Standard 10: NAEYC Accreditation Criteria for Leadership and Management Standard

The following chart presents the accreditation criteria for this topic area. Each criterion provides specific details to guide program plans, policies and practices. The criteria are numbered (01, 02, 03, etc.) within their topic area. Each criterion within each program standard is identified by its relevant age group (or groups). Many criteria are identified as "universal" (U), meaning that all classrooms and programs pursuing NAEYC Accreditation must address these criteria. These aspects of quality should be seen in any programs or classrooms serving birth through kindergarten, though they may look somewhat different in practice depending on the children's age.

Age Groups:
U = universal
I = infant
T = toddlers/twos
P = preschool
K = kindergarten

10.E.
Personnel Policies

10.E.01
U   I   T   P   K
The program has written personnel policies that define the roles and responsibilities, qualifications, and specialized training required of staff and volunteer positions. The policies outline nondiscriminatory hiring procedures and policies for staff evaluation. Policies detail job descriptions for each position, including reporting relationships; salary scales with increments based on professional qualification, length of employment, and performance evaluation; benefits; and resignation, termination, and grievance procedures. Personnel policies provide for incentives based on participation in professional development opportunities. The policies are provided to each employee upon hiring.

10.E.02
U   I   T   P   K
Hiring procedures ensure that all employees in the program (including bus drivers, bus monitors, custodians, cooks, clerical and other support staff) who come into contact with children in the program or who have responsibility for children

• have passed a criminal-record check.
• are free from any history of substantiated child abuse or neglect.
• are at least 18 years old (except vehicle drivers, who must be at least 21).
• have completed high school or the equivalent.
• have provided personal references and a current health assessment that attest to the prospective employee's ability to perform the tasks required to carry out the responsibilities of their position.

10.E.03
U   I   T   P   K
Efforts are made and documented to hire and maintain staff with the cultural and racial characteristics of the families served. Policies are in place for obtaining staff or volunteers who speak the language of the children served, and these individuals regularly interact with the children and families.

10.E.04
U   I   T   P   K
Programs maintain current health information from documented health assessments for all paid staff and for all volunteers who work more than 40 hours per month and have contact with children. A current health assessment (not more than one year old) is received by the program before an employee starts work or before a volunteer has contact with children. The health assessment is updated every two years. Documented health assessments include

• immunization status,
• capacities and limitations that may affect job performance, and
• documentation by a licensed health professional of TB skin testing using the Mantoux method and showing the employee to be free from active TB disease. For those who have positive TB skin tests and who develop a persistent cough or unexplained fever, immediate assessment by a licensed physician is required. For those who have increased risk of TB according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), documentation is required annually by a licensed health professional showing that the employee is free from active TB disease.

10.E.05
U   I   T   P   K
New staff members serve an introductory period of employment during which the administrator or other qualified person makes a professional judgment as to their physical and psychological competence for working with children.

10.E.06
U   I   T   P   K
The programs offer benefits packages for full-time staff who have satisfactorily completed their introductory period of employment. Written policies detail employee benefits and include health insurance; employee leave, including sick, vacation, holiday, and personal leave; education benefits; and retirement. The written policies are shared with each employee. Benefits for part-time employees are available on a prorated basis. If some or all of these benefits are not available, a written plan for improving benefits is developed and implemented.

10.E.07
U   I   T   P   K
Staff are provided space and time away from children during the day. When staff work directly with children for more than four hours, staff are provided breaks of at least 15 minutes in each four-hour period. In addition, staff may request temporary relief when they are unable to perform their duties.

10.E.08
U   I   T   P   K
Confidential personnel files, including applications with record of experience, transcripts of education, health-assessment records, documentation of ongoing professional development, and results of performance evaluation, are kept in a secure location.

10.E.09
U   I   T   P   K
All staff are evaluated at least annually by an appropriate supervisor or, in the case of the program administrator, by the governing body.

10.E.10
U   I   T   P   K
An individual professional development plan is generated from the staff-evaluation process and is updated at least annually and ongoing as needed.

10.E.11
U   I   T   P   K
The program has an implementation plan for professional development, including orientations for new staff. Credit-bearing course work is included in the professional development plan whenever possible. The plan improves staff credentials and competencies. It is updated at least annually or as needed based on the evaluation process, the need to keep staff's knowledge current, or other identified needs.

10.E.12
U   I   T   P   K
The program's professional development plan

• is based on needs identified through staff evaluation and from other information from program evaluation processes.
• is written and shared with staff.
• includes mentoring, coaching, and other professional development opportunities for all staff.
• includes discussions of ethical issues.
• includes training in the policies and procedures of the program.
• includes training in skills for building positive relationships, all aspects of the curriculum, teaching practices, skills for partnering with families and communities, and skills for collaborating and participating as a member of a team.