Certificates and Credentials

The choice to work with school-age children and youth is one of the most important career decisions a person can make. A youth development professional is an extraordinary individual who helps to guide youth to master skills, develop relationships, grow in independence, and move to new levels of thinking and understanding about themselves and the world. 

The MI-YDA Certificate and Credential support quality programs for school-age children and youth by providing standards for training and evaluation. The MI-YDA is based on and replaces the Michigan School-Age Youth Development (MISAYD). The MI-YDA is aligned to the National AfterSchool Association Core Knowledge and Competencies for Afterschool and Youth Development Professionals(NAA-CKCs) which define what youth development professionals need to know and be able to do to provide quality youth programming and support the professionalism of the youth development field.

Applying for the MI-YDA Certificate and Credential is a commitment to professionalism in the out-of-school time field. Working toward the credential can be a rewarding experience.  It offers candidates opportunities to: 

• Be prepared to work with school-age children and youth. 

• Appropriately support youth in their development. 

• Create a professional development work plan. 

• Increase knowledge and skills through focused professional development. 

• Receive acknowledgement for education and experience working with students in out-of-school time programs. 

• Improve the quality of youth development programs. 

Join a MIYDA Credential Cohort

Starting on September 18, 2024, there will be a new MIYDA Credential Cohort that will meeting biweekly on Wednesdays from 10am-11:30am until June 11, 2025. There are also scholarships available to participate in this cohort and receive your MIYDA Credential!

For more information contact: MIYDA@miafterschool.org

MIYDA External Assessors/Reviewers

The State of Michigan has a Youth Development Associate Credential (MI-YDA) which is similar to the National Child Development Associate Credential (CDA), and we are looking for External Assessors/Reviewers to guide the MI-YDA candidates through the Credentialing process.

Please review the pertinent information below as it relates to the External Assessor/Reviewer role.

External Assessor/Reviewer responsibilities include:

• Review Credential candidate documentation and provide feedback to the candidate. This is a process that is done remotely through an online portal

• Observe Credential candidates in the classroom, working with school aged youth (minimum 45 minutes)

• Commitment to completing at least one External Assessment/Review

How to become an External Assessor/Reviewer:

• Complete PQA Basics: This is a free online training course through the Weikart Center

• Participate in a virtual External Assessor Reliability Training (EART) course (4 days)

• Pass the EART reliability test

• Complete a 1 hour online virtual training

Pay 

• $150.00 for each credential review and assessment completed (MASP)

Virtual External Assessor Reliability Training being hosted by Weikart information coming soon

There is a prerequisite to this training. If you have not done so recently or ever, you would need to take the SEL PQA Basics training. Please see the link below to register for this FREE training.

**Participants must have completed SEL PQA Basics, which they can register for free (no coupon code needed) using this form: https://form.jotform.us/72275813251151

Michigan Youth Development Associate Credential (MI-YDA) College Credit