Early Childhood Education Programs, Scholarships and Free Training in Delaware

Our research did not confirm a catalog of Delaware college early childhood education programs, so this section describes the credential levels Delaware itself pays for and the institutions its FY27 Quality Improvement System guide names.

For tuition, that guide describes SEED as covering undergraduate tuition for qualified state residents at Delaware Technical Community College or the University of Delaware Associate in Arts Program.

Nationally, BLS puts the typical entry education for preschool teachers at an associate degree and for childcare workers at a high school diploma or equivalent, and notes that some states and employers ask for a nationally recognized credential, most often the CDA.

The CDA asks for 120 hours of formal early childhood education training across eight subject areas.

Which rung pays off depends on the job you are aiming at, because Delaware sets classroom qualifications in its licensing rule rather than through colleges — the credential-map section below maps them.

Our research did not confirm a Delaware list of accepted online early childhood education providers, and no vendor's nationwide-acceptance advertising settles the question: acceptance is decided by each state licensing agency or registry.

In Delaware, the center training rules sit with the Office of Child Care Licensing under DELACARE, and staff document their qualifications in Delaware First, the state's qualification and credentialing system — so the bodies to ask before you enroll are OCCL and Delaware First.

One national online option our research verified is the Circle CDA Training Program from the Children's Learning Institute at UTHealth Houston, which provides all 120 training hours for the center-based Preschool CDA; our research did not verify its cost or Delaware's position on its hours.

Delaware's scholarship money runs through its Quality Improvement System for FY27, run by the Delaware Department of Education's Office of Early Learning with the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC).

The CDA Credential Scholarship gives a $500 support stipend, CDA books, a tablet and the CDA assessment fee to educators with a diploma who work 20 or more hours a week in a licensed program — the Council lists the initial CDA assessment fee at $525 paid online at application.

Associate and bachelor's degree scholarships cover tuition up to 13 credits per semester plus a tablet and $250 per semester of support.

The same guide describes SEED as covering undergraduate tuition for qualified state residents at Delaware Technical Community College or the University of Delaware Associate in Arts Program.

T.E.A.C.H. is the piece we could not confirm for Delaware: the National Center's programs-by-state directory did not list Delaware as of October 2026.

T.E.A.C.H. itself has run nationally since 1990 as a cost-shared scholarship tying education to pay.

Nationally, the Council lists funding organizations by state, and income-eligible candidates may have their state pay for all or part of CDA training.

One apprenticeship route Delaware's licensing rules name is the Delaware Department of Labor's Early Childhood Apprenticeship Program, and the rules name it in both settings that matter to this page: the center rule lists it among the qualification options for an early childhood teacher, and the family child care rule lists it for large family child care providers.

What our research did not confirm is the program's current shape — sponsors, length, cost and how to enroll — so contact the Delaware Department of Labor for what is operating today.

Federally, Apprenticeship.gov lists four early-childhood-related Registered Apprenticeship occupations, including Early Childhood Educator and Childcare Development Specialist, and federal standards require at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning for time-based programs, with a progressively increasing wage schedule and credit for prior experience or training.

Our research did not confirm a free Delaware-run training portal for early educators; the verified free options are national.

Early Education Pathways, the free federal learning platform jointly funded by the Office of Head Start and the Office of Child Care, launched in July 2026, and its iCDA Course Preparation Series is free: eight courses with 10 hours in each of the eight CDA subject areas, covering 80 of the 120 training hours the CDA needs.

Whether platform hours count toward Delaware's own training rules is a state decision, so confirm with the Office of Child Care Licensing before relying on them.

Delaware's funded alternative is the CDA Credential Scholarship, which covers CDA books and the assessment fee plus a $500 support stipend.

Whatever rung you finish, Delaware wants it on file: staff submit documentation to Delaware First, the state's qualification and credentialing system, within 60 days of hire.

The center licensing rule names the CDA, TECE 1 and 2, the Delaware DOL Early Childhood Apprenticeship and 9 credits of early childhood or child development coursework among the qualification options for the early childhood teacher role, and the family child care rule names the CDA, TECE 1 and 2 and the apprenticeship as credential options for large family providers.

The state's Quality Improvement System points the same direction: for FY27 Delaware expects at least 50% of educators who lack a CDA or higher to be actively working toward one, and family child care providers without a CDA must work toward one.

These are licensing rules rather than college rules, and they can change, so confirm the routes that apply to your role with the Office of Child Care Licensing.

Two FY27 mechanisms put money in an educator's pocket.

Completion incentives pay $1,000 for a CDA and $10,000 for an associate or bachelor's degree, each after 6 months of continued employment in a licensed program.

And when a Delaware program earns a Quality Improvement Award, at least 80% of the award budget must go toward staff bonuses, salary increases and/or wage differentials — the state's own rule for how award money reaches educators.

The state still calls the system Delaware Stars for Early Success and describes it as a voluntary Quality Improvement System, and a program must first co-create a Quality Improvement Plan with a DIEEC Quality Improvement Specialist before it can apply for Quality Improvement Award funds.

Amounts are set for FY27 and can change, so confirm current figures with DIEEC before you plan around them.

Delaware First is the state's qualification and credentialing system for early childhood staff: the center licensing rule requires staff to submit true and accurate documentation of their qualifications to Delaware First within 60 days of hire.

That makes it the destination for the credentials you finish on this page — a CDA, TECE certificates, the apprenticeship or a degree.

Nationally, the Council for Professional Recognition accepts transcripts from U.S. state and territory workforce registries as part of the CDA process; our research did not establish how Delaware First interacts with that system, so ask Delaware First or the Council how your records feed a CDA application.