Professional competency in psychologists wishing to treat children and families is an area of considerable concern and disagreement. Three types of practitioners comprise the bulk of the problem: clinical psychologists, who lack specific child-oriented training; developmental psychologists, who wish to serve children but lack traditional clinical training; and developmental psychologists, who lack clinical training but are currently serving children. The American Psychological Association's (APA) Standards for Providers of Psychological Services recognizes the single route theory to competency, which maintains that retraining in a formal program integrating formal classroom and experiential preparation, is the only true road. Recently, however, representatives of APA and its divisions have recognized that psychologists may become health care providers by a variety of routes, adopting a broader, three-component definition of clinical psychologist which includes state licensure, doctoral degree in psychology from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning, and a 2-year internship in a health service setting. Training deficits or competence gaps currently exist either in classroom or experiential preparation; single route theorists believe that these must be acquired simultaneously in an integrated fashion. However, many graduates of APA approved programs lack either theoretical or clinical training in developmental psychology. To ameliorate the competence gap, the credentials and competencies of individual psychologists should be reviewed and specific goal-oriented remedial work should be undertaken. To assist in this endeavor a new organizational division within APA is recommended: the Bureau of Academic Retraining Facilities. APA-approved internship sites are also recommended, designated as Technical Uniform Retraining Facilities. (BL)