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Illinois Child Care Training | Care Courses

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National Childcare Credentials in Illinois

Use our courses toward a CDA Credential and for NAC and CDA renewal.

Click for more information: National Child Care Credentials

Click to learn how a CDA Credential can benefit you in Illinois.

Illinois Childcare Training Requirements

All Care Courses are accepted by the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services for in-service training clock hours for those who work in day care centers, day care homes and group day care homes. This includes in-service training hours for directors, school-age site coordinators, early childhood teachers, school-age workers, early childhood assistants, school-age assistants, student and youth aides, substitutes, caregivers and child care assistants.

Illinois Gateways Registry Training

All Care Courses are accepted by the Illinois Gateways Registry for in-service training. For Illinois Registry training credit, please add your Gateways Registry ID number to your Care Courses account. Thank you!

Illinois Gateways Credential Approved Training

All Care Courses are accepted for renewing IL Gateways to Opportunity credentials. The topics of the course used for credential renewal must be related to the specific credential. For example, to renew your ECE Credential, choose courses related to young children birth through age eight. Check out all of the credential renewal steps on Gateways' website. 

The courses below are approved by Illinois Gateways towards applying for specific Illinois Gateways credentials. Each course is approved for the specific credential and the specific competencies listed below. 

Early Childhood Education (ECE) Credential:

  • Challenging Behavior: Positive Guidance in Child Care (6 hours) is approved for the IL Gateways ECE Credential and aligned with IRE2: Integrations, Relationships, and Environments.
  • Nutrition in Early Childhood: Shaping a Healthy Future (6 hours) is approved for the IL Gateways ECE Credential and aligned with HSW2: Maintains a Safe and Healthy Environment.
  • Transitions and Other Troublesome Times (6 hours) is approved for the IL Gateways ECE Credential and aligned with IRE3: Identifies factors that contribute to positive interactions with the environment.
  • Child Development and Guidance (20 hours) is approved for the IL Gateways ECE Credential and aligned with the below competencies:
    • HGD1: Identifies and describes theories of typical and atypical growth in all developmental domains and the interaction between individual and contextual factors on development and learning
    • IRE2: Articulates the importance of relationships in supporting positive developmental and behavioral outcomes
    • IRE3: Identifies factors that contribute to positive interactions with the environment

Learn how to obtain your ECE credential and increase your credential level on IL Gateways' credential website. 

Illinois Lead in Water Training Requirement

Image for Lead Safety in Child Care Lead Safety in Child Care
2 clock hours / $18.00
Lead Safety in Child Care covers lead mitigation planning strategies and the impacts of lead exposure, is approved for the Illinois lead in water training requirement.

Illinois Safe Sleep and Day Care Home & Group Day Care Home 15-Hour Preservice Requirements


Image for Keeping Infants Safe Keeping Infants Safe
3 clock hours / $25.00
Take Keeping Infants Safe to cover the Illinois Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and Safe Sleep training requirements (rules 406, 407 and 408).
Image for15-hour Pre-service Bundle Illinois Day Care Home and Group Day Care Home 15-Hour Pre-Service Training Bundle
15 clock hours / $77.00
Take our Illinois Day Care Home and Group Day Care Home 15-Hour Pre-Service Training Bundle to cover the Illinois for pre-service training requirement. You must also take Mandated Reporter Training to complete the preservice requirement.*

*To complete your Mandated Reporter training, you must take "Recognizing And Reporting Child Abuse: Training For Mandated Reporters" through DCFS (here). (Our course Child Abuse and Neglect: A Caregiver's Guide to Adverse Childhood Experiences is not approved for the Mandated Reporter training.) 

Opening a day care home, group day care home, or day care center in Illinois

For those of you interested in starting a center or home-based child care facility in Illinois, please contact your state licensing using the contact information below. The licensing agency can give you advice on the requirements, rules and regulations of your state.

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services 

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)

Phone: (800) 232-3798 or (217) 524-2029

Office of Child and Family Policy email: cfpolicy@illinois.gov

What our Illinois students say

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"I love the Care Courses. I can work on my clock hours for my CDA at my own pace. They are extremely informative and up to date as it relates to early childhood."

– Oswego, Illinois
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"Thank you so much! The download was effortless. I thought the material presented was excellent; essential information and perspectives for anyone caring for toddlers. This is the second course I have taken with Care Courses, and the other one - was also excellent! I appreciate that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which licenses our child care programs, accepts your credentials. I couldn't be more pleased with your programs! They are so helpful, and especially for us busy teachers who find it increasingly difficult to get to other types of training opportunities. Oh - and thank you SO much for the personable service and speedy turnaround of the documentations!"

– Forest Park, Illinois