Become a Home Visitor CDA PD Specialist™
Eligibility requirements to become a Home Visitor CDA PD Specialist.
Home Visitor PDS Eligibility Requirements
To conduct home visitor assessments as a Council PDS, you must meet the following criteria:
Affirm your ability to relate to families and family members of various racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Be knowledgeable about local, state, and national requirements, standards, and guidelines for home visiting, community-based family support and education, and/or parent education programs serving families with children aged birth through five years. Be familiar with the home visiting program where the candidate will be observed and the needs of families and children in the community. Be familiar with the CDA assessment system.
Hold a Baccalaureate or Associate degree from an accredited college or university in one of the following disciplines:
- Family Studies Child Development and Family Life
- Individual and Family Studies Nursing
- Early Childhood Education/Child Development Social Work
- Home Economics/Child Development Human Resource Development
- Child Development and Family Life
- Nursing
- Social Work
- Human Resource Development
Option 1
For those with a Baccalaureate Degree, two years working directly with parents and children in a home-based setting, serving families with children aged from birth to five years old, to include: One year working directly with parents and children as a home visitor, and One year facilitating the professional growth of at least one other adult. If the PDS has not worked as a Home Visitor her/himself, s/he must have had at least one year of experience working as a primary caregiver for a group of children aged five years old or younger.
Option 2
For those with an Associate Degree, four years in a Home Visitor program serving families with children aged birth through five years, to include: Two years working directly with parents and children as a home visitor, and Two years facilitating the professional growth of at least one other adult. If the Council PDS has not worked as a Home Visitor, s/he must have had at least two years of experience working as a primary caregiver for a group of children five years old or younger, or a combined total of two years of experience working directly with parents and children in center-based and home-based settings.
Bilingual Specialization — additional requirements
In addition to meeting the requirements listed, the PDS for a Candidate applying for the Bilingual Specialization Assessment must be able to read, speak, and write English and the other language (Spanish, for example) well enough to understand and be understood by both children and adults.