Hawaii — CDA & ECE Workforce Credentials

CDA acceptance & requirements

• Lead teacher requirements: Hawaii Department of Human Services (DHS) child care licensing accepts CDA among lead-teacher qualifications. CDA is recognized at a defined level on the Hawaii Early Childhood Registry.
• Assistant teacher requirements: Minimum age 18, HS diploma/GED, plus required orientation and ongoing PD.
• Director requirements: Higher Registry placement + administrative coursework + experience.
• State-funded pre-K (Executive Office on Early Learning / EOEL Public Pre-K): Lead teachers must be Highly Qualified Teachers — bachelor's + state teacher cert with EC endorsement. CDA does not satisfy this.
• QRIS: Hawaii has historically operated quality recognition through partnerships (notably PATCH Hawaii) rather than a formal multi-tier star QRIS. A modernized framework has been in development.
• T.E.A.C.H. & apprenticeship: T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Hawaii is administered through PATCH Hawaii and partner organizations. ECE apprenticeship pathways through the University of Hawaii Community Colleges.

State-specific ECE workforce credentials

• Hawaii Early Childhood Registry — Administered by the University of Hawaii Center on the Family. Multi-tier career levels recognizing training, CDA, AA, BA, and state teacher cert.
• Hawaii Department of Education — Early Childhood Education licensure for public-school pre-K and primary; BA + state EPP.

Notable state context

Hawaii's geographic isolation and small workforce concentrate ECE workforce development at the University of Hawaii system and PATCH Hawaii. The Registry is the central infrastructure but without a star-based QRIS to drive workforce-tier scoring, the state-pre-K vs. licensed-child-care divide is the dominant credentialing distinction.