DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET performance. The program was funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families. For the first ten years, the CDA program was directed by a coalition of early childhood professional associations, including Bank Street College of Education. In 1979, the program added bilingual Competency Standards and assessment requirements to the system, so candidates in bilingual programs could also be assessed. At first, the program only assessed workers in center-based preschool programs that served children ages three to five. Between 1985 and 1989, the CDA assessment system was ex- panded to include caregivers in home visitor and family child care programs. In the spring of 1985, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) began managing the CDA program and set up a separate entity of the organization to administer the program nationally. It was called the Council for Professional Recognition. The Council took on complete respon- sibility for the program in the fall of 1985. As the result of three years of study and review, the procedures for assessment and na- tional standards for the delivery of CDA training were developed. The Council continues to conduct research on the effectiveness, relevance, and affordability of the credentialing program, periodi- cally making revisions (Council for Professional Recognition 2006, 2013). Beginning in 2011, the Council expanded its scope as not only an “assessment” organization, but also as an organization promoting professional development, with the CDA Credential as the first step in this process. In 2013, the Council introduced CDA 2.0. The original Competency Standards and the accompanying thirteen Functional Areas have remained the same, but the procedures and process of assessment have changed significantly. This new process is much more integrated, with each part relating to the others. It also provides opportunity for the CDA candidate to reflect upon her training, her experience, and feed- back from others about her work with young children. Instead of just being a means toward an end, a credential, the CDA process itself has become a valuable professional development experience. In a way, it has become more developmentally appropriate for early childhood professionals—valuing process over product! This credentialing process has also shifted more responsibility to the candidate, who will need to meet specific deadlines, locate a Professional Development Specialist (called the PD Specialist), 2 Chapter 1 COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL