Validators & Moderators

The success and credibility of AELCS are dependent upon the performance of child care professionals who are engaged in the external assessment or validation of an applicant service: the Validators and the Moderators.

AELCS depends upon the Validators and Moderators to assure the objectivity and quality of accreditation of licensed and contracted child care services in Alberta. They are experienced professionals in early child care and education committed to the advancement of quality child care services through the accreditation process.

Validators conduct site visits and complete site visit reports for AELCS.

Moderators make recommendations and provide advice to AELCS on whether a child care service has achieved the standards required for accreditation in order to ensure consistency in decisions. The positions of Validator and Moderator are contract positions.

AELCS offers a three-day training session for Validators and Moderators. All costs and expenses (travel, hotel, meals) related to the training are covered by AELCS and release time is paid to their home services, if the training takes place on a weekday. Otherwise the time for taking the training is volunteer time.

If you have Level III Certification and wish to be considered as a participant in any future Validator training opportunities, submit a Validator application form to AELCS.

The Validator Application must be complete and be supported by two letters of reference. A cover letter and a resume are also required.

Validator Role, Responsibilities and Qualifications

Validators conduct site visits and complete site visit reports for AELCS. Site visits are conducted with services outside of the communities of the Validators' homes or employment. Validators are required to disqualify themselves from a review, if they are familiar with a child care program or its practitioners. A site visit occurs over two days.Individuals applying for these positions require at a minimum:

• Level III certification
• Senior staff with supervisory experience
• Ability to work with and relate to adults in an evaluative setting
• Ability to work in an objective and professional manner
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills

Lead Validators

There will be a limited number of Lead Validators who will work on contract with AELCS and will be paid $800 per service validation.

Peer Validators

Peer Validators are individuals working in child care settings at a supervisory level. They are generally commit to conducting a minimum of three site visits per year. As with most accreditation systems, Peer Validators volunteer their time for this service, but the program where they work will receive ‘release funds' of $525 per service validation to compensate for the time the Peer Validator is away from their workplace. All of the Peer Validator's travel expenses are covered.

Moderator Role, Responsibilities and Qualifications

The role of the Moderator is to make recommendations and provide advice to AELCS on whether a child care service has achieved the standards required for accreditation.

Moderator recommendations are based on an examination of the evidence of quality presented in the self-study report, the Quality Enhancement Plan, and the Validators' site visit report. The Moderator's observations and recommendation are presented as an accreditation report to the Governing Council of AELCS. The remuneration is $400 per recommendation report.

Moderators are required to disqualify themselves from a review, if they are familiar with a child care program or its practitioners.

The qualifications of Moderators include:
• Level III certification in Alberta, eligibility for Level 3 certification, or comparable post-secondary education requirements in a human service
• demonstrated knowledge of the Alberta child care system of centre and contracted family day home agency services
• recent active involvement for a period of at least five years in children's services as an academic, administrator or senior service provider
• demonstrated leadership and expertise in children's services
• understanding of, involvement in and commitment to ACCAP
• superior writing skills
• demonstrated analytic skills
• demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and meet deadlines

Competencies required for moderators include:
• Commitment to the accreditation process and to quality improvement of child care services
• Knowledge and, where possible, experience in processes of the review and evaluation of services
• Knowledge and, where possible, experience in processes of service approval or licensing
• Professional maturity
• Ethical behaviour
• Objectivity and respect of differences in philosophies and approaches in child care and early education
• Ability to read, analyze, synthesize and write concise, factual observations
• Ability to observe, interview and then analyze, synthesize and write concise, factual observations
• Ability to relate evidence to general criteria and indicators, recognizing that an isolated incident does not necessarily reflect the general standards of a service
• Ability to communicate orally