There are three steps involved in the National School-Age Care Alliance (NSACA) Program Improvement and Accreditation System. They are: 

Step 1

Purchase the NSACA Standards of Quality School-Age Care

• Review the standards using the examples and guiding questions.
• Talk about how your program is doing.
• Focus on targeted improvements.
• Use the “Next Steps” section of the Standards to decide when you are ready to invest in the full self-study.

Step 2

Purchase the Self-Study and Accreditation Kit, including: ASQ: Advancing School-Age Child Care Quality

• Talk to the families, children, staff, and host of your program and form a self-study team.
• Listen to what children, families, staff, host and the director have to sat on surveys.
• Look at the program with the program observation tool.
• Summarize the information and set goals for improvement.
• Take action on the goals and check back to see how you are doing.

 Step 3

Apply for NSACA accreditation and pay an endorsement visit fee

• You submit a self-study summary and program description.
• Two NSACA Endorsers trained to rate the program on the NSACA Standards visit your program.
• Your program is accredited if the ratings meet the criteria for accreditation, especially in human relationships and safety.
• NSACA’s program report identifies your program strengths and areas for continued improvement.