By Rudee Robertson | April 14, 2026
The Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) Program gives early childhood spaces a concrete, strength-based way to nurture young children’s social and emotional development and resilience from birth through age five, while also supporting the adults who care for them.
What is the DECA Program?
The DECA Program is a nationally standardized, strength-based assessment and planning system designed to promote protective factors that are central to young children’s social and emotional health and resilience. It supports infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, allowing programs to use a common language and framework across age groups.
At its core, the DECA Program focuses on three within-child protective factors: initiative, self-regulation, and attachment/relationships. Rather than centering on what is “wrong,” the DECA highlights what is going well so that adults can intentionally build on children’s strengths in daily interactions and planning.
How the DECA Program Works in Daily Practice
The DECA Program offers more than a one-time screening; it is a continuous cycle of observation, assessment, reflection, and planning. Teachers/caregivers and families can complete brief standardized rating forms that measure behaviors related to initiative, self-regulation, and attachment/relationships, and for preschoolers, behavior concerns as well.
Results are summarized at both the individual and group/classroom levels, giving teachers/caregivers insight into patterns of strengths and needs. This information flows directly into planning tools and strategy guides that help adults select everyday practices, routines, and activities designed to intentionally promote resilience and social-emotional growth. Because the DECA can be completed before and after strategies are implemented, programs can monitor progress and adjust supports across the year.
Benefits for Classrooms and Programs
Implementing the DECA Program can transform early childhood spaces into more intentional, emotionally responsive environments. Some key benefits include:
- A common, research-based framework for social and emotional learning focused on initiative, self-regulation, and attachment/relationships.
- Early identification of concerns such as aggression, withdrawal, or attention challenges, which supports timely intervention and referrals when needed.
- Concrete, practical strategies that guide classroom instruction, behavior support, and program-wide planning, so DECA results actually change what happens for children each day.
- A strength-based lens that can reduce deficit-focused conversations and help teams look for what children can do, not just what they struggle with.
Strengthening Family Partnerships
The DECA Program intentionally brings families into the assessment and planning process by inviting both teachers/caregivers and family members to complete ratings. This dual perspective deepens adults’ understanding of each child’s temperament, culture, and daily life, and encourages consistent supports across home and school.
Programs can use DECA reports and strategy guides to share specific, strength-based feedback with families, along with simple ideas for promoting resilience at home. This helps families feel like partners in their child’s growth and gives them language for social and emotional skills that they can carry into their everyday routines.
Supporting Adult Resilience
An often-overlooked benefit of the DECA Program is its emphasis on the well-being of the adults who care for children. Our team offers tools such as an adult resilience journal and training opportunities that help staff reflect on their own protective factors and stress management.
When adults strengthen their own resilience, they are better able to provide high-quality, emotionally responsive care, creating calmer, more predictable, and more nurturing early childhood spaces. In this way, the DECA Program supports an entire ecosystem of resilience: children, families, and professionals growing stronger together.
If you are interested in having a conversation about using the DECA Program, we invite you to fill out this short form and one of our team members will get back to you!
Click here to learn about DECA Online (e-DECA), where programs manage all things related to their DECA Program use.
