Iloilo Province undertakes accreditation of Day Care Centers
The Iloilo Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) is currently undertaking an on-going accreditation of Center-Based Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) centers in several municipalities.
Social Welfare Specialist Nema Villan said the accreditation is mandated by Republic Act 8980 or the ECCD Act to ensure quality standards of the Day Care Centers.
Villan said so far 26 Day Care Workers have been accredited in the municipality of Guimbal while other towns like New Lucena and Concepcion have undergone accreditation and the municipality of Miag-ao is about to be completed.
The accreditors and evaluators come from the PSWDO, using the new Accreditation Tool focusing on indicators in the areas of Advancement of children’s growth and development, Partnership with families, community and local government, Human resource development, Program management and administration, and physical environment and safety.
Villan said since the early years of a child’s life are critical in its growth, it is important that the degree of compliance of programs and services to meet a child’s right to survival, protection, development and participation.
The DSWD, with the help of UNICEF, had designed a Manual to enhance common understanding, use and application of the standards in accrediting day care and other ECCD centers nationwide.
The Manual provides five levels for Program accreditation, namely Satisfactory, Very Satisfactory, Highly Satisfactory, Outstanding, Exemplary.
Villan said a Day Care Center’s ECCD program is given a Certificate of Accreditation, when it meets the quality standards set by the DSWD as indicated in the tools. (PIA6/ESS)
