Louisiana Daycare Training Requirements

Pre-Registration Training: What You Need Before You Apply

Louisiana requires three core training credentials before LDOE will process your Family Child Care (FCC) registration application. These aren't suggestions or recommendations — your EdLink application will be returned incomplete if any of these are missing.

Key Orientation Training Modules. LDOE provides a set of online orientation modules that cover the fundamentals of Louisiana's childcare regulations, provider responsibilities, and health and safety basics. These modules are free and available through LDOE's approved training platform. Budget a few hours to complete them. Many providers knock them out in a single sitting, but they cover essential regulatory context that's worth actually reading — particularly the sections on capacity limits, reporting requirements, and prohibited discipline practices.

Pediatric CPR and First Aid certification. This must come from an LDOE-approved training provider. Both the American Red Cross and American Heart Association offer qualifying courses in Louisiana, as do several other approved organizations. You can take the course in person, through a blended format (online coursework plus in-person skills verification), or in some cases fully online. Cost ranges from $50 to $200 depending on the provider and format. The certification is typically valid for two years.

Medication administration training. This is the one credential that trips up the most providers. It must be conducted by an approved Child Care Health Consultant (CCHC) — you cannot take this through a general first aid course or an online-only provider. The training covers proper procedures for storing, administering, and documenting prescription and over-the-counter medications for children in your care. Renewal is required every two years.

Many local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies coordinate medication administration training sessions at low or no cost. Contact your local CCR&R to find the next available session in your area rather than searching for a CCHC on your own.

Louisiana Pathways: Your Career Development Registry

Once you're registered, Louisiana Pathways becomes your professional development home base. Operated through Northwestern State University, Pathways is the state's career development system for early childhood professionals. It tracks your credentials, training hours, and professional progression.

What Pathways does for you:

• Tracks continuing education hours — LDOE requires ongoing professional development, and Pathways maintains the official record that LDOE references during renewals and audits
• Provides scholarship access — Pathways connects qualified providers with tuition assistance for CDA (Child Development Associate) credentials and college-level early childhood courses
• Facilitates tax credit certification — if you pursue Academic Approval under Bulletin 140, your Pathways profile feeds into the School Readiness Tax Credit eligibility process

Enrollment in Pathways is free. Create your profile as soon as you begin the registration process so your pre-registration training hours are captured from the start.

Continuing Education After Registration

Registration isn't the end of your training obligations. LDOE requires ongoing professional development to maintain your FCC registration. The specific hour requirements vary based on your role and whether you've opted into Academic Approval, but every registered provider needs to accumulate continuing education credits on an annual basis.

Approved continuing education includes:

• Courses offered through Louisiana's CCR&R network
• Training sessions coordinated by your local Ready Start Network
• College-level early childhood education coursework
• Approved online training through LDOE-recognized platforms
• Conferences and workshops that carry LDOE continuing education credit

All training must be logged through Pathways. Attending an unapproved training session or one that doesn't show up in the Pathways system won't count toward your requirements, no matter how relevant the content.

The Academic Approval Training Pathway

For providers who want to maximize their earning potential, Academic Approval under Bulletin 140 unlocks the state's quality rating system and associated financial benefits — School Readiness Tax Credits, CCAP quarterly bonuses of up to 23%, and access to coaching and technical assistance through your local CCR&R.

Academic Approval requires additional professional development beyond the basic registration training, participation in the state's CLASS observation process (Classroom Assessment Scoring System), and ongoing engagement with quality improvement activities. The opt-in form — Program Partner Assurances — must be submitted through EdLink by June 17 each year to maintain eligibility for SRTCs.

Providers who score below a 3.75 on the CLASS observation enter a mandatory Site Improvement Planning (SIP) process with their local CCR&R, which includes targeted training and coaching to bring scores up. Two "Unsatisfactory" ratings in any three-year period puts your registration at risk of revocation.

Building Your Training Plan

The training requirements can feel overwhelming stacked together, but they're designed to be completed sequentially during the registration process and then maintained through manageable ongoing education. The key is to start early — don't leave CPR certification or medication administration training for the last week before you plan to submit your application, because session availability and scheduling can add weeks of delay.

Our Louisiana daycare licensing guide includes a training requirements tracker that maps every required credential to its deadline, renewal schedule, and approved provider list, so you can build a training timeline that runs parallel to your registration process instead of becoming a bottleneck.

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