R epublic o f the P hilippines

D epartm ent o f Social W elfare and D evelopm ent

IBP Road, Batasan Pambansa Complex, Constitution Hills, Quezon City 1126
Telephone Nos. (632) 931-8101 to 07; Telefax (632) 931-8191
e-mail: 0sec@dswd.9ov.pi1
Website: uttp. '/ww A'.ctswfi.gov.ph

A D M IN IS T R A T IV E O R D E R
NO, 1 5
Series of ’20)\

SUBJECT: GUIDELINES FOR THE ACCREDITATION OF DAY CARE

CENTERS AND DAY CARE WORKERS

I. INTRODUCTION

The D epartm ent o f Social W e lfa re and D eve lop m e n t (D S W D ), in prioritizing its
co m m itm e n t to the hum an d e ve lo p m en t concerns o f children as a response to the
c o u n try’s ratification o f the C o nvention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on July 26,
1990, w here the P hilippines is a state party, recognizes the significant role o f Day
C are S ervice in the d e ve lo p m en t o f ch ild re n ’s w ell being.

Hence, in 2004, the D S W D set standards fo r Day Care C enters (DCCs), other
ECCD C enters and S ervice P roviders (SP) (for children aged 0 - 5.11 years)
through A dm in istra tive O rd er No. 29 w hich covers DCC s and other EC C D C enter
(e.g. C hild M inding C enters) being m anaged by the N ational G ove rn m e n t A gencies
(NG As), G o ve rn m e n t O w ned and C ontrolled C o rp oratio n s (G O CCs), Local
G ove rn m e n t Units (LG Us), S ocial W e lfa re and D e velopm ent A gencies (SW D As),
P eo p le s’ O rg an iza tio ns (PO s) and other individuals. This A dm inistrative O rder
focused on five areas that are deem ed necessary in any E C E -E C C D program
w here specific, m easurable and o bservable indicators are enum erated to ensure
tha t the standards fo r each area are being met.

However, in the course o f the im plem entation o f A dm in istrative O rd er 29, series o f

2004, several issues and co nce rn s w ere raised by the sam e stakeholders, m ostly
on areas o f P artnership w ith Fam ilies, C o m m unity and Local G overnm ent,
particularly on u s e r’s fee or participation fee, and the Hum an R esource
D e velopm ent (H R D ) i.e. e ducational level o f the Day Care W orkers and their
qualifications. C onsequently, these issues and concerns w ere considered since
they play vital roles in the continuing operation o f Day C are S ervice. Likewise, the
HRD is critical because o f its role in the d elivery o f quality care and education to
children b en eficiaries o f the day care service.

The d ifferent concerns w ere e xpressed at the tim e w hen E xecutive O rder (EO) 685.
also know n as E xpanding the P reschool C overage to Include C hildren E nrolled in
Day C are C e n te rs w here children referred to are those w ho are 5 years old and
above, signed by the fo rm e r p resident on Ja nu a ry 10, 2008. Hence, this new
A dm in istrative O rd e r shall focus on the new guidelines fo r the accreditation o f Day
Care C enters and Day Care W orkers.

Further, this new guide lin e s will co ver Day Care C enters catering to children 3 years
old to 4.11 years old children, operated by NGAs, G O C C s, LGUs, S W D A s, POs and
oth e r private individuals. The Day Care W o rke rs are also covered in this new
g uideline to e nsure th a t the physical, intellectual, social and em otional needs o f the
children are being addressed.

II. MANDATE AND LEGAL BASES

T he D e partm ent d raw s its a uthority to a ccre dit day care centers (D C C s) and Day
C are W o rke rs (D C W s) fo r children 3 to b elow 5 years old from the follow ing:

1. P residential D ecree No. 603 (1974) - the Child and Youth W elfare Code
Title II A rticle 6 - “The Day C are S ervice and oth e r substitute parental
a rra n ge m e nts shall be provided to a child w hose parents and relatives are
not able to care fo r h im /h er during the day. Such arra n ge m e nt shall be
subjected to a ccreditation and licensing by the D epartm ent o f Social
W e lfa re .”

2. R epublic A c t No. 6972 (1990) - B arangay Total D evelopm ent and

P rotection o f C hildren A ct, S ection 5 (a) - “The D epartm ent o f Social
W elfare and D e velopm ent shall form u la te the criteria fo r the selection,
q ualifications, training and a ccreditation o f day care w orkers and the
stan d ards fo r the im plem entation o f the total d eve lo p m en t and protection of
children p ro gram .”

