ACCREDITATION
WHY WE CARE ABOUT QUALITY
The field of after school care and education is growing in leaps and bounds and receiving an enormous amount of public attention and scrutiny that is unprecedented. Along with this growth, there is an emerging body of compelling research about what works and what doesn't work.
What we do know is that quality matters if programs are to achieve positive outcomes for children and youth.
Explore the links above for information on training opportunities, best practice guidelines and tools you can use.
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Attention After School Programs Interested in Accreditation!
Accreditation recognizes programs that have achieved the highest levels of quality. As of 9/1/08, the National Afterschool Association (NAA) has transitioned the Accreditation process to the Council on Accreditation (COA).
The COA has outlined the new process, guidelines and fees for those seeking accreditation after 9/1/08 on their Web site www.coaafterschool.org. The goal has been to develop accreditation standards that programs of every size and designation can use to support their continuous quality improvement and long-term sustainability.
In addition to Accreditation, they have established two other less rigorous options for smaller programs that do not involve site visits:
Registration (programs with 75 or fewer children or budgets under $60,000)
Certification (programs with 150 or fewer children or budgets under $120,000).
Feel free to call Ken Anthony, the Network’s Director of Professional Development, at 860-730-2942 if you have any questions about accreditation.