The experience of the New York Association of Child Care Workers (ACCW) in implementing and further developing over a 4-year period a statewide program for certifying child caregivers is described in this paper. The certification program is discussed in three sections. After the first section's brief introductory statement, the second section, entitled "What To Do," lists actions taken to build the certification program. These actions are classified according to three phases of program development: "grandfathering" (or original certification at the level of baseline criteria), undertaken from 1976 to 1978; upgrading (raising requirements for certification), conducted during 1978 to 1979; and developing (involving issues such as provisional certification and inter-state reciprocity), undertaken from 1980 to 1981. In the third section, entitled "How To Do It," program development activities related to each of the three phases are described. Topics discussed include, among others, fees, deadlines for application, ethics, recognition of approved candidates, examinations, recertification, provisional certification, and national standards. Related materials, such as a list of the ACCW's certification requirements and an application for certification, are appended. (RH)