This training guide presents information about the Child Development Associate (CDA) program, which is a nationwide experimental program that embodies a new concept for career preparation and credentials of child care staff. The information in this guide concerns the CDA concept, competencies, pilot training projects, and the CDA Consortium. The chapters of the guide are as follows: Chapter 1, The Child Development Associate--A New Professional Category: contains an overview of the rationale supporting the CDA as a new personnel concept; Chapter 2, Competencies for the Child Development Associate: gives nature of competencies, origin of competencies, basic competency areas, and personal characteristics essential for CDA's; Chapter 3, Head Start Supplementary Training Policy Regarding CDA Training and Credentialling: OCD Instruction 1-33-324-1, which deals with Head Start Supplementary Training and its relationship to CDA training and credentialling is reproduced in full, followed by a series of questions and answers concerning the provisions; Chapter 4, Guidance for Implementing HSST/CDA Training Programs: provides guidance for implementing CDA training within Head Start Supplementary Training Programs; and Chapter 5, General Guidance for CDA Training: distills information taken from the funding guidelines for CDA pilot training projects and also ideas from those projects themselves. An appendix contains materials related to 10 pilot training projects, 5 Texas CDA pilot training projects, structure and membership of the CDA Consortium, bibliography of published materials about the CDA program, and CDA competencies and equivalent Head Start performance standards. (DB)