How to Apply for a California Child Development Permit
Child Development Permits are issued by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and allows an individual to secure employment in an educational program for children funded with federal, state, county or local money. This includes school districts, Head Start, state preschool, before and after school care, and campus laboratory centers\.
If you are applying for a permit for the first time, the Child Development Training Consortium can assist in paying the application fee and the basic fee of your live scan and background check.
Río Hondo College also participates in the Verification of Completion program which gives students who took all of their courses at Río Hondo priority status with verification and paperwork completed by Dr. Sondra Moe, Child Development faculty member. This status speeds up the processing of paperwork once it reaches the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
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What are the requirements to apply for a Child Development Permit?
- Applicants must complete a set of specific state required college level child development courses along with other applicable college level courses.
- Some permits require college degrees.
- Most permits also require work experience in order to apply.
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When should students apply for a Child Development Permit?
The answer to this question depends on academic goals and how soon students would like to work:
- If a student wants to work right away with the minimum amount of education and no experience working with children apply for the Assistant Teacher permit.
- If a student has worked with children and plans to complete all of the state required courses apply for the Associate Teacher permit.
- If a student has worked with children and has completed a general Child Development Certificate of Achievement along with 16 General Education units required by the state apply for the Teacher Permit.
- If a student’s goal is to earn an Associate Degree in Child Development and they don’t plan to work while finishing their degree that student will qualify to apply for a Teacher Permit when the degree is completed.
- If a student has worked with children, has a Child Development Certificate of Achievement plus 2 classes focusing on the same Child Development focus area plus an Adult Supervision course plus 16 General Education units apply for the Master Teacher Permit.
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How do students apply when requirements are met?
Make an appointment with Irene Vu or Angelica Martinez, Child Development Department counselors, for assistance:
This will qualify students to participate in the Verification of Completion program which will speed up the application process.
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What is required in addition to the application forms?
- Official college transcripts
- Live Scan digital fingerprinting that includes Department of Justice and FBI clearance sent directly to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
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What if a student cannot afford the application and Live Scan fees?
The Child Development Training Consortium offers a program that may process and submit the Permit application, pay the application fee and reimburse a portion of the Live Scan fee with receipt.
See a Child Development Department counselor for more information:
Please note that only forms for the current academic year are accepted for the application support fee.