Official accreditation can also give parents some reassurance of a center's quality. A number of private nonprofit organizations, including the National Association for the Education of Young Children, headquartered in Washington, D.C., set standards for such things as ratios of staff to children, and physical safety. But even an accredited center is not guaranteed to be safe or to offer excellent care, and because so few centers have sought accreditation, one that is not accredited is not necessarily performing under par. The National Association for the Education of Young Children, the most widely recognized accrediting organization, reports that just 8 percent of licensed day care facilities, including family day care, in New York State have sought and achieved accreditation as of this year. That compares with a rate of 6 percent of day care facilities nationwide.
Safety is a major concern for parents when choosing day care.
Best is when centers check job applicants for criminal offense histories. Centers should require letters of recommendation in addition to interviews. The same applies for caregivers and all the residents in a private day care home. The physical structure of the day care center needs to be safe as well. The playground should be fenced in and the equipment should be age appropriate.