your Directors Credential accepted in other states? It has been, so please contact your state for approval before taking the course.
What are the requirements to receive a Directors Credential?
At this time our credential is only accepted in TEXAS.
* 21 years or older
* Have a High School Diploma or equivalent
* You must also have a minimum of 2 years of experience in a licensed childcare setting during your lifetime.
How do I pay for a training or class? Simply go to the page that has the course or class listed and click the BUY NOW/ REGISTER HERE button. We use secure online payment services to help protect you for all our online transactions. This is a secure site and assures you that no employee of our company will ever have access to your financial information.
What if I lost my certificate for the live class? This is unfortunate, but we cannot replace live class certificates for any reason. This is due to state law that requires only one certificate to be issued to each class attendee.
What if my certificate did not print when I took my online exam? No problem, you can log in and take the exam again.
What if I lost my online certificates? Can you print a new one for me and email it to me? Our system only keeps students’ certificates for a VERY short time. If this time has not passed, we will be happy to email them to you for a fee of $10.00 per replacement certificate.
What if I have difficulty trying to enroll or use your site? Send us an email at: ticktocktraining@yahoo.com or call (888) 237-0822.
What is your refund policy? What if I decide I don't want a class?
We completely understand however, we must adhere to strict withdrawal deadlines as follows:
-
For online certification courses: (CDA, ADMINISTRATORS DIRECTOR CREDENTIAL, CDA RENEWAL, ADMINISTRATORS DIRECTOR RENEWAL, PRESCHOOL CERTIFICATAION AND PRESCHOOL CERTIFICATION RENEWAL):
-
The student may request a refund for the above courses within 48 hours from the time the payment of the course is made - if the student has not completed any course work or taken any online exams that end with a certificate being given for completion.
-
All request for a refund must be in writing via email. www.ticktocktraining@yahoo.com">www.ticktocktraining@yahoo.com. Calls do not count towards a refund request.
-
Once you apply for a refund you must return all class materials, training manuals and certificates before a refund will be issued. All refunds incur a 15% processing fee.
-
-
For INSTANT TRAINING: (Clock hours courses, bundles and train the trainer courses)
-
Once the student has been sent the training or login information there are no refunds allowed.
-
-
For live training classes: This includes all classes held live with an instructor, including webinars held online.
-
Once the student has attended one session of a live class or received a certificate for the live class there are no refunds allowed for any reason.
-
-
We DO allow substitutions for class enrollments. If for some reason you enroll in a class but are unable to attend, you can substitute any person in your place. Simply email us and let us know. We will need the name and username of the student leaving the course, and the full name and email of the new student joining the course. Please note: if the original student has completed more than 1/2 of the course or received certificates for course completion, we will be unable to make this substitution,
-
Where can I get more information?
-
Email Us: ticktocktraining@yahoo.com