Looking at NAFCC Accreditation

If you are a family child care provider you have probably heard mention of NAFCC Accreditation. This national accreditation is necessary to reach the top level of Maine’s Rising Stars for ME (QRIS). The purpose of the material being presented in this series of posts is to address some of the questions providers have about:

  • What is accreditation?
  • How is it earned?
  • How long is it good for?
  • Cost? and links to resources.
Definition of Accreditation:

Accreditation is a process many different industries use to identify exemplary practices in a particular field. Accreditation is both a status and a process. As a status, accreditation provides public notification that an institution or program meets standards of quality set forth by an accrediting agency. As a process, accreditation reflects the fact that in achieving recognition by the accrediting agency, the institution or program is committed to a continuous quality improvement process through ongoing self-study and external review by one’s peers in seeking not only to meet standards but to continuously seek ways in which to improve the quality of the program and the services provided.

The National Association for Family Child Care, (NAFCC) sponsors the only nationally recognized accreditation system designed specifically for family child care programs. This system was designed years ago by hundreds of providers, parents, and early care and education experts in an effort to create a quality indicator for family child care programs across the country. Every five years the Quality Standards for NAFCC Accreditation are revised and updated to meet best practice.

NAFCC Accreditation is awarded to family child care programs where the primary provider meets eligibility requirements, such as:

  • Be at least 21 years of age
  • Have a high school diploma or GED
  • Provide direct care to children for a minimum of 15 hours per week
  • Provide direct care to a minimum of three (3) children in a home environment. At least one (1) of the children in direct care cannot reside in the provider’s home
  • Be in compliance with appropriate current State Child Care Licensing Rules.
  • Have at least 12 months experience as a family child care provider before the observation visit.
  • Be the primary caregiver, spending at least 80% of operating hours actively involved with the children. Co-providers must spend at least 60% of the time actively involved with the children. 
  • Have completed at least 120 hours of documented ece training within the 3 years prior to submitting the accreditation documentation. *There are guidelines around accepted training that can be found in NAFCC Accreditation training requirements.
  • Adhere to the NAEYC Code of Ethics

and the programs meets the Quality Standards for NAFCC Accreditation which are broken down into five core competencies:

  • Relationships
  • The Environment
  • Learning Activities
  • Safety & Health
  • Professional & Business Practices

Evidence is collected through self reporting processes, family surveys and through observation of the provider(s)/program.

Once a family child care program becomes accredited, they agree to abide by the standards set forth and to be measured against those standards, with periodic integrity and compliance reviews.

NAFCC Accreditation at a glance briefly describes the continuous quality improvement process of NAFCC Accreditation. 

Currently in Maine, once a provider commits to the process of earning accreditation for their program the first step is to connect with Tammy Dwyer (tammy.dwyer@maine.edu or (207)956-2937) from Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network (MRTQ PDN).

Why contact MRTQ PDN for NAFCC Accreditation?

MRTQ PDN has a variety of technical assistance and support services that are in place to help and support providers as they move along this journey of continuous quality improvement. After learning about the entire process and all requirements, providers make a decision on whether they will move forward with NAFCC Accreditation of their program. 

You’re Ready to Move Ahead with Accreditation………

The first step in the process is for the provider to become a member of NAFCC, if they are not already.

Once membership is in place the provider can enter the NAFCC Accreditation self-study phase. There is a fee to enter the self-study phase. Currently MRTQ PDN is able to support you and your program with funding that will cover a portion of that fee. Before you start the self-study phase, contact Tammy Dwyer (tammy.dwyer@maine.edu or (207)956-2937) to receive the information necessary to access funding available to you. Tammy will also provide you with more information on available technical support and help providers in deciding which services would best meet their program needs. 

The self-study phase begins the process where the provider will self reflect on their program and practice using the Quality Standards for NAFCC Accreditation. Within the self-study phase you will self reflect on the standards alone or with peers through a cohort for those on the same journey (cohort information can be found later in the post). Through your reflections, you will get a sense and are encouraged to make note about how you are meeting the quality standards. During your reflections, you will:

  • consider if you are already meeting the standards
  • consider if you sometimes meet the standard and identify some things you are already doing
  • consider if you are not meeting the standard

If you are interested in your program becoming accredited then you will need to work towards meeting the quality standards. NAFCC does give guidelines to which standards must be met and how they go about getting evidence of your program and practice. A huge piece of gathering evidence is through the provider’s response and their weighing in and explaining what they do and how they do it. The provider response information is gathered in multiple ways throughout the process and MRTQ PDN is available to offer support and guidance throughout.

In Maine providers are NOT alone in the accreditation process!

Let’s take a closer look at the Observation ~

The observer’s documentation, the interview, the candidate’s self-certified standards and the family surveys are all used to gather data about how the candidate’s program meets the standards. Each is reviewed by accreditation staff and compiled for a complete picture of the family child care program.

  1. A provider must submit for the program’s observation visit within three years of entering self study or re-apply to stay in self study.
  2. Providers work to meet the Quality Standards 100% of the time.
  3. On the day of the observation there are areas that can be marked as “not applicable” if the standard is not relevant to your program. An example would be if your program does not serve infants, those standards would be marked as “N/A- not serving infants.” 
  4. During an observation there is no way for someone to score fully met on all standards. When a standard is not fully met and not marked as “N/A”  then the observer will at the interview let you know there were standards that could not be marked as fully met and they will ask you to explain how you do meet the standard. They will write in their records indicating the provider’s response.
  5. In addition to the interview there is a self certification workbook that the provider must complete within the accreditation process.
  6. It is to be noted, there are several opportunities for the provider to explain what they do and how they do it. 

Accreditation policies require that each candidate fully meets all mandatory starred standards. In addition accreditation policies require that candidates successfully demonstrate that they meet a specified percentage of all non starred items in each category. When the candidate meets the above described criteria accreditation is awarded for a period of three years. There is a continuous self study process built into the accreditation process to keep you up to date, maintaining your accreditation and reflecting and implementing best practices. 

Below are the 2017 Quality Standards for NAFCC Accreditation. Providers use these standards to guide self reflection and improvements for their program, policies and practices until the revised and updated standards are released. 

Quality Standards for NAFCC Accreditation 

Here in Maine, there are many supports available for providers and programs that are interested in taking on this ongoing continuous quality improvement process. The following link will take you to the MRTQ PDN Cohort support page to learn more:  (MRTQ PDN) Cohort support

Where MRTQ PDN offers Credential and Accreditation cohorts, this link speaks specifically about accreditation cohorts.

First time accreditation cohorts typically run for 18 months, because of that time commitment MRTQ PDN typically offers one NAFCC accreditation cohort yearly. Programs can continue to meet with the cohort, but are not required after they submit their application for observation.

Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network District Coordinator, Tammy Dwyer, tammy.dwyer@maine.edu or (207)956-2937, facilitates the NAFCC accreditation cohorts and is available to answer any questions you have.