CPR and First Aid Training

CPR/First Aid Training Licensing Rules and Approved Providers

Licensing rules require providers operating group and family child care homes, as well as all child care staff members, to obtain certification in infant, child, and adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid prior to providing care to children.

Child care centers must ensure that no fewer than 50 percent of program staff are certified in pediatric CPR and pediatric first aid before the issuance of a license and prior to each license renewal.

Pediatric first aid/CPR certifications and/or training must be received from a person certified as a Red Cross instructor or an organization approved by the department. Pediatric CPR and pediatric first aid training may be completed online. If pediatric CPR and pediatric first aid training is completed online, an in-person skills test must also be completed for the training to be valid. In-person skills tests must be done face-to-face. They cannot be done via webcam or with a digital mannequin. The in-person skills test must be administered by a person certified as a Red Cross instructor or one of the approved organizations. 

Many of the approved organizations offer several different types of CPR and first aid training (for the general community, the workplace, health care/emergency response professionals). It is recommended that child care staff take workplace CPR and first aid training, if offered. It is not necessary to take the course designed for health care/emergency response professionals.

Note: The Child Care Organizations Act (1973 PA 116) requires CPR and First Aid to be current. Renewal courses will need to be taken before the expiration date on the cards

Approved CPR/First Aid Training Organizations

Under the authority granted to the department by 1973 PA 116, the following organizations have been approved by the Bureau of Community and Health Systems, Child Care Licensing Division to provide adult, infant, and child CPR and/or pediatric first aid training to child care providers and caregivers.

Cards from the following organizations may be accepted if the training is age-appropriate.

Last Updated: 07/2025