Family child care educators often face barriers to accreditation, including professional isolation, limited time, and lack of access to consistent coaching and business support. Research from the Erikson Institute demonstrates that staffed networks play a critical role in reducing these barriers and supporting quality improvement.
The NAFCC Accreditation Accelerator Project brings together a small cohort of family child care networks to participate in an accelerated accreditation pathway. Eligible educators supported by selected networks may complete accreditation with a reduced or waived self-study period.
This pilot is designed to:
Test whether network-supported educators complete accreditation more quickly.
Identify the core characteristics of strong, effective family child care networks
Inform future accreditation policies, supports, and pathways
Build a scalable, network-led model for accreditation support nationwide
The Accreditation Accelerator is open to organizations that provide structured support to family child care educators, including:
Accreditation Facilitation Projects
Family child care networks and hubs
Higher education–based family child care networks
CCR&Rs with dedicated FCC network models
State or regional family child care associations
Nonprofits or coalitions providing coordinated FCC support
**This opportunity is intended for networks and organizations—not individual educators.**
**This opportunity is intended for networks and organizations—not individual educators.**
Participating networks will complete a self-assessment demonstrating proficiency across key domains associated with strong family child care networks, including:
Service delivery and integration
Relationship-based support
Staffing and professional development
Caseloads and individualized support
Business and financial supports
Cultural Responsiveness
Educator Wellbeing
Networks will submit:
Submissions will be reviewed and scored using a standardized rubric. Networks will also participate in brief interviews to clarify responses.
Eligible networks must demonstrate that they:
| Feature | Waived Self-Study Pathway | Accelerated Self-Study Pathway |
|---|---|---|
| Who this pathway is for | Networks demonstrating strong, consistent systems for supporting educators through the full NAFCC Accreditation process | Networks demonstrating promising practices and readiness to strengthen systems with guidance |
| Self-Study requirement | Traditional 6-month self-study period is waived | Self-study period is shortened (approximately 3 months) |
| NAFCC guidance during self-study | Not required due to demonstrated system strength | Ongoing guidance and support from NAFCC during the shortened self-study period |
| Educator Eligibility | Only educators actively supported by participating networks | Only educators actively supported by participating networks |
| Priority accreditation observation coordination | Yes – included for all participating networks | Yes – included for all participating networks |
| Additional NAFCC coaching & support | Available as part of project participation | Available as part of project participation |
| Participation in communities of practice & data collection | Required | Required |
**This opportunity is intended for networks and organizations—not individual educators.**
Accelerated accreditation pathways for supported educators, based on demonstrated network capacity, including placement into either a waived or accelerated self-study pathway
Priority accreditation observation coordination for educators supported through participating networks, helping reduce delays and improve timelines
Individualized coaching consultations with NAFCC, focused on strengthening network systems, alignment to accreditation requirements, and continuous quality improvement
Structured technical assistance and participation in communities of practice, offering opportunities for peer learning, reflection, and shared problem-solving across networks
Participation in a national learning and data collection initiative, contributing to evidence that will inform future NAFCC accreditation policies, supports, and pathways
Early engagement in additional NAFCC family child care network pilots, positioning participating networks as leaders in systems-level accreditation innovation
March 2026
Network kickoff session: Date TBD
Network interest and intake process
April 2026
Network self-assessment
Educator interviews
May 2026
Network interviews
Review, scoring, and calibration
June 30, 2026
Final network selection and notification
MOUs finalized
July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027
Network onboarding
Educator identification and support
Ongoing technical assistance, communities of practice, and data collection