Maryland Child Care Training | Care Courses
CDA Certification and National Childcare Credentials in Maryland
Use Care Courses towards national childcare credentials including the CDA credential and CDA, CCP or NAC renewal. Care Courses is an official training partner of the CDA Council for Professional Recognition.
Click to learn how a CDA Credential can benefit you in Maryland.
30-Hour Maryland CDA Bridge Bundle
Childcare professionals in Maryland may use this 30-hour CDA bridge bundle to finish their 120-hour CDA training requirement only if they have already completed their 90-hour certificate course.
Maryland Childcare Training Requirements
All Care Courses that grant 2 hours or more of training are approved by the Maryland Department of Education (MSDE) Office of Child Care (OCC) for Core of Knowledge training hours. All Care Courses are approved by MSDE for "continued" annual training hours in Maryland.
Our courses are approved for childcare professionals who work in child care centers, large family child care homes, and family child care homes. This includes directors, child care teachers, assistant child care teachers, aides, education program administrators, providers, employees, co-providers, family child care directors, and family child care teachers. Click below to find training.
Maryland Core of Knowledge (CKO) Area Training
MSDE requires that all child care providers complete a minimum of 6 out of their 12 required annual clock hours of training in any of the following Core of Knowledge Areas:
- Child Development
- Curriculum
- Health, Safety and Nutrition
- Special Needs
- Professionalism
- Community
Click below to sort Care Courses by Maryland's Core of Knowledge Areas. Maryland's Core of Knowledge Areas will appear on your Care Courses certificates.
Maryland Preservice and Training Courses
Maryland 45-Hour Director-Administration Pre-Service Training45 clock hours / $198.00
Approved course for the Maryland 45-hour director administrator training requirement.
Maryland 3-Hour Teacher Aide Orientation Training Course 3 clock hours / $25.00
Approved orientation for teacher aides working in childcare centers and large family childcare homes.
Maryland Child Care Center Pre-Service 9-Hour Communication Course9 clock hours / $48.00
Approved pre-service communications course for professionals in childcare centers and homes.
Maryland Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Course3 clock hours / $25.00
Our course Keeping Infants Safe is approved for the Maryland SIDS training requirement.
Maryland Breastfeeding Support Course2 clock hours / $18.00
Supporting Breastfeeding in Child Care fulfills Maryland's breastfeeding support training requirement.
Maryland Childcare Credential Training
Use Care Courses for the clock hours required to attain levels 2, 3, 4 and 4+ of the Maryland State Child Care Credential. Care Courses can also be used for the clock hours required to renew all levels of the credential. To determine how many clock hours you need for your credential level, please review the Maryland Child Care Credential program's brochure.
Update to the Maryland Childcare Credential Program from MSDE: "Due to a lack of continued funding, effective June 30, 2024, the Maryland State Department of Education will stop accepting applications. Additionally, bonuses for credentialing or reimbursements for training (or training vouchers) will not be available after this date. View the memo from the Division of Early Childhood's Assistant State Superintendent, Dr. Shayna Cook, to Maryland's General Assembly. Programs participating in Maryland EXCELS will be able to maintain current quality ratings and achieve increased quality ratings without current Maryland Child Care Credentials." Funding is expected to return in fiscal year 2026 (starting July 1, 2025).
Maryland Child Care Training Vouchers and Reimbursements
*Due to a lack of continued funding, effective June 30, 2024, the Maryland State Department of Education will stop accepting applications for training vouchers and reimbursements. Funding is expected to return in fiscal year 2026 (starting July 1, 2025).*
Providers with a Maryland Child Care Credential at level two or higher are eligible to receive up to $400 in free training vouchers and reimbursements each year. All Care Courses that grant 2 or more clock hours may be reimbursed using the MSDE training reimbursement program. Pre-Service training is eligible for MSDE training vouchers.
Care Courses’ Core of Knowledge training organization number is CKO-150280. Our continued training organization number is CTO-2281. Our pre-service organization number is PSO-19.
Courses that grant only 1 clock hour of training are accepted as elective and continued training hours.
Opening a Childcare Facility in Maryland
For those of you interested in starting a daycare center or home-based childcare facility in Maryland, please contact your state licensing agency using the contact information below. The licensing agency can give you advice on the requirements, rules and regulations of your state.
Maryland Department of Education
Division of Early Childhood Development Office of Child Care
Email: earlychildhood.msde@maryland.gov
Call your regional licensing office:
Maryland Regional Licensing Contact Information
What Care Courses' Maryland students say
- Kathy in Maryland
- Ann in Maryland
- Milo in Maryland
Training we do not offer: 3-Hr ADA Compliance (must be completed in a face-to-face format), 45-Hr Child Growth and Development, 45-Hr Infant/Toddler for Day Care Centers, 45-Hr Preschool Curriculum, 45-Hr School Age, 90-Hr certificate course. We do not currently offer the Maryland Family Child Care First Year 24-Hr Training, or the 45-Hr Infant/Toddler training for Day Care Homes.
Maryland Emergency Preparedness Course: Our course, Emergency Preparedness in Child Care cannot be used to meet the Maryland emergency preparedness training requirement. Emergency Preparedness in Child Care is approved for Core of Knowledge, Continued and elective training clock hours.
Medication Administration & Asthma Training (6 hours): We do not offer this training, but you can click here to find a list of approved trainers from the Maryland Child Care Licensing Branch. Please note that while our course, Medication Procedures in Child Care is not approved by MSDE to meet the medication administration training requirement, you can use it for annual CKO training hours.
Basic Health and Safety Training: We do not offer this training, but the Maryland Division of Early Childhood offers basic health and safety training at no cost.
Developmental Screening Overview: We do not offer this training, but there is a developmental screening training course developed by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and Maryland Public Television/Thinkport.
