ChildSavers offers free and low-cost training for child care providers in need of professional development training hours, technical assistance, and coaching. We’re here to help you provide the best care possible as you earn your training hours for child care.
View our training calendar for our full list of workshops (updated quarterly).
Child Care Aware (Free)
Child Care Aware offers free resources and training to fit your professional development and business needs, so you can continue offering affordable and essential care for children in Central Virginia. We can also help you attract more clients by placing you in our quality care database.
Child Care Aware training includes but is not limited to:
- Trauma-informed/responsive care
- Emergency preparedness
- Child development
- Safety planning
- Child care regulations (VA and National)
- Quality enhancement
- Family engagement
- Nutrition
- Accreditation
Child Care Aware also provides technical assistance outside of training, offering free consultation services to child care providers via telephone, online, on-site, or via printed resources. View ChildSavers online training calendar to sign up for Child Care Aware training.
Virginia Quality (Free)
Virginia Quality is a free, voluntary “grading” method used to define, measure, and improve the quality of child care and preschool programs across the Commonwealth. Trainers do this by helping you make small, yet impactful changes that help you move up in quality ranking. The more levels you achieve, the higher your quality score becomes.
To help you gain visibility and credibility, we share all Virginia Quality-enrolled businesses with parents and guardians searching for quality child care and preschool programs.
Virginia Quality training topics include but are not limited to:
- Teacher-child interactions
- Learning environment
- Curriculum and intentional teaching
- Language and literacy for toddlers
- Guided learning through play
- Child behavior
- Social and emotional development
To browse and sign up for upcoming Virginia Quality training sessions, view ChildSavers’ training calendar.
Virginia Infant and Toddler Specialist Network (Free)
The Virginia Infant and Toddler Specialist Network (VAITSN) equips child care professionals with the skills needed to provide quality early care and education to children ages 0 – 3. Specialists offer free training hours for child care, technical assistance, and additional resources for family day home providers and child care centers with infants and toddlers in their care.
Training with VAITSN includes but is not limited to:
- Inclusive child care environments
- Curriculum and intentional teaching
- Learning experiences and environments
- Child care leadership
- Child-focus exploration and discovery
- Classroom observation
- Social and emotional development
- Language and communication
To view and sign up for upcoming VAITSN training opportunities, view ChildSavers’ training calendar (updated quarterly).
CDA (Child Development Associates Certificate) Training ($10-$20/session)
The Child Development Associate (CDA) is the simplest, quickest, and most inexpensive way to further your career in early childhood education. Our CDA training is 13-month class leading up to your test and observation. We’ll help you on your journey to earning your CDA, which will include:
- A monthly class (13 months). Don’t worry, multiple morning and evening classes are offered per month!
- 13 chapters of homework (1 per month), feedback about your assignments, and a portfolio notebook that we’ll help you complete.
- Upon completion of ChildSavers’ CDA training program, you will receive a certificate of completion for 120 clock hours of study needed to apply for credentialing through the Council for Professional Recognition in Washington, D.C.
Each online CDA class costs $10 if you’re enrolled in Virginia Quality, CACFP, or Voluntary Registration (free enrollment). If you are not enrolled in these programs, it will cost $20 per class. Books for the course cost $100.
In order to join our CDA training session, you’ll need to sign up for a free orientation. View our quarterly CDA class schedule via ChildSavers’ training calendar.
Additional Opportunities for Training Hours (Free & Fee-Based)
ChildSavers (in partnership with Smart Beginnings) offers free and low-cost training hours for child care providers online. Our child care workshops are designed to enhance your knowledge and skills in working with children and helping you improve your classroom and business strategies.
View our training calendar to sign up for quarterly virtual training opportunities.
What is ChildSavers?
ChildSavers is a nonprofit offering resources and training for child care providers throughout the Commonwealth. We also provide mental health services for children and families in Richmond, VA. ChildSavers is the only nonprofit in Virginia using a coordinated prevention and intervention model to prepare children for lifelong learning, address mental health, and recover from trauma.
Nearly 100 years ago, ChildSavers was established as the Children’s Memorial Clinic in memory of Dr. McGuire Newton, one of Richmond’s first pediatricians. We were one of the first ten child guidance clinics in the United States, and the first in the South, and we are the oldest provider of mental health services for children in the metro Richmond area licensed by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. As our knowledge grows and the community changes, we adopt new models and best practices to meet the needs of children.
