COA - Council On Accreditation

	Early Childhood Education

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

Definition

Early Childhood Education programs serve families in need of high-quality child care in a center-based setting. Programs promote healthy child development through relationship building and a variety of cognitive, physical, and social activities.

Note: Throughout this document, the term “teaching staff” is used to refer to individuals who work directly with children in the classroom, including teachers and assistant teachers. While agencies may use different terminology, the term “teacher” refers to the individual with primary responsibility for a group of children. Assistant teachers are directly supervised by teachers. When a standard was written for a specific position, the title is specified. The term “parent” is used to refer to the child’s caregiver at home including biological parents, legal guardians, or extended family as applicable.

Note: These standards were not designed to accredit family child care homes and would not be an appropriate tool for such programs. The standards in this section are reflective of evidence informed practices in center-based care and do not address issues specific to the family child care setting. Completion of these standards by a child care center that utilizes family child care homes to expand its capacity to provide care will not result in accreditation of the individual homes and cannot speak to the quality of the care being provided within them. PA-ECE 12 is intended only to review the oversight and support provided to family child care homes by the child care facility.

Research Note: Research has shown that high quality early childhood education can have a positive impact on the development, academic achievement, and safety of children. Some studies have found that the strongest impacts of high quality early childhood education programs were observed in at-risk children. A long-term study has shown that high quality early childhood education programs for at-risk children had positive effects on future economic success and the prevention of criminal activities in adulthood.


	PURPOSE: Early Childhood Education facilitates appropriate child development and ensures the health and safety of children in care.

RELATED FILES


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	QUALITY In this context, the extent to which contemporary and generally recognized standards for professional practice are met and exceeded, and desirable service outcomes achieved.


	CAREGIVER The provider of physical, emotional, and social needs to another person, often dependent and unable to provide for his or her own needs. Caregiver is the generic term used for the direct service providers in Community Care and Support Services (CCS).


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	LEGAL GUARDIAN A person who has legal responsibility for the care and management of a person incapable of administering his/her own affairs. In the case of a minor child, the guardian is charged with the legal responsibility for the care and management of the child and of the minor child's estate.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	ACCREDITATION The formal evaluation of an organization against accepted criteria or standards. A professional society, non-governmental organization, or a governmental agency may conduct accreditation activities. A COA-accredited organization has undergone a period of rigorous self-study and is capable of providing programs and services that meet or exceed COA standards.


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	PREVENTION Actions taken to minimize and/or eliminate social, psychological, or other conditions. Prevention can occur at the individual, group, community, and societal levels and enhances opportunities to achieve positive fulfillment.