Early Childhood Professional Development in Arkansas

Don’t miss out on all the free training opportunities and resources available to child care professionals in Arkansas!

All child care training programs are offered free of charge by the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in partnership with the
Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education and the Professional Development Registry (PDR).

Listed below are four options for childcare training. Choose the one that’s right
for you!

Best Care – Face-to-face Training

Earn up to 10 hours of verified face-to-face training annually offered at many locations
throughout the state. 

Best Care Connected – Online Training

Earn up to 5 hours of verified online training with new topics annually. Self-paced
courses can be completed throughout the year.

Guiding Children Successfully – Self-guided Training

Earn up to 30 hours of verified self-guided or 38 hours online training in topics
related to child development, safety, nutrition, and more. 

Best Care Out-of-School-Time – Online Training

Earn up to 5 hours of PDR and ADE verified online training with new topics annually.
These topics are geared toward providers who work with school age children in afterschool,
summer, camp, or other out of school time programs. 

(Formerly 4-H Afterschool)