Accreditation
National Association for Family Child Care
Early Care and Education
 Family Day Care NO
 Family Child Care NO
 Babysitter Definitely NO
 We are now saying Early Care and Education Home
Program or Educators for short
Early Care and Education
What is Quality Care?
How do you define it?
If someone asked you “what is
quality care?”, how would you
answer?
Structural Quality
(Bordin, J., Machida, S., & Varnell, H. (2000)
 Adult child ratio
 Educators training
 Health and safety issues
 Group size
• These are easily regulated
Process Quality
(Bordin, J., Machida, S., & Varnell, H. (2000)
 Educators relationships with children
 Involvement with children
 Sensitivity with children
 Appropriate educational activities
 Developmental support
Global Quality
Galinsky, Howes, Kontos, & Shinn, (1994)
 Educators intentionality
 Longevity
 Commitment to professionalism
Professional fields commonly
accredited
 Medical Doctors
 Retirement Homes
 Hospitals
 Museums
 Colleges
 Zoos
 Jails
 Child Care Centers
 Dentists
History of Accreditation in Family Child
Care
 The accreditation tool was developed over a 3 year
period by the Family Child Care Project at Wheelock
College.
 Fifty three meetings were held with hundreds of
educators, parents, and early childhood professionals to
find common ground for what a quality assessment
should include.
 A steering committee took these definitions and
developed the accreditation tool.
 The first system was used in 1999 and has been updated
4 times since then.
Accreditation
 Defines Standards of quality for the field of Family Child
Care
 Helps Parents and Policy-Makers recognize high quality
family child care
 Promote educators’ self-assessment and professional
development
 Motivate educators to put training into practice
 Serves as a cornerstone in state professional
development
How do you think accreditation will
change you?
 Compile a list of how you believe accreditation will
benefit you and your business.
 Share your reasons with a neighbor.
 Do you have common reasons?
 Report back to the group.
How does becoming accredited change
you?
 Quality care for children.
 Feeling of professionalism.
 Marketing your quality program.
 Belonging to a professional organization.
How?
 Being respected in the field and in your business.
 Furthering your career the field.
 Others look to you as a leader in the field.
 Other opportunities come knocking on your door.
How?
 Feelings of self esteem and self worth. Knowing you are
doing a good job.
 Commitment to the field, and career.
 Becoming an advocate for children, educators, and
families.
 Being an intentional educator.
Accreditation Eligibility Criteria
 Be at least 21 years of age
 Have a high school diploma or GED
 Provide care to children for a minimum of 15 hours per
week.
 Provide care to a minimum of three children in a home
environment. At least one child must live out-side the
provider’s home.
Accreditation Eligibility Criteria
 Be the primary caregiver, spending at least 80% of the
operating hours actively involved with the children. If
applying as co-providers each provider must spend at
least 60% of the time actively involved with the children.
 Have at least 18 months experience as a family child care
provider before the observation visit.
 Meet the highest level of regulation to operate a family
child care program.
 Be in compliance with all regulations of the authorized
licensing body.
Accreditation Eligibility Criteria
•Have a favorable state and federal criminal history
•Be in good health in order to provide a nurturing and
stable environment for children.
•Maintain a current CPR and Pediatric First Aid
certification
•Adhere to the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct
Accreditation Eligibility Criteria
Complete at least 90 clock hours of documented family
child care related education/training within the 3 years
prior to submitting the accreditation documentation.
Training Requirements
 The training must include hours in each of the content
areas listed below.
1. Relationships
2. Environment
3. Developmental Learning Activities
4. Safety and Health
5. Professional and Business Practices
Training Requirements
•Training hours may consist of:
Up to 28 hours of Workshops (of two hours or
less)
Classes or workshops taught by the candidate (up
to 18 contact hours, limited to one time per training topic)
Comprehensive (in depth) training from a recognized
agency or organization proficient in child care provider
education.
Training Requirements
A Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or
university may be substituted for up to 45 clock hours of
training.
• The initial current Family Child Care CDA (Child
Development Associate) Credential awarded through the
Council for Professional Recognition which states “valid
3 years from the date of issue” will be accepted as
documentation of the 90 clock hours of training.
Write down the last 5 workshops
you have attended.
 Put next to them the categories they belong in.
 Get in groups of 4 or 5 and compile your lists into the
training record.
 See if you, as a group can meet the requirements.
 If you don’t, what do you still need to take?
 NAFCC's Restructured Accreditation is designed to be a continuum of
professional development and quality improvement.
