Overview

 Accreditation is both a status and a process  Status:  Status: Accreditation provides public notification that standards of quality are met as set forth by an accrediting agency.  Process:  Process: Accreditation reflects an organization’s desire and commitment to not only engage in self-study but to submit to an external review and to continuously seek ways in which to enhance the quality of service, education and training provided. What is Accreditation?

 MAAP Accreditation  MAAP Accreditation is the ultimate indicator of quality in out-of-school-time programs. It provides out-of-school time professionals with performance indicators to guide in program planning, implementation and evaluation.

Why is it good for programs? Why is it good for families? Why is it good for staff? Why is it good for children? Why Accreditation?

 Provides a sustainable framework for program quality improvement efforts  Provides a context for ongoing professional development  Measurably strengthens out-of-school time programs and services  Serves as a foundation for positive youth outcomes  Fosters a competent, caring, qualified team of caregivers  Transforms individual staff members into a strong professional team  Minimizes staff-turnover  Conveys a commitment to quality  Informs families 'decisions about out-of-school time care Why Accreditation?

Grouped into five Foundation Areas:  A dministrative  W ellness  A ctivities  R elationships  E nvironments MAAP 2.0 Standards and Indicators

Definitions  Foundation Area The Foundation Areas are broad categories of program work and include: Administration, Wellness, Activities, Relationships, and Environment (AWARE). Each Foundation Area includes a brief statement of the rationale describing the area’s impact on quality. Each area includes multiple Standards and Indicators.  Standards Standards are expressions of the expectations of high quality programs and are phrased as a statement of the desired practice. Meeting each of the Standards demonstrates that a program is sufficiently strong in each Foundation Area. There are multiple Standards in each Foundation Area.  Indicators Indicators describe in detail the practices that are needed to meet the standard. Some standards have just a few indicators while other standards have many indicators. Indicators may be either ‘required’ (R) or ‘emerging’ (E).  Required indicators are those practices that must be demonstrated for a program to receive accreditation. These practices are considered essential to high quality and/or are foundational to other emerging practices. All required indicators must be met for a program to become accredited.  Emerging indicators are those practices that are linked to exceptional outcomes for youth but may still be only partially implemented in high quality programs. These indicators represent cutting-edge practices in the profession or supporting practices that provide an enhanced level of challenge for high quality programs to work toward. During the validation visit emerging indicators are scored using a 0 – 3 point scale. To become accredited programs must earn 80% of the total of all emerging indicators

Foundation Area I Administration: Effective administration practices support transparency and openness helping to create an environment in which program quality and positive youth development are most likely to occur and be sustained.

Foundation Area II Wellness: The program’s policies and practices support the wellness of the youth participants.

Foundation Area III Activities: The program plans and implements activities that support youth development and engagement.

Foundation Area IV Relationships: Relationships are developed among staff members, youth, and families to promote youth development.

Foundation Area V Environment: The program environment is safe and accessible and promotes youth development across domains.

Steps to MAAP Accreditation

 Complete online enrollment application.online enrollment application  $250 payment must be submitted via credit card with application  Grants are available for qualifying programs. To find out if you qualify complete the online application.  Application link. Application Enrolling in MAAP

Families Staff Youth Host Recruit the Stakeholder Team Prepare the Staff Prepare the Community Building A Community of Support for Program Improvement

 Ideas for building a community of support:  Invite school staff, administrators, parents and other community stakeholders for “Happy Hour.”  Serve treats, and provide an overview of accreditation  Download and personalize the Kick Off PowerPoint from MAAP website to show at event (or print slides and display on three sided display board for parents to peruse as they come and go)  Initiate participation in the Stakeholder Team  Host a Kids Performance Night  simple skits, songs or demonstrations of their activities can be displayed and treats served Host an Accreditation Kick Off Event

Next Steps To Accreditation  Members of Stakeholder Team engage in self-study process  Conduct and tally surveys  Conduct initial program observations  Schedule Stakeholder Meetings  Develop and implement an Action Plan for Program Improvement

Monthly Cohort Meetings  The MAAP Cohort meet once a month  Consult online meeting calendar for specific dates and locations – found on the MnAEYC-MnSACA website  MAAP representative will be available at meetings to answer questions and guide self-study process  Program representative(s) and coach attend monthly cohort meetings to network and exchange ideas with others

Prepare for Validation Visit  Coach and Stakeholder Team conduct final program observations.  Stakeholder team may decide to re-survey to ensure program improvements are embedded in every day practice.  Pre-visit documentation is prepared and saved electronically.  Endorsement visit application, payment, and pre-visit documentation are submitted.

Visit Day and Decision  Visit Day is scheduled  Program director, stakeholder team, and staff are informed of expectations for visit day.  Visit Day Arrives!  Program director is notified of decision within 90 days of visit.

Accreditation is…..

Questions? Call or the Accreditation Facilitation Hotline Ext.36 MAAP 2.0 Self Study Tool and Master Key to Quality as well as many other supporting documents and other resources are available to enrolled programs only on the MAAP Webpage at