A skilled and well-trained workforce is essential to providing high-quality early care and education services to children and their families. Through professional development, child care providers acquire knowledge and skills needed to plan and implement quality early learning experiences. If you are a child care provider looking for professional development opportunities, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) collaborates with partners to provide training opportunities throughout the state for child care providers in both classroom-based and distance learning formats. VDOE offers a variety of training, education, and resources to help you earn the continuing education and training needed to be successful in the early childhood and school-age care workforce which are described here.

Virginia Preservice Training for Child Care Staff 

Virginia Preservice Training for Child Care Staff

The Virginia Preservice Training for Child Care Staff, sponsored by the Department of Education, provides an overview of basic health and safety requirements and best practices in topic areas required by the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). It was specifically created for professionals who work with children and families in Virginia. This free orientation training is required for prospective subsidy providers to complete prior to approval.  Within 90 days of subsidy approval or beginning employment within a subsidy approved program, all staff who work directly with children shall complete the orientation training. This course is also required for staff who work in Licensed Child Day Centers and shall be completed within 90 days of employment.

If you already have an account with the Better Kid Care On Demand system, you can access the course by clicking on the preferred language link (English / Español). If you have not used the system before, you will need to register as a new user first. Instructions for creating an account can be found here. If you have any issues setting up an account or accessing the trainings, please contact the Better Kid Care HELP line at 800-452-9108. 

Virginia Preservice Training Pathways

The preservice training includes the following required courses: 

• A foundations course for all staff (regardless of program type or age of children in care), and 
• Program- and and age-specific courses (based on the type of program a staff person works in and the ages of children with whom the staff person works). 

Which required preservice training courses are right for me?

Staff at a licensed child day center or subsidy child day center who only work with ages birth to five years will take:

•  Virginia Preservice Training for All Child Care Staff: Foundations for Health and Safety (3 hours) English / Español  

AND 

• Virginia Preservice: Child Day Center - Birth to Five Care; (3 hours) English / Español (coming soon)

 Staff at a licensed child day center or subsidy child day center who only work with school-age children will take:  

• Virginia Preservice Training for All Child Care Staff: Foundations for Health and Safety (3 hours) English / Español  

AND 

• Virginia Preservice Health and Safety Training for Child Day Center School-Age Care (1.5 hours) English / Español 

Directors and staff who work with multiple age groups at a licensed child day center or subsidy child day center who work with both birth to five years AND school-age children will take:  

•  Virginia Preservice Training for All Child Care Staff: Foundations for Health and Safety (3 hours) English / Español

AND

• Virginia Preservice: Child Day Center - Birth to Five Care; (3 hours) English / Español (coming soon)

AND

• Virginia Preservice Health and Safety Training for Child Day Center School-Age Care (1.5 hours) English / Español 

Subsidy family day home providers will take:

• Virginia Preservice Training for All Child Care Staff: Foundations for Health and Safety (3 hours) English / Español

AND

• Virginia Preservice: Family Day Home Care; (3 hours) English / Español (coming soon)

*The previous 10-hour preservice training course will remain available for 30 days for anyone who is currently enrolled in the course. As of June 1, 2026, the 10-hour preservice training will not be available to complete even if staff were previously enrolled in the course.*

Course Access Tips

The Virginia Department of Education has partnered with Better Kid Care On Demand to host required health and safety courses at no cost to participants. Registration for On Demand is separate from any online state registry system. 

If you already have an account with Better Kid Care, you may click the appropriate link(s) above and sign-in to complete your coursework. 

If you do not have a Better Kid Care account, you must create an account before beginning your coursework. 

More information about the On Demand system, including instructions for creating an account can be found here. 

If you have any issues accessing the training, please contact the Better Kid Care HELP line at 800-452-9108. 

For more information, see the Frequently Asked Questions. 

Virginia's Health and Safety Update Course

Virginia Health and Safety Annual Update Training - 3 hour course

• For a person who completed the Virginia Preservice Training for Child Care Staff in 2025, they will complete the Virginia Annual Health and Safety Update Training for Child Care Staff within one year of taking the Virginia Preservice Training for Child Care Staff. Example: If a person completed the Virginia Preservice Training for Child Care Staff on June 13, 2025, they shall complete this update training by June 12, 2026.

For more information, see the Frequently Asked Questions.

If you have any issues accessing the training, please contact Better Kid Care HELP Line at 800-452-9108.

Are there Scholarships to Help Me Pay for Education?

The Virginia Association for the Education of Young Children (VAAEYC) is an organization that serves, supports, and advocates for all who care for and educate young children. The organization has established scholarships for members to assist providers working with young children to obtain their Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential as well as other educational opportunities. Click here for more information on scholarships available.

Information about scholarships to pay for college courses can be found HERE.

MAT Training Program - Medication Administration Training Program

The MAT Program trains and certifies Virginia child day program providers and private school employees to safely give medications to children (ages infant through high school graduation) in their care. The MAT Program does not certify providers who work in a residential care setting or who provide care for adults.

Child Abuse and Neglect Mandated Reporter Training

VDSS Child Abuse and Neglect – Recognizing, Reporting and Responding for Educators
This training module prepares Virginia teachers who are mandated by law to report suspected child abuse and neglect.

Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA) - CCWA in partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia, offers CHLD 2015 - Child Abuse and Neglect: Recognition and Reporting to support the professional development and training needs of the early care and education workforce across the state. This online class meets regulatory and statutory requirements for child day programs, is available in English and Spanish, and is made available for free through this partnership.

Mandated Reporting for Child Abuse and Neglect: A Refresher Training - In collaboration with the Virginia Department of Social Services Division of Family Services, the VDOE Office of Child Child Care Health and Safety created this refresher training that reviews laws related to mandated reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect and provides resources for caregivers. This training is recommended for anyone involved with a child day program or family day system.

First Aid / CPR Free Training

Child Care Aware provides First Aid and CPR training on behalf of the Virginia Department of Education. There is no cost to Child Care Providers that participate in the Child Care Subsidy program or provide child care for infants and toddlers. More information about Free Child Care Provider Trainings

Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential

• Council for Professional Recognition
• Better Kid Care CDA Overview
• Better Kid Care CDA Webinars

Better Kid Care Directors’ Training

Better Kid Care offers lessons designed specifically to address the professional development needs of center directors with content on program leadership and administration. Better Kid Care Directors’ Training

Classroom-Based Courses

Virginia’s Community Colleges offer short term certificate programs and 2-year Associate Degrees in Early Childhood Development.

• Early Childhood Certificate
  A certificate is a short term educational program consisting of a minimum of 30 semester hours.
• Early Childhood Development Degrees
  The Virginia Community Colleges offer an Associate of Applied Science degree for child care providers.

Other Training and Development Opportunities

Child Care Aware of Virginia

CCA of Virginia offers a variety of professional development opportunities for professionals that include training sessions that can be used to obtain a CDA credential or as in-service training hours; offered in-person or online.

Preparedness for Child Care Providers
This course from FEMA will provide child care providers, in a variety of settings, with the information they need to identify, assess, and plan for hazards at their child care site.

First Aid and CPR
The American Red Cross offers training in First Aid, CPR, and/or AED.

Virginia Early Intervention eLearning Center - Social Emotional Development of Young Children
The VA EI eLearning Center is designed to provide practitioners with high quality, interactive professional development on early intervention topics. Each module is available as a free resource and results in a certificate of completion.

Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA)
CCWA, in partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia, offers childcare provider training classes to support the professional development and training needs of the early care and education workforce across the state. The following online classes meet regulatory and statutory requirements for child day programs, are available in English and Spanish, and are made available for free through this partnership:

• CHLD 2015 - Child Abuse and Neglect: Recognition and Reporting
• CHLD 2016 - Health Screening for Childcare Professionals

Virginia Infant & Toddler Specialist Network (VA ITSN) 
The VA ITSN offers a variety of professional development opportunities, both virtually and in-person, that support improved interactions with children. VA ITSN training is for professionals caring for infants and toddlers (0-36 months). 

Virginia Association for Education of Young Children (VAAEYC)
VAAEYC produces an Annual Conference each year with training courses to meet the needs of early childhood educators and early care providers.

VAAEYC also presents and records free online professional development workshops which are available for viewing on their YouTube Channel - VAAEYC Learning Lounge. The link is here: https://www.youtube.com/@vaaeyc

Square One
Square One offers prevention and early intervention (PEI) professional development training to child care providers and early childhood educators who work with children birth through 8 years of age and their families.