Accreditation

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) defines a high quality early childhood program as one that meets the needs of and promotes the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of the children and adults – parents, staff, and administrators – who are involved in the program.  For example, accreditation by the NAEYC requires all programs to address interactions among staff and children, curriculum, staff and parent interactions, administration, staff qualifications and development, staffing patterns, physical environment, health and safety, nutrition and food service, and program evaluation. Other examples of program accreditation or excellence used in the survey are the Family Child Care Association, a permit or certificate issued by the State Department of Education, and a Child Development Associate Credential.   

Using accreditation as defined in the survey as a quality indicator not only captures the licensure of the program, but also attempts to include other quality measures not currently regulated.

Resources

*  National Association for the Education of Young Children
"As thousands of child care centers, preschools, kindergartens and after-school programs have seen, accreditation is a powerful tool for raising the quality of early childhood education..."

*  California Association for the Education of Young Children 
"Improving the quality of care and education for young children..."

*  National School Age Child Care Alliance   
"ARQ: Advancing and Recognizing Quality.   NSACA's Program Improvement and Accreditation System..."

*  National Association for Family Child Care  
"The focus of NAFCC is to provide technical assistance to family child care associations. This assistance is provided through developing leadership and professionalism, addressing issues of diversity, and by promoting quality and professionalism through NAFCC's Family Child Care Accreditation..."

*  Child Care Aware  
"Programs that are accredited have gone beyond minimum licensing standards and have made a commitment to provide the kind of care, attention, and stimulating activities that you and your children require..."