• You must be a teacher, assistant teacher, director, or assistant director (all other positions do not qualify) employed with and paid by a child care learning center that is licensed by Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning or the Department of Defense (DOD) or an exempt Georgia Head Start Center.
  

• You must be a registered family child care learning home provider or work in a registered family child care learning home.

• You must be a Georgia Pre-K assistant teacher in a public school.

• You must work a minimum of 25 hours per week in your primary role as a teacher or assistant teacher in an infant, toddler, three-year-old OR Pre-K classroom in the instructional part of the day (before/after school program personnel do not qualify) or 40 hours per week as a director or assistant director. 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 earn $18.50 or less in W-2 wages or 1099 reported income or $38,480 or less in net income if self-employed (on Schedule C or K) and be able to document wages.

If you are a salaried employee, your hourly wage is calculated by dividing your annual salary by the number of hours you work annually. If you are a ten-month employee paid over 12 months, your wages are re-calculated to determine the actual wage per hour worked you receive.

You must have been employed with your current employer for at least three (3) consecutive months in an eligible position or be a registered family day child care learning home provider for three (3) consecutive months.

Your CDA course must be approved through the Bright from the Start Training Approval System and be conducted in a language other than English. To find an approved CDA training, click here, and select Trainings from the menu bar.

DECAL SCHOLARS will pay the state approved trainer or state approved entity up to $750 for the cost of the CDA course.

After you have selected your CDA trainer/state approved entity; complete the DECAL Scholars SCHOLARSHIPS application.   

If you are approved, SCHOLARSHIPS will pay the state approved CDA trainer or state approved entity directly.  SCHOLARSHIPS will notify you directly by mail of the SCHOLARSHIPS award.

• Copies of two recent pay stubs 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 the receipt for the CDA training you are planning to enroll including trainer/entity name, dates of course, the location of course (if applicable), and fee information.
• 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 Bright from the Start: 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 form 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.