3. R epublic A ct No. 7160 or Local G o ve rn m e n t C ode o f 1991 - A rticle 24

states tha t the “ LGU shall be responsible fo r a set o f services and facilities
in accorda n ce w ith established national policies, g uidelines and stan d ards.”

4. E xecutive O rd e r No. 340 series o f 1997 - D irecting N ational G ove rn m e n t

A ge n cie s and G o ve rn m e n t O w ned and C ontrolled C o rporations to Provide
D ay C are S ervices fo r the ir E m p lo yee s’ C hildren U nder Five Years o f Age,
S ection 3 Lead A g e n cy (4) ” ... the D S W D is tasked to license and accredit
the services, facilities and day care w o rke rs.”

5. E xecutive O rd er No. 221 series o f 2003 - A m ending E xecutive O rd er No.

15 se ries o f 1998, R edirecting the F unctions and O perations o f DSW D
w hich states that to a ccom plish its roles and functions the D epartm ent shall
“S et the standards, a ccre dit and provide consultative services to public and
private institutions, org an iza tion s and persons engaged in social w elfare
activities, and m o n itor p erform ance and co m pliance to standards by
institutions, org an iza tion s and persons engaged in social w e lfa re activities
both public and p riva te.”

6. R epublic A ct 8980 (2000) - also know n as the Early C hildhood Care and
D e ve lop m e n t (E C C D ) A ct w hich provides under its Im plem enting Rules and
R egulations (IRR) as m entioned in S ection 27, S pecific Roles and
R e sponsibilities o f D S W D tha t it shall “ Register, license and a ccre dit public
and private EC C D centers, program s and service providers catering to
children b elow 5 years o f a ge .”

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 7. E xecutive O rd er No. 685 (2008) - also know n as E xpanding the Preschool
C o ve rag e to Include C hildren Enrolled in Day C are C enters w hich states
tha t “preschool e xpe rie n ces provide the essential stim ulation needed by 5
ye a r old children to becom e ready fo r form al schooling in G rade 1, thus
should be expanded to reach all children aged 5 years old, with first priority
to reaching those children least likely to e nte r school or m ost likely to drop
out or repeat in G rades 1-3.”

III. OBJECTIVES

This g u ide lin e s aim s to:

1. P rovide an enhanced set o f standards fo r the DCC s and D C W s for a m ore

e fficient and effective d elivery o f Day C are Service.
2. P rotect and prom ote the best interest o f the children availing o f the Day
C are Service.
3. P rom ote a ccou n ta b ility in the im plem entation o f the service in the
co m m u n ity and in the w orkplace.

IV. COVERAGE AND APPLICABILITY

T his g uideline covers and applies to all D C C s and D C W s w h e th e r based in the

com m u n ity i.e. run and m anaged by the barangay, SW D As, POs, private individuals
or in the w orkplace, i.e. N G As and G O C C s.

V. GENERAL POLICIES

1. The C /M S W D O and Field O ffices will follo w the entire accreditation process
provided in the a ccreditation tool. T h ere is a separate tool fo r the DCCs
operated by the LGUs, S W D A s, PO s and for the DCC s operated by the
N G A s/G O C C s.

2. The a ccreditation o f the DCC and D C W is in terde p en d en t with each other.

Hence, both m ay e ithe r be accredited or not accredited. Thus, separate
certificates shall be aw arded to the accredited DCC and DCW.

3. If on the first visit fo r the a ccreditation the DCC a nd /or D C W does not m eet
the m inim um standards, they will be given six (6) m onths to com ply w ith all
the o th e r requirem ents needed in the w o rk areas w h e re the y have failed.

4. The star rating w ill be re-adopted in the a ssessm en t tool und e r this
A dm in istrative Order.

5. The C e rtifica te o f A ccreditation o f DCC s issued by the Field O ffices shall

have a va lid ity period o f m inim um o f three (3) years and a m axim um o f five
(5) years. There w ill be a ladderized system fo r accreditation w herein
indicators o f com pliance shall be categorized as follows:

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 a. Three star rating is equ iva le nt to a sa tisfa cto ry rating w hich m eans that
the DCC have m et the basic standards set and will be aw arded a three
ye a r accreditation.
b. Four sta r rating is equ iva le nt to a highly satisfactory rating w hich m eans
tha t the DCC has m et the basic standards and is practicing optional
services tha t increases the qua lity o f service im plem entation to a higher
level. Four sta r rating to the ce nte r will be aw arded a fo u r year
accreditation.

c. Five star rating is e qu iva le nt to outstanding rating. This m eans that the
ce n te r is follow ing the highest o f standards and will be aw arded a five
ye a r accreditation.

