Use one of the following options to submit a 72-hour Report:

1. Complete the 72-Hour Form and send it to [email protected]  
2. Log into the Early Learning Hub and select the “Incident Report” menu option and submit the form.

NAEYC will acknowledge receipt of all submitted 72 hour reports within 3 business days.  

NAEYC Quality Assurance staff review submissions and may contact the program to clarify information or to request additional information before submitting 72-Hour Notifications to the Scope and Severity Evaluation Process.  

If NAEYC learns that a program did not provide a 72-hour Notification in the timeframe required, NAEYC has the right to initiate a Program Review for the underlying issues as well as the failure to timely report. 

Within 60 days of receiving all necessary information from NAEYC Early Learning Program's Quality Assurance staff, the Scope and Severity Committee will apply the Scope and Severity Screen, which considers the following:
 

• the specific nature and frequency of other such incidents that may indicate a pattern of failure to meet the required assessment item;  
• the details pertaining to the incident, including the age of child(ren) involved, the duration of the incident, the program's relevant written policies and procedures and their actual implementation at the time of the incident(s);  
• the program's response to the incident(s), including its analysis of the root causes of the incident(s) and subsequent actions (such as personnel actions or implementation of new policies or procedures), and its ongoing plan for follow-up and prevention;  
• the status and results of any investigations by licensing, regulatory, medical examiner, police or other authorities regarding the incident(s);  
• the process and timeframe by which the notification of the incident(s) was received by NAEYC; and  
• whether the incident is reasonably attributable to the program; that is, whether, in light of all the specific facts and circumstances surrounding the incident, it is fair and reasonable to hold the program itself responsible for the violation (as opposed to some circumstance beyond the program's control).

After conducting this review, the Scope and Severity Committee will make one of the following decisions:
  

• 72 Hour Review Closed. This decision will be rendered if the Committee determines that the incident did not result in a violation of a critical practice; the program demonstrates the capacity to maintain substantial compliance with current NAEYC early childhood program accreditation standards and critical practices; the incident is not reasonably attributable to the program.  
• Additional Verification is Required. This decision will be rendered if the Committee determines that some question remains as to the program's demonstrated capacity to maintain substantial compliance with current NAEYC early childhood program accreditation standards and critical practices. A Verification Visit will be undertaken at the program's expense.  
• Accreditation is Deferred. This decision will be rendered if the Committee determines that the severity of the violation warrants deferral; and/or over a period of one year, the program has repeatedly and consistently had cases previously reviewed by NAEYC or the Scope and Severity Committee and therefore has not demonstrated capacity to maintain substantial compliance with current NAEYC early childhood program accreditation standards and/or critical practices.

Log into the Early Learning Hub to complete annual reports. An option to start the report will be visible on the Quality Journey widget 60 days prior to the value until date anniversary (report due date).

The Annual Report cannot be saved once it has been started by the program, so ensure responses are prepared and ready to add to the report when ready to submit.  

Only Primary and Secondary Contacts have the access to submit annual reports in the ELP Hub.  

Use a Google Chrome browser for best results viewing and submitting annual reports. 

Use this template to prepare responses for the Annual Report submission. Once you are ready to submit your Annual Report, log into the Early Learning Hub, select the “Submit Annual Report” option, and copy the responses from the template into the form. 

See the Annual Report Quick Reference Guide for more information on how to access and submit the Annual Report.

After the Annual Report has been completed, the “Submit Payment” option will appear on the Quality Journey widget.   

Select “Submit Payment” to proceed to the payment options. 

Once the payment has been completed, the program’s annual report has been successfully submitted. 

The NAEYC Support Team will be in contact with any questions based on the report’s submission.

Feedback must be submitted in writing to [email protected], and the correspondent must provide their name and contact information. All feedback will be responded to in writing and may require a follow-up phone call. If proper contact information or requested additional information is not provided, the submission will be considered incomplete. Incomplete submissions will not be reviewed.  

Any concerns reviewed during this process will only result in a review of the program’s adherence to the NAEYC Early Learning Program Quality Assessment and Accreditation Standards and Assessment Items. Incidents related to the well-being and safety of children, or the regulation of the program should first be reported to the proper local licensing or regulatory authorities.  

Feedback involving allegations related to NAEYC-required assessment items may be reviewed in conjunction with the 72-hour notification policy. This includes a review according to the scope and severity decisions policy.  

If the program refuses to comply with this policy or is deemed to be nonresponsive to the NAEYC’s Quality Assessment and Accreditation review, status may be withdrawn.