Welcome
The Child & Youth Care Certification Board offers competency-based testing and professional certification for individuals working with at-risk youth. These individuals work in diverse settings including: early childhood education, residential treatment, hospitals, group care, community youth services, recreation, foster care, after school, universities, juvenile corrections, and programs for developmentally and physically disabled youth.
These practitioners many be known as foster parents, youth workers, group leaders, house parents, detention workers, probation officers, teacher's aides, shelter workers, child and youth care workers, teaching parents, child life specialists, mental health workers, psychiatric technicians, community youth workers, school crisis counselors, or street outreach workers.
The CYCCB offers a professional certification (CYC-P) to those individuals that can demonstrate child and youth care competencies though education, work experience, supervisory evaluation, submission of an electronic portfolio, and the successful completion of a competency-based exam.
This advance practice certification is only awarded to those practitioners who have demonstrated exceptional skills and knowledge in the field of child and youth care.
Some local, state, and regional organizations offer child & youth work credentialing. These credentials offer opportunities for practitioners to engage in professional development. CYCCB is working to find ways to inter-connect existing credentialing programs to create an integrated credentialing and education system. As this evolves and recognition expands, practitioners will have greater flexibility in finding employment in multiple practice settings in a variety of regional areas. Employers will have expanded access to a competent work force. Children, youth, and families will have knowledgeable, skilled professionals available to meet their developmental needs.
Practitioners who are interested in credentialing but who do not meet the requirements for full professional certification are encouraged to contact one of the credentialing programs listed on our Links page. All of these organizations are associated with CYCCB program and provide credentialing steps leading to full professional certification.