Blackcat31 08:17 AM 10-29-2010
Is anyone out there an accredited by the NAEYC?
DCMomOf3 06:32 PM 10-29-2010
I am not. Are you thinking about it?
I would like to be but I dont have enough families.
nannyde 02:04 PM 10-30-2010
No I haven't gone for any accreditations because the economy here can't support the fees we would need to justify the time and expense it would take to pursue it. I'm already at the very top of the pay scale here with what I already offer so it wouldn't make the business any money.
For me it would have to net in concrete money that would come from the tuition of the current and future clients. Grant money would not be sufficient enough for my business. It would have to have an end result of being able to charge higher fees to the clients.
It would not bring clients to the business and it would not result in a higher salary so it wouldn't be worth the time and expense.
I have a friend who is NAYEC accredited and has a QRS level 5. Her tuition is 25 percent lower than ours and it hasn't affected her ability to get clients or retain them. It's just not something that is valuable in our area. The clients would like it but they wouldn't pay for it.
For me it has to be about money. If ANY accreditation translated into sustainable higher fees I would go for it. We don't have anything here that I know of that actually PAYS.
My clients want a low child to adult ratio, experienced provider, space, and whole organic menus from scratch. THAT's what sells in my neck of the woods.
A few years ago I surveyed my clients and asked them if I were to take our Child Net series and become Child Net certified AND pursued QRS to the level of 5 if they would be willing to increase our salary. I figured I would need about 15 dollars more per week per slot to go thru the 24 hours of training and the certification process for Child Net AND the four QRS levels. (we are already level one in QRS for being registered)
All of them ... every one of them... said NO. They would not be willing to pay ANY additional fees for the process. That was after showing them the literature on both Child Net certification (which takes you to QRS level 2) and the QRS levels 3, 4, and 5.
So I decided not to pursue it. I did make a business change to fully organic, grass fed, free range, local foods and THAT sold. The incoming clients from that change actually brought in clients at a higher weekly rate. That was a move I will never regret.
Before investing in that process I would really recommend looking into the businesses in YOUR area (not just your town but your area of the town) and see if they are being paid for it and if it brings in and retains clients. It's important to make sure there is a market for it if you want it to translate into money.
If you want it just for yourself then go for it.. if you want it to make you more money than do the research to see if it actually does.