Accreditation

National Accreditation for Center-Based, Family Child Care, and Out-of-School Time Programs

Are you curious about the benefits of national accreditation for your early childhood or out-of-school time program? Are you unsure what the process entails and how Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network can support you? MRTQ PDN can help answer your Questions!

What is accreditation?
Accreditation is a voluntary undertaking designed to improve and validate the quality of out-of-school time and early care and education programs. Accreditation is one pathway to achieve recognition for the high-quality practices in early childhood and youth settings. MRTQ PDN has funding to assist a program with initial and ongoing accreditation fees.

The accreditation process involves extensive self-study and reflection to identify program strengths and address challenges based on national standards.

To receive accreditation, programs participate in a verification process that includes document review, onsite observations, and an interview (for NAFCC and COA) conducted by the accrediting organization to ensure that standards are met.

Who are the accrediting organizations?
National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC)
Council on Accreditation (COA)

Learn More about Accreditation Readiness

What are the supports offered by Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network?
Programs interested in, or ready to pursue accreditation, have access to a variety of supports provided by MRTQ PDN.
     ● Cohorts
     ● Virtual and On-Site Consultation
     ● Professional Development
     ● Quality Improvement Mini-Grants (Step 3 to Step 4 or Maintaining Step 4)
     ● Quality Improvement Toolkits (scroll to bottom of the page)