• You must be a teacher, assistant teacher, floater, director, or assistant director employed and paid by one of the following:
  
• A child care learning center licensed by DECAL or the Department of Defense
• An exempt Georgia Head Start center
• A Georgia Pre-K teacher assistant teacher in a public school
• A DECAL licensed family child care learning homel
• A DECAL licensed before/after school program

• You must work a minimum of 15 hours per week in your primary role as a floater, assistant teacher, teacher, director, assitant director, or owner. Volunteer work, practicums, and internships do not qualify.

• You must be a United States citizen, legal permanent resident, qualified alien or non-immigrant.

• You must be accepted into a formal early childhood education program of study leading to theaward of a credential or degree at an eligible institution.

You must be employed with your current employer in aneligible position for 30 days.

Your CDA course must be approved through the DECAL Training Approval System. To find an approved CDA training, click here, and select Trainings from the menu bar.

In lieu of a CDA training course, academic credit (covering the Council for Professional Recognition's eight CDA subject areas) earned through any of Georgia's technical colleges, any HOPE-eligible, Advanced Ed-accredited institution with an ECE department is accepted by SCHOLARSHIPS.

• CDA TRAINING and CDA COMPETENCY BOOK SCHOLARSHIPS assists approved applicants with a maximum of $740 towards a DECAL State Approved CDA Training and a reimbursement of $35 towards a CDA Competency Book and Shipping costs.
• CDA EXAM FEE SCHOLARSHIPS assists approved applicants with the $425 CDA Council Exam fee.
• CDA RENEWAL SCHOLARSHIPS assists approved applicants with a maximum of $150 towards the CDA Council Renewal Exam Fee.
• CDA TEST RETAKE SCHOLARSHIPS assists approved applicants who did not pass their initial CDA Exam with one additional retake.

• Copies of two recent paystubs reflecting the name of your employer, your name and gross and net wages. If you are a Family Child Care Learning Home or a Director/Owner and do not pay yourself W-2 wages, you should submit a copy of last year's Schedule C, Schedule K or other federal tax form documenting net business income.
• A copy of your certificate documenting your 120 clock-hour training (or academic transcript).
• A copy of your online CDA application Profile page reflecting your Customer ID number and a Copy of your CDA Credential Application details page reflecting the CDA type (I.e. Family Child Care, or Preschool, or Infant Toddler) you wish to obtain and a "Checkout” status.
• A copy of your Professional Development System (GaPDS) profile reflecting your GaPDS number, the name of your current employer, and a "Pending” or "Active” status.
• A legible copy of the FRONT and BACK of a secure and verifiable document. This is required to accompany the signed and notarized Affidavit for Lawful Presence Verification. The most common secure and verifiable documents you may submit are a driver's license, a United States passport, or a birth certificate (if you are still using your maiden name). Legal permanent residents, qualified aliens or nonimmigrants may be required to submit the government document that establishes legal status in the United States (e.g., permanent resident card, employment authorization document).

The Professional Development System (GaPDS) is an innovative service provided by Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning for the early care and education workforce. It allows you to develop a profile of your career in early care and education including employment history, training hours and credentials/degrees earned. 

Registering is easy! You can sign up immediately even if you have not earned a credential or degree.  To learn more about the GaPDS or to create your own GaPDS account visit gapds.decal.ga.gov.

If you have questions or need technical support, contact the GaPDS at 404-334-6461 (866-258-7737 outside the metro Atlanta area) or email gapds@decal.ga.gov.

The "Affidavit for Lawful Presence Verification" is the form whereby you attest under oath to your legal presence in the United States which is required under O.C.G.A. 50-36-1(a)(3)(A) in order to be eligible to participate in the SCHOLARSHIPS program.

A Notary Public must witness your signature. Therefore, your signature date must be the same as or earlier than the Notary Public's signature date.

The names on your "Affidavit for Lawful Presence Verification" and on your secure and verifiable document must be the same.

A Notary Public's service is usually free of charge at a United States Post Office, a library or your bank.

The following list of secure and verifiable documents, published under the authority of O.C.G.A. 50-36-2, contains documents that are verifiable for identification purposes, and documents on this list may not necessarily be indicative of residency or immigration status.

• A driver's license issued by one of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or the Swain Islands, providing that it contains a photograph of the bearer or lists sufficient identifying information regarding the bearer, such as name, date of birth, gender, height, eye color, and address to enable the identification of the bearer [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• A United States passport or passport card [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• An original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a State, county, municipal authority, or territory of the United States bearing an official seal [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• A United States Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• A United States military identification card [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• An identification card issued by one of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or the Swain Islands, providing that it contains a photograph of the bearer or lists sufficient identifying information regarding the bearer, such as name, date of birth, gender, height, eye color, and address to enable the identification of the bearer [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• A tribal identification card of a federally recognized Native American tribe, provided it contains a photograph of the bearer, such as name, date of birth, gender, height, eye color, and address to enable the identification of the bearer. A listing of federally recognized Native American tribes may be found at: http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre?BIA/OIS/TribalGovernmentServices/TribalDirectory/index.htm [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• An Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph of the bearer [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• A passport issued by a foreign government [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• A Merchant Mariner Document or Merchant Mariner Credential issued by the United States Coast Guard [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• A Free and secure Trade (FAST) card [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• A NEXUS card [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• A Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) card [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• A driver's license issued by a Canadian government authority [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• A Certificate of Citizenship issued by the United States Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (Form N-560 or Form N-561) [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• A Certificate of Naturalization issued by the United States Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (Form N-550 or Form N-570)[O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• Certification of Report of Birth issued by the United States Department of State (Form DS-1350) [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• Certification of Birth Abroad issued by the United States Department of State (Form FS-240) [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the United States Department of State (Form FS-240) [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(b)(3);8 CFR 274a.2]
• In addition to the documents listed herein, if, in administering a public benefit or program, an agency is required by federal law to accept a document or other form of identification for proof of or documentation of identity, that document or other forms of identification will be deemed a secure and verifiable document solely for that particular program or administration of that particular public benefit. [O.C.G.A. 50-36-2(c)]

US Citizens are only required to submit a notarized Affidavit and the FRONT and BACK of a secure and verifiable document to SCHOLARSHIPS once. Georgia law (O.C.G.A. 50-36-1) requires all legal permanent residents, qualified aliens, and nonimmigrants to submit a new Affidavit and a secure and verifiable document every 12 months.