All family child care providers need current CPR, First Aid, and HIV/Aids training. Providers, child care center and school-age care directors, program supervisors, site coordinators and lead teachers must also meet the required 20 hours of essential child care training within the first 6 months of being licensed or hired.  In addition, 10 hours of continuing education is required annually. Aides, assistants, volunteers and substitute providers are not required to take the training, but are strongly urged to participate. 

Trainings and continuing education can come through your local child care resource & referral, community college or on-line. Visit our Washington Scholarships for Child Care Professionals page to find out about scholarship opportunities.

Internet resources

• Northwest Educational Technology Consortium (NETC) - The mission of the Northwest Educational Technology Consortium is to provide professional development opportunities, access to technical assistance, and support for collegial interaction that allow and encourage educators throughout our region, and especially in K-12 schools, to become informed and fearless users of technology.
• Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) - The Child and Family Program's mission is to help ensure educators, human service providers, and parents have the knowledge, skills, and resources to meet the increasingly complex needs of children and families.
• School's Out Washington is a community partnership dedicated to coordinating resources for the development of a comprehensive, high-quality system of out-of-school time activities for children and youth, ages 5 to 14, in Washington state. Started in 1987 through a grant awarded to the City of Seattle, School's Out Consortium has continued to grow under the auspices of the YWCA of Seattle-King County since 1988.
• State Training and Registry System, STARS, The new state required in-service training system for those who work in child care and early education and school-age care.