Arizona requires licensed childcare staff to complete annual continuing education, with hours depending on provider type. As of the August 2025 rule update, ADHS‑licensed centers require 24 hours per year (up from 18); group homes and DES‑certified family child care require 12 hours per year; DES‑contracted centers require 18 hours per year. Child Development training counts toward these hours — child growth and development, developmental milestones, and brain science are recognized qualifying categories. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Arizona across all three tracks and offers IACET‑accredited Child Development courses that staff can complete on demand, with all completions tracked automatically in brightwheel. brightwheel courses auto‑post completed hours directly to the AZECWR Registry.
| Total CE hours | 24 hours per year |
| Cadence | Every 12 months from hire‑date anniversary, in at least 2 subject areas |
| Child Development maps to | child growth and development, developmental milestones, and brain science |
| Regulatory authority | Arizona DHS (ADHS) Bureau of Child Care Licensing |
| brightwheel approved | ✓ Yes |
| Auto‑posts to AZECWR | ✓ Yes |
| Total CE hours | 12 hours per year |
| Cadence | Every 12 months, health & safety training |
| Child Development maps to | child growth and development, developmental milestones, and brain science |
| Regulatory authority | ADHS‑licensed group homes / DES‑certified family child care |
| brightwheel approved | ✓ Yes |
| Auto‑posts to AZECWR | ✓ Yes |
| Total CE hours | 18 hours per year (per DES contract text) |
| Cadence | Every 12 months, in at least 2 health & safety subject areas |
| Child Development maps to | child growth and development, developmental milestones, and brain science |
| Regulatory authority | Arizona DES (Department of Economic Security) |
| brightwheel approved | ✓ Yes |
| Auto‑posts to AZECWR | ✓ Yes |
A center that is both ADHS‑licensed and DES‑contracted must meet both requirements at once. Since ADHS’s 24‑hour requirement is higher, it is the effective floor for those centers — DES’s contract language (18 hours) has not yet been updated to reflect the August 2025 ADHS increase.
| Child Development courses in Arizona | View brightwheel courses |
About Child Development (CDA VIII)
Child Development — CDA Competency Area VIII — is the cross‑cutting knowledge base that connects all eight CDA competency areas. It covers principles of development across cognitive, social‑emotional, language, and physical domains, with particular depth on the birth‑to‑five window when brain growth is most rapid and most responsive to quality caregiving.
Understanding how children develop is the foundational skill of early childhood practice. Educators who know developmental milestones, understand how the brain builds neural pathways in early childhood, and recognize the lasting impact of early experiences are better equipped to make every caregiving interaction count.
Arizona Child Development training requirements
Arizona childcare training requirements depend on provider type — 24 hours per year for ADHS‑licensed centers (increased from 18, effective August 2025), 12 hours per year for group homes and family child care, or 18 hours per year for DES‑contracted centers. Child Development training counts toward these hours — child growth and development, developmental milestones, and brain science are recognized qualifying CE topics. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Arizona across all three tracks and offers IACET‑accredited courses aligned with the Child Development competency area.
Staff complete brightwheel’s Child Development courses on demand — each course is 1 hour, self‑paced, and includes an assessment with a certificate of completion. All completions are recorded automatically in the brightwheel administrator dashboard, making compliance documentation straightforward for Arizona licensing audits.
What Child Development training covers
brightwheel’s Child Development courses cover the knowledge and skills early childhood educators need to support children in this competency area. Topics include:
Quality First and Child Development
Quality First is Arizona’s Quality Rating and Improvement System. Staff professional development in CDA‑aligned competency areas is a core component of Quality First quality ratings — programs that demonstrate ongoing staff training earn higher ratings. brightwheel’s IACET‑accredited courses align with the professional development requirements recognized by Quality First, and the automatic tracking dashboard makes it straightforward to demonstrate staff training during program quality evaluations.
Quality First →How brightwheel connects to the AZECWR Registry
Frequently asked questions
Other competency areas available in Arizona
Meet Arizona Child Development training requirements with brightwheel
Brightwheel offers IACET‑accredited Child Development courses accepted in Arizona — with automatic tracking and AZECWR Registry auto‑posting built in.
View full course roster
Accreditation: Brightwheel is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.