Fees
 NAFCC Membership $35
 Self-Study enrollment: $300
 Application: $500
 Annual Renewal $150
 Package: $900 includes self-study, application and annual
renewal
Fees
 Co-Provider: $100
 Incomplete application fee: $50 (if not completed
within 30 days)
 Observation re-scheduling fee: $100 (if you need to
reschedule within the 4 month time frame)
 Observation Reinstatement: $50 (If you can’t schedule
an observation within the 4 month time frame)
 Relocation Fee: $50
Enrolling in Self-Study
 Fill out application on-line or mail in
 $300 fee or $900 for the package deal, savings of $50.
 Receive the self-study materials from NAFCC
You are now an
Accreditation Candidate
Self Study Materials
 You will receive:
 The Provider Guide to Achieving NAFCC
Accreditation
 and
 Quality Standards for NAFCC Accreditation
Month 1
Month 2
No one is ready to apply for accreditation without
Change!!
What are some of the changes you
think you will need to make?
 Make a list now of things you think you need to do. As
we go through the training, add to the list.
 Relationships
 Environment
 Developmental Learning Activities
 Health and Safety
 Professional and Business Practices
Review
Enroll
Self-study
Apply
• Fill out application
• Send money
• Read the book and materials
• Make needed changes
• Gather needed information
• Send in all required documents
Application Ready?
 When you have finished making changes, completed
training and feel ready……
Apply
Required Documentation for
accreditation application
 A copy of your license
 A health assessment for you and your assistant, sign by a
doctor.
 A negative TB test
Required Documentation for
accreditation application
 Current CPR and First Aid Cards for both you and your
assistant.
 A favorable review of state records and FBI fingerprint
records concerning child abuse and criminal background
status for the provider, dated within 3 years.
Finger print requirement
 Must submit a FBI fingerprint clearance for child abuse and
criminal record. This is a rolled fingerprint card sent directly to
the FBI, with $18 and a letter stating you are using these for
personal reasons. www.fbi.gov
 Must submit a California State fingerprint clearance for child
abuse and criminal record. This is live scan. The cost of live scan is
$12 and up. A$25 fee must be paid to the California State
Department of Justice. www.ag.ca.gov/fingerprints
 Can submit license in lieu of the CA clearance, if received within
the last 3 years.
Planning for the Observation Visit
The observation visit will take place the 3rd or 4th month after the
application is received and eligibility is verified.
Observation Packet
Self-Observation Packet includes:
 Self-Certified Standards
 Is exactly the same the observer is going to use.
 Should complete before the observer comes.
 Evaluation of the Observer
 Conflict of Interest Statement
 Parent Surveys
 At least 80% of enrolled parents must return the sealed parent survey
 After the observation visit, return everything to NAFCC to be used in the decision step.
Unannounced Observer Visit
 The educator chooses one month (out of two) for the
visit.
 The educator chooses 4 days NOT to be observed during
that month.
The Observer can come any other day during the
month, and this will be unannounced.
The Observer and Observation visit
 Receives notice from
NAFCC
 Calls educator to plan days
NOT to schedule visit
 Must visit at least 4 hours
 Must interview educator
after observation
The Observation Visit
 The observer scores
the observation tool.
 Full and
consistently met
 Partially or
sometimes met
 Not met
The Observation Visit
All
materials
returned to
NAFCC
within 48
hours
 Some are scored N/A
 Some are scored N/O
 Some are scored “Intentional NO”
 Not all standards are expected to be
observed
The Decision
Process
Observation
Information
Parent
surveys
Accreditation
Status
Wait and Wait and Wait
Up to 12 weeks to hear the decision
Accreditation Granted
• Good for 3 years but must do annual updates
Accreditation is Conditional
• Must submit further information within 8
weeks of notification
Deferred
• Must reapply in one year for self study or a
new observation visit. Must pay fees again.
Annual Renewals
 Do self-assessment
 Do you still meet the standards and qualifications?
 What changes have you made?
 What trainings have you attended, or presented?
Annual Renewals
 Report findings to NAFCC
 Must be done within 30 days of accreditation date!!
 If these steps are not done annually, accreditation is revoked
Reaccreditation
 Skip the self study phase if:
 Annual renewals have been completed and
 The application is received before the expiration date.
 Enroll in Self-study phase if:
 the accreditation has expired
Research supports accreditation
 Research shows providers who have had training in child
care related subjects, have higher quality programs.
(Bordin, et al.2000).
 Accredited providers are 6 times more likely to have
training than none accredited providers (Smith &
Endsley, 1996).
 Accredited providers scored higher on other assessment
tools compared to non-accredited providers (Smith &
Endsley, 1996).
Definition of accreditation
 You and a partner come up with a working definition, in
a sentence or two, to describe what accreditation is.
How will you explain it to a client?
 Share your ideas in a roll play:
 Parent and educator
 Parent asks: what does accreditation mean?
 Educator answers