Illinois Gateway Registry & Credentials 

Gateway Credential

GHC believes that Gateways Credentials are an important and essential tool in validating CSD and YSD staff credentials. Gateway Credentials are developed by created by practitioners, providers, and key stakeholders to support and recognize progressive levels of knowledge and skills for early care and education, infants and toddlers, school-age and youth, administration, family child care, and/or family engagement professionals. Specific competencies in the Gateways Content Areas are used to validate the knowledge professionals must have to provide high-quality care and services. 

What Is a Gateway credential ?

Gateways Credentials are professional achievements that validate knowledge, skills, and experience in the following areas: early care and education, infants and toddlers, school-age and youth, administration, family child care, and/or family engagement. Gateways Credentials are for individuals who live and/or work in Illinois. View Gateways Credentials at www.ilgateways.com for an online overview 

Gateway Credential Definitions 

The ECE Credential Level 1 is a great place to start if you are just beginning your career in early care and education. It can be earned by taking a series of 16 trainings offered online at i-learning or locally through your CCR&R. There is no fee to apply for the ECE Credential Level 1, no transcripts are needed,  

The Gateways ECE Credential Levels 2-6 are for early care and education professionals who have formal college education, training, and experience with children (ages 0-8), either in the form of supervised observation or direct work experience. If you have a valid Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL) with an Early Childhood Education endorsement, you may already qualify for the ECE Credential Level 5

The Gateways Illinois Director Credential (IDC) Levels 1-3 are for professional administrators of ECE and school-age programs. It requires specific levels of training, education, experience teaching in an ECE or school-age program, and experience as a director or assistant director in an ECE or school-age program. The Illinois Director Credential requires the completion of an Associate’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university and at least 1,200 hours of work experience as a Director or Assistant Director. 

The Gateways Family Specialist Credential (FSC) Level 1-5 is for professionals who provide direct services to families. They work in a variety of settings, and their titles vary as well. Some of the positions that would apply for the FSC might be Family Case Workers, Parent Educators, or Family Advocates. Those earning the FSC will have special knowledge of managing family relationships and documented "family-related" work experience. If you have a Bachelor's or Graduate degree in Social Work, Family Studies, or phycology from a nationally accredited program, you may qualify for the Family Specialist Credential Level 5. Visit www.cswe.org for a directory of accredited programs.

The Technical Assistance (TA) 1-5 Credential is designed for professionals working in a variety of roles that relate to relationship-based professional development (for example Coach, Mentor, Quality Specialist, Professional Development Advisor, etc.) The Technical Assistance Credential requires the completion of an Associate’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university and at least 2,000 hours of work experience providing relationship-based professional development and 4,500 hours of experience work experience in your area of specialization.

How do I know if my degree, coursework, and/or training apply to a Gateways Credential? 

After you have applied and submitted your official transcripts from an accredited college or university for review, you will be notified regarding the next steps in the process. You have three years from the date your application is received to complete the Credential requirements. 

Professional Development Record PDR

The Gateways Registry Professional Development Record (PDR) is a benefit available to all Registry Members. It can be accessed by logging in to the Registry Dashboard and entering the My Registry portal. The PDR is located in the Learn section and can be run for any date range. Check out a sample PDR.

The PDR has six sections which list your education, credentials, and Registry trainings.

• Education and Credentials - Sections 1 and 2

• Gateways Registry Trainings - Sections 3, 4, and 5

• Self-Reported Training - Section 6

Basic Transcript Review

The Gateways Basic Transcript Review (BTR) records the total number of credit hours earned from an accredited college or university and displays the information on the PDR. The BTR process further categorizes applicable coursework, completed with a grade of "C" or better, into four categories:

• ECE/CD

• ECE-Related

• School-Age and Youth Development

• Business/Administration

The BTR is completed on all official transcripts received by the Gateways Registry. Official transcripts are those sealed in an envelope and sent from an accredited college or university. They may also be sent electronically from an accredited college or university to transcripts@inccrra.org.

Foreign evaluated transcripts and coursework will only be accepted from entities listed as a National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) member.

Upon completion of the review, your formal education will be reflected on your Professional Development Record (PDR) in sections 1 and 2.

Illinois Department of Children & Family Services and the Gateways Registry

The Illinois Department of Children & Family Services (IDCFS) accepts the Gateways Registry PDR as documentation of completion of pre-service and in-service training hour requirements for licensing.  The sections of the PDR accepted are:

• Section3 - Completed Registry-Approved Training

• Section 4 - Registry-Verified Conferences

• Section 5 - Attendance-Verified Conferences and Training

Please note that Section 6 (Self-Reported Conferences and Trainings) may be used to keep track of other trainings attended, but certificates must be kept as documentation of attendance.  You must also still provide a certificate of attendance as documentation for completing the Mandated Reporter training.