Statewide registries have been developed throughout the country to increase the number of high quality early care and education programs by helping to develop and track a knowledgeable and skilled early childhood workforce, they are based upon an individuals’ verified professional achievements.  Registries provide important data about the early childhood workforce to help raise the status and compensation for early care and education as a viable and unique profession in our society. 

We invite you to apply to the Arizona Early Childhood Workforce Registry to gain the recognition you deserve for your experience, education and training in early care and education through your work with young children and families.

Early childhood practitioners are encouraged to apply for the Arizona Early Childhood Workforce Registry. This includes caregivers, teachers, educators, administrators, and other advocates for young children. The Registry is designed for anyone who works with children birth to age eight (providing direct or indirect service) in a variety of settings:

  • Family and group child care homes
  • Child care centers
  • Head Start and Early Head Start programs
  • Preschools
  • Public and private schools–pre-kindergarten-3rd grade
  • Higher education, including community and tribal colleges and universities
  • Child Care Resource and Referral agencies
  • Community agencies serving children and families
  • Private organizations and government agencies who impact early care and education at local, state, and regional levels 

Participation in the Arizona Early Childhood Workforce Registry will help you:

  • Count yourself as a professional in early childhood services in Arizona
  • Inform parents about your level of professional development as you make decisions about your fees for early care and education services
  • Apply for new employment positions in early childhood programs or negotiate for a salary increase with your employer
  • Validate and document the learning and training experiences in which you have participated
  • Plan your future education and career goals
  • Become eligible for incentives, awards, scholarships, and grants

First you will create an ID and password by clicking on Log In. Once you have signed in you will then start the application process by clicking “Apply.” This will take you through a step-by-step process of entering your personal information, education, employment, training, and professional information. Submit your application and you will receive an email requesting additional documentation so that we may verify your information. 

Career Lattice

Once you have completed your Practitioner Registry application, you will be placed at a level on the Career Lattice. The Career Lattice is intended to promote professional development for early care and education practitioners by providing a framework for recording and recognizing experience, training and educational accomplishments. 

The Career Lattice covers five levels of career development based on training, education and experience in the field. Any individual developing a plan for professional growth in early care and education can chart a course on the Career Lattice. Additional information may be found under the Career Lattice under the Career Opportunities tab.

You will remain active on the Arizona Early Childhood Workforce Registry for one year from the date on your certificate. Each year, First Things First will mail/e-mail you a renewal packet two months prior to your renewal date. 

Required renewal hours each year:

  • TBD
  • Become eligible for incentives, awards, scholarships, and grants

For levels 3 – 5, early childhood/child development college credits or degrees are required. To count for the Arizona Early Childhood Career and Professional Development Network Registry, all credits and degrees must be from regionally accredited colleges and universities and carry a letter grade of C or better. Pass/Fail classes will not count for the 20 required credits. 

First Things First reviews transcripts to ensure that college credits fall within six of the areas below with four required areas noted with an *(asterisk):

  • Child Growth and Development*
  • Environmental Design
  • Diversity
  • Health and Well-being
  • Family and Community Partnerships*
  • Curriculum*
  • Child Guidance*
  • Observation, Documentation & Assessment
  • Program Management
  • Professionalism

In order to count towards a level on the Career Path, college credits and degrees must be from a regionally accredited colleges or universities. The US Department of Education manages a database for institutional accreditation, which can be found at http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation.

For more information on higher education accreditation, please contact First Things First.

You may appeal to the Arizona Early Childhood Network Registry Review Committee if you feel the level that you were placed at is incorrect. If you wish to appeal, you must provide the committee with the following items:

  • A cover letter describing why you wish to appeal
  • Additional documentation about your course content, projects, independent study credits, and other items you feel will help your case
  • Evidence of informal (non-credit) training hours that you have completed in Knowledge Base content areas and the areas identified for the 20 credit requirement listed above

If you forget your password, click on the Forgot Your Password link on the Arizona Registry website login box in the top right corner. If you have forgotten your username, please contact the Registry team at (855) 818-6613.

To see the status of your scholarship requests, click on the My Scholarship Requests tab on the left hand side. Use the legend to identify the status of your scholarship.

To refine your search when adding your employer, enter one keyword from the name of the program, or the street address (numbers only). If you are still unable to locate your employer, click on the add my employer option and fill in the required information regarding your current employer. For more information, follow this helpful guide for adding your employer.

To refine your search, select Title and enter at least one keyword from the title of the training OR search for events by date.

Ensure that you have followed the process correctly for submitting documentation, see the submit documentation page for more information. For more information about changes to your lattice level please see Arizona Early Childhood Workforce Career Lattice.

In order to receive professional development credit you must enroll in the course through the Registry. Allow 30 days for the professional development to be reflected on your PD report. After 30 days contact the sponsoring agency to have your hours added.

*The Registry is not able to confirm your attendance for training events.

The average wait time for processing your college transcripts is 30 Days. For questions regarding your Registry account, please contact info@thearizonaregistry.org.