The team members:

•Candidate- Team leader

Each team member observes the candidate and provides recommendations designed to support and encourage the candidate's growth and development. The candidate is involved in ongoing self-assessment as well as in producing a documented comprehensive portfolio. The portfolio may use several formats and is an individualized document reflecting the learning style of the candidate. The goal of the portfolio is twofold - first, to act as a written deposition clarifying the candidate's competence and second, to act as a resource throughout the candidate's career.

•Parent Representative- Centre Supporter

The parent representative plays an important co-ordination and support role. The representative distributes, collects and summarizes questionnaires to other parents who have children in the candidate's care. These questionnaires provide the candidate with feedback from children and their families. The representative also conducts one two-hour observation of the candidate as well as a discussion meeting related to the observation. An integral function is to provide ongoing encouragement and support to the candidate as the parent representative will have the most frequent access to the candidate.

•Advisor- Mentor

The advisor acts in a mentorship role to the candidate. The advisor conducts a minimum of ten hours of observation as well as several hours of discussion with the candidate, and recommends resources and experiences to enhance and expand the candidate's growth and development. The advisor assists in the preparation of the portfolio by providing resources and feedback to the candidate to help ensure that the level of competence expected by the assessment team is demonstrated.

•Child Care Representative - Administrator

The Child Day Care representative acts as the administrator of the assessment by coordinating team membership and meetings. The Child Day Care representative observes the candidate for a three or four hour period and conducts an interview focusing on the rationale and theory behind the candidate's behaviour. The candidate's completed portfolio is assessed by the Child Day Care representative, and feedback is provided for future growth and development. Feedback is also provided to the advisor on the observations and recommendations. Consistency of all teams across the province is the responsibility of the Child Day Care representative.

The CBA Program is currently in a partnership with Prior Learning Assessment Centre of Manitoba and Red River College to adapt the CBA Program to include a PLA process in order to acknowledge candidate's formal and informal prior learning. In the current CBA Program, all candidates complete the same terms of reference of the Program. The PLA/CBA/ECE Program will acknowledge prior learning with advanced credit.

In 1983, The Community Child Development Care Standards Act was proclaimed and comprehensive licensing regulations under the Act were passed, including the educational requirements for child care employees. Child care employee training standards are based on sound research which confirms the correlation between specific child care knowledge and training, and the delivery of quality care to children.

The CBA Program was introduced in 1986 as an alternative to formal child care post secondary education. CBA is a comprehensive adult education program that assesses the competence of early childhood educators by providing an opportunity to demonstrate child care skills, knowledge and abilities in a child care setting. The CBA Program is fully funded by the Province of Manitoba.

There is no tuition fee but a financial commitment from the candidate is required to support costs associated with the purchase of learning aids, such as resources, and to finance visits to centres and portfolio development.

Child care employees who have regular employment in a licensed facility in Manitoba must :

• complete the application and include all requested documentation
• have one of the following combinations of education, employment and experiences:

• Post-secondary education in an area related to child care, which is not an approved program, for example, Developmental Services Diploma, Bachelor of Human Ecology in Family Studies, Bachelor of Arts, Developmental Studies Stream A, or Bachelor of Education in Elementary or Early Years;

• employment for 20 hours per week or more for one program year in a licensed facility;

• employment for less than 20 hours per week for two program years in a licensed facility.
• No or minimal child care related post-secondary education, for example: High School Diploma or one or more courses toward an Early Childhood Education Diploma;

• employment for 20 hours per week or more for two program years in a licensed facility;

• employment for less than 20 hours per week for three program years in a licensed facility.

Candidates who complete the CBA Program are awarded an ECE II classification (according to current classification policies) and are given the right to access post-diploma training programs in order to achieve the ECE III level, (the highest standing in Manitoba).