For more than 20 years, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has helped families feel good about the child care centers, preschools, and kindergartens they choose. NAEYC's national, voluntary accreditation system measures and raises the quality of early childhood education programs. In 2006, NAEYC will formally launch a revamped and reinvigorated accreditation system.

Q: Why did NAEYC change its accreditation system?

A: NAEYC made a good system even better. NAEYC's standards were strong, but the system struggled to meet growing demand. NAEYC improved services and resources available to programs seeking accreditation, streamlined the program assessment process, and made the standards clear and consistently measured. These changes make the program more credible, more reliable, and more accountable than ever before.

Q: What's new about NAEYC Accreditation?

A: NAEYC has established a clear, four-step process that programs must complete to prove they meet NAEYC standards. The new process is more efficient for assessing programs, providing them with improved self-study materials, and cutting down the wait time for verification visits to determine that they meet NAEYC standards. Ten standards have been established based on the latest research in early childhood education, and more than 400 criteria have been set up to help programs demonstrate that they meet NAEYC standards. The term of accreditation has increased from three years to five years. During this term, programs must submit annual reports and are subject to unannounced visits by NAEYC assessors to ensure they continue to meet NAEYC standards.

Q: What differentiates NAEYC Accreditation from other accreditation systems?

A: NAEYC Accreditation is recognized across the country as the mark of quality education for young children. NAEYC Accreditation is the strongest system available to early childhood education programs, providing them with the tools and assistance they need to continuously improve their programs and meet NAEYC's stringent program standards.

Q: Are NAEYC-accredited programs more academic?

A: NAEYC-accredited programs must implement a curriculum that fosters all areas of child development: cognitive, emotional, language, physical, and social. NAEYC-accredited programs are the right choice for kids because they provide a proper balance of academics, health, safety, and fun.

Q: How does NAEYC ensure that accredited programs maintain their quality?

A: NAEYC-accredited programs are committed to providing high-quality care for young children. Throughout the five-year term of accreditation programs must submit annual reports and are subject to random, unannounced visits by highly-trained assessors to ensure they continue to meet our standards.

Q: What can families do if they feel that an accredited program isn't meeting NAEYC standards?

A: NAEYC is committed to ensuring that programs that earn our torch live up to our standards. We will investigate all legitimate and specific complaints about NAEYC-accredited programs.

Q: Why aren't there more NAEYC-accredited programs in my community?

A: NAEYC Accreditation is rigorous and requires programs to be committed to high-quality care for young children. Even with the strong growth of the system, NAEYC-accredited programs can be rare in some communities. Parents should demand NAEYC Accreditation for the programs in their communities. And, business leaders and policymakers should support more early childhood programs that are working to improve.