COA - Council On Accreditation

Early Child Care and Development Services provide quality care and promote development of children who need child care outside the home. Services provide children with opportunities for educational, physical, and social activities to stimulate healthy development. Services provide parents with information and support related to parenting and provide support for employment or needed relief from caregiving responsibilities. Services may be provided in a child care center or in family child care homes.

Note: The term caregiver is used throughout the child care standards for ease, and can be used interchangeably with teacher, caregiver, or child care provider.

Note: This section of standards (PA-ECCD) should not be used by agencies whose accreditation agreements have been received by COA on or following April 1, 2010. Agencies should refer to COA's newly revised standards for Early Childhood Education (PA-ECE). Agencies that have begun their process using this section of standards may continue to do so, or can contact their COA Accreditation Coordinator if they are interested in using the new PA-ECE standards.

Research Note: Research has shown that high quality child care and education services can have a positive impact on the development, academic achievement, and safety of infants, toddlers, and school-age children. Some studies have found that the strongest impacts of high quality services were observed in at-risk children. A long-term study has shown that high quality services for at-risk children had positive effects on the economic success and prevention of criminal activities of adults.


	PURPOSE: Early Child Care and Development Services meet family needs for high quality child care and ensure child development, health, and safety.

RELATED FILES

Recommended Caregiver-Child Ratios and Group Sizes (PA-ECCD) Chart.doc
NA Request.doc
Early Child Care Development Services (PA-ECCD) Data Sheet.doc
PA_ECCD Template.doc
PA-ECCD Reference List.pdf


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	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."


	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.


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


	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).


	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.


	SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN Children and adolescents legally required to attend school. COA does not provide specific age limits for this term; however "school-age" is generally considered to be between the ages of 5 - 17 years old.


	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.


	INFANT A child aged one year and under.