Re-Accreditation

Responsibilities of accredited family child care agencies
Getting accredited is an achievement. You and your staff and providers worked hard to complete the self-study process and the site visit gave you the opportunity to show off the results of all that hard work. At last all the work is done! Well, not quite…

While there are a number of advantages to being accredited – public recognition for the quality of your services and, of course, additional funding to help support that quality – there are also some responsibilities and expectations that go along with your new status.

Incorporate your Accreditation Feedback Report into your QEP and continue to work towards achieving your goals. 
The cornerstone of accreditation is continuous quality improvement. Therefore, the expectation is that after you are accredited, you will incorporate the items listed in the Accreditation Feedback Report into your Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) and then continue to work on these items in your QEP.

Submit annual reports
In addition, each year just prior to your anniversary date, you are required to submit an annual report to the AELCS office that provides details and evidence of the work you have completed on your Quality Enhancement Plan. Part of your score for re-accreditation will be based on how well you have met your goals since accreditation.

Notify AELCS of changes in your agency
As an accredited program you are required to immediately inform the AELCS office of changes in:

  • ownership (share or asset sale)
  • agency name change
  • location
  • contracted capacity
  • contact person (new Director/owner etc.)
  • contact information such as telephone number, email address

Self-report non-compliances and investigations
You are awarded accredited status for a three-year term with the expectation that you will continue to offer a program that meets the ten ACCAP Quality Standards. We monitor this in a number of ways. First of all, annual reports are submitted as mentioned above.

Secondly, Alberta Children and Youth Services will alert us if your contract becomes invalid. However, please be aware that it is an expectation that an accredited family childcare agency will self report any non-compliances/recommendations from file reviews (as per the Family Day Home Standards Manual and the Family Day Home Contract), if there was an investigation in a provider’s dayhome or if your contract becomes invalid. Lastly, we monitor compliance by investigating complaints sent to our office.