The National Association for Family Child Care operates the only nationally recognized accreditation system established specifically for home-based family child care providers.

Photo: U.S. Army Family Child Care

NAFCC accreditation is based on standards in five content areas: relationships, environment, developmental learning activities, safety and health, and professional and business practices.

Kathy Modigliani, who runs the Massachusetts based Family Child Care Project, led the development of NAFCC accreditation between 1995 and 1999, when she was based at Wheelock College in Boston. I talked with her by telephone earlier this week.

“Watching what happened with center-based teachers through accreditation is what motivated me to create an accreditation for family child care,” Modigliani says. “There have been many studies that have shown that accredited providers offer a significantly higher quality of care than others.”

In going through the accreditation process, Modigliani observes, early educators put into practice what they learn in college courses or Child Development Associate (CDA) training. “To motivate providers to put what they are learning into practice is something accreditation is important for,” she says. “I really think accreditation for both centers and homes is a critical piece in the quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) because it assesses what is happening in the program.”

Congratulations to the following Massachusetts family child care providers who have earned NAFCC accreditation or reaccreditation so far in 2010:

Beatriz Alvarez in Lowell, Ingris Bonilla in Lowell, Robin Dubois in Acushnet, Xan Kinsman in Fitchburg, Phyllis Lobo in Dorchester, Marie Micilin in Malden, Susan Motta in New Bedford, Joyce Perry in Fall River, Soraya Rendon in Chelsea, Tina Slavik in Taunton, and Judith Wesley in Lakeville.