6. The C e rtifica te o f A ccre dita tio n o f the Day C are W o rke rs issued by the
Field O ffices shall also have a m inim um va lidity period o f three (3) years
and m axim um o f five (5) years. T h ere w ill be a ladderized system for
accre dita tio n w herein indicators o f co m pliance shall be categorized as
follow s:
a. C a pable and K no w le d ge a b le rating w ould be given to the D C W who
has m et the basic standards set and w ill be aw arded a three year
accreditation.

b. H ighly C o m p ete n t rating w ould be given to the D C W w ho has m et the

basic standards and is practicing optional services tha t increases the
q uality o f service im p lem entation to a higher level. M eanw hile, fo u r star
rating to the Day Care W o rke r will be aw arded a fo u r-ye a r accreditation.

c. E xpert rating w ould be given to the D ay Care W o rke r w ho is follow ing

the hig he st o f standards and tha t the Day C are W o rke r will be aw arded
a five -ye a r accreditation.

7. The presence or absence o f the indicators are determ ined through a review
o f d ocum ents (d o cum en t review or DR), in terview w ith the various
stake h olde rs (I), and observation o f a session or sessions in the ECCD
centers (O).

8. The accreditation m ay be suspe n de d /revo ke d if co m pliance to standards is

not m aintained during va lid ity period.

9. To prom ote the use o f the revised standards, co ntin u ou s conduct o f

orientation, advocacy, capability building and technical assistance to NGAs,
G O C C s, LGUs, S W D A s, POs, and private individuals shall be included in
the list o f priority a ctivities o f the Field O ffices.

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 VI. STANDARDS

There are five areas w h erein the standards w ould focus on as follows:

A. Advancement of Children’s Growth and Development

The a dva n ce m e n t o f ch ild re n ’s grow th and d eve lo p m e n t is the prim ary objective
o f day care service and se rvice providers. S ervice providers are tasked to facilitate
ch ild re n ’s progress in all aspects o f developm ent. This is achieved through the
follow ing:
1. A sse ssm e n t o f children tha t provides the service providers with a thorough
kn ow ledge about each child in the ir care;
2. Integration o f health, nutrition, and o th e r co m p lem en ta ry services; and
3. U tilization o f a d e v e lo p m e n ta l^ app ro p ria te curriculum fo r young children

B. Partnership with Families, Communities and Local Government

P artnership w ith fam ilies, com m u n ity and local g ove rn m e n t indicates that a high
q uality EC C D program is the result o f the shared re sp on sib ility am ong parents and
m em bers o f the fam ilies, service providers, com m u n ity m em bers, organizations, and
the local g ove rn m e n t unit.

C. Human Resource Development (HRD)

HRD refers to the re cru itm e nt and hiring; training and developm ent;
co m p ete ncies and continuing edu ca tion o f the service providers; supervision and
co nd itio n s o f e m p lo ym e n t th a t are part o f the m a n ag e m e nt and adm inistration o f the
E C C D program .

D. Program Management

This section refers to planning and budgeting, im plem entation, supervision,

m onitoring and evaluation, m a n a g e m e n t inform ation system and financial m a n agem ent
o f the program tha t e nsures the high standard o f service d elivery to the children.

All projects and activities m ust be resp on sive to the needs o f the children,
a pp ro p ria te resources are allocated and utilized e fficien tly to achieve the goal of
e ffe ctive ly m anaging the Day C are S ervice w hich is to seek the continuous
im p ro ve m e nt o f program d elivery so th a t the needs o f children and fam ilies are met,
and tha t program staff are supported in th e ir efforts.

E. Physical Environment and Safety

This refers to giving o f im portance to ch ild -frie n dline ss o f the location, the indoor
and o utd oo r environ m e n ts o f the ce n te r and the ensuing q uality and safety m easures
th a t are critical in protecting and prom oting ch ild re n ’s holistic developm ent.

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 It shall conform to the basic sa fe ty stan d ards and program requirem ents fo r the
d ay t6 day a ctivities o f the children.

VII. REPEALING CLAUSE

A d m in istra tive O rd e r No. 29 s 2004 and all o th e r issu a nce s in co nsiste n t w ith the
p ro visio ns o f this O rd e r are h ereby revoked.

VIII. EFFECTIVITY

This o rd e r shall take e ffe ct im m ediately.

Issued in Q uezon C ity this 2 4 ^ day o f AugKs4 2011.