After a daycare worker in Omega accidentally ran over a 3-year-old she was taking care of, many are wondering what kind of training goes into working with children. In our Facebook Story of the day, you wanted to know what the qualifications are to work in a daycare center.
/ Colby Gallagher
ALBANY --
After a daycare worker in Omega accidentally ran over a 3-year-old she was taking care of that didn't have permission to leave the center, many are wondering what kind of training goes into working with children.
In our Facebook Story of the day, you wanted to know what the qualifications are to work in a daycare center, and officials with the Georgia Department of a Early Care and Learning say it all depends on the position.
"It really varies on what role you're going to play within the child care center, there are basically three main roles from the director to the teacher/lead care giver, to the caregiver aid,” said Reg Griffin, the Chief Communications Officer for DECAL.
To be an aid which is usually a part-time job, you must be at least 16 years old. To be a teacher or lead care giver, Griffin says you must be at least 18 and have a child-development associate's credential or technical certification from a technical college.
To be a director, you need the same requirements as the teachers but also have to become CPR and first-aid certified as well as require 50% of your staff to be trained as well.
Griffin says while these are the minimum requirements, they often encourage day care centers to also look for additional experience as well.
On top of individual training of employees, Griffin says DECAL visits the 6,000 child care centers in Georgia two times a year without notification to ensure all of their safety and training is up to date and being carried out correctly.
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