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CECPD

Acronym Help Sheet

 

ADHOC Workgroup – committees that are convened discuss a specific issue and make recommendations. Persons asked to serve on these committees have the specific expertise and/or work experience related to the issue.

CACFP – the Child and Adult Food Program. This is a reimbursement program for licensed child care centers and homes that provides meals to low-income children.

CECPD – the Center for Early Childhood Professional Development. It is a department in the University of Oklahoma’s College of Continuing Education. Programs are funded through the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Oklahoma Child Care Services and the U.S. Department of Education. The Center supports the following programs:


CDA – Child Development Associate is a national credential supported by the Council for Professional Recognition (1-800-424-4310). It is one of two credentials recognized by the Reaching for the Stars requirements.

CCP – Certified Child Care Professional is a national credential supported by the National Child Care Association (1-800-543-7161). It is one of two credentials recognized by the Reaching for the Stars requirements.

DHS – Department of Human Services which houses the Oklahoma Child Care Services. The Child Care Licensing and Reaching for the Stars programs are housed in the Oklahoma Child Care Services.


Early Care and Education Professional Organizations in Oklahoma:


  1. ECAO – Early Childhood Association of Oklahoma (1-866-813-3226 or www.ecaok.org) is a state professional association affiliated with the National Association of the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Southern Early Childhood Association (SECA).
  2. OCCA – Oklahoma Child Care Association (1-800-580-4181 or www.oklahomachildcareassociation.org) is a sate professional organization affiliated with the National Child Care Association. It provides the National Administrator’s Credential (NAC) and the Director’s Advanced Training (DAT) which are recognized by the Reaching for the Stars director training requirement.
  3. OKCSAC – Oklahoma Coalition for School-Age Care (405-721-8332) is a state professional organization affiliated with the National School-Age Care Alliance.
  4. OHSA – Oklahoma Head Start Association (405-524-4124) is a state professional association that is affiliated with the National Head Start Association.
  5. SECA – Southern Early Childhood Association - www. southernearlychildhood.org.
  6. Family child care associations are located in Edmond, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Enid. Contact the local Resource and Referral agency to get contact information.

OCCRRA – the Oklahoma Child Care Resource and Referral Association (405-843-5737 or www.occrra.net) consists of nine area agencies across the state that promotes quality, affordability, and availability of licensed child care. These agencies, listed below, are funded by the Department of Human Services, Oklahoma Child Care Services.


  1. Child Care Finders ( Enid, OK 1-800-401-3463)
  2. Child Care Links ( Bartlesville, OK 1-866-254-9864
  3. Cherokee Nation Child Care Resource and Referral (Tahlequah, OK 1-888-458-6230)
  4. Child Care Resource & Referral ( Hobart, OK 1-888-878-4417)
  5. Child Care Connection ( Oklahoma City, OK 1-800-438-0008)
  6. Child Care Resource Center ( Tulsa, OK 1-918-834-2273)
  7. Child Care Resource & Referral ( Ada, OK 1-800-862-5593)
  8. Child Care Resource & Referral Program at Southeastern Oklahoma State University
    (Durant, OK 1-888-320-5205)

Reaching for the Stars – a program housed in the Department of Human Services, Oklahoma Child Care Services (1-800-347-2276 or www.okdhs.org). It supports the Oklahoma Child Care licensing regulations through the establishment of four quality levels of child care listed below:


  1. One-Star – this is a licensed child care center or home that meets the minimum child care licensing standards.
  2. One-Star Plus – this is a licensed child care center or home that has achieved the requirements necessary to be rated above a One-Star level. Programs at this level must achieve the Two-Star level within a 24 month period.
  3. Two-Star – this is a licensed child care center or home that meets those standards established for this level.
  4. Three-Star – this is a licensed child care center or home that meets those standards established for this level and has achieved national accreditation by one of the six recognized accreditation agencies.

    • ACSI – the Association of Christian Schools International supports institutions housed within a religious affiliated child care program (1-800-367-0798 or www.acsi.org)
    • COA – the Council on Accreditation is for licensed behavioral health programs
    • (1-212-797-3000 or www.coanet.org)
    • NAEYC – the National Association for the Education of Young Children supports child care centers that care for children ages six weeks to school age (1-800-424-2460 or www.naeyc.org)
    • NAFCC – the National Association for Family Child Care supports only family child care homes
    • (1-801-269-9338 or www.nafcc.org)
    • NECPA – the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation supports child care centers that care for children ages six weeks to school age (1-800-543-7161)
    • NSACA – the National School-Age Care Alliance supports programs solely responsible for school age children ages kindergarten to 15 years (1-617-298-5012 or www.nsaca.org)

SOS – the Stars Outreach Specialists provide support to child care providers who participate in the Reaching for the Stars program supported by the Department of Human Services, Oklahoma Child Care Services.

SECC – the Scholars for Excellence in Child Care program offers mentoring and support services. It also offers scholarships for providers to pursue college or university course credit for a Certificate of Mastery or degree program in Child Development. Scholar Coordinators, who assist the students with their course enrollment, are available as follows: