Accreditation of child care centers
Evaluation for accreditation- For the safety of infants and the improvement of quality of child care services, the Minister of Education shall regularly evaluate the environment of child care centers, operation of child care courses, expertise of child care workers, user satisfaction, etc., and may entrust such affairs to public institutions, private institutions, or organizations (Article 30(1) and subparagraph 4 of Article 51-2 of 「Child Care Act」).
Providing support and announcing the evaluation results- The Minister of Education may take necessary measures, such as the management of child care services of child care centers, and support the operation of child care projects, based on the results of evaluation, and shall publish the results of evaluation (paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 30 of 「Child Care Act」).
Evaluation grading- Where any of the following applies to a child care center that has been evaluated, the Minister of Education shall suspend the effectiveness of that evaluation result and conduct a re-evaluation (Article 30(4) of 「Child Care Act」).
· Where a child care center receives an evaluation by fraud or other improper means
· Where an establisher/operator of a child care center is sentenced to imprisonment without labor or a heavier punishment by violating the Child Care Act and such sentence is made final and conclusive
· Where a child care center is subject to an order to return a subsidy pursuant to subparagraph 2 or 3 of Article 40 of 「Child Care Act」, or to an administrative disposition prescribed in Articles 45, 45-2, or 46 to 48 of 「Child Care Act」, which is prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Education
· Where the representative or child care teachers and staff of a child care center violates Article 17 of the Child Welfare Act, or commits a sexual crime against children or juveniles defined in Subparagraph 2 of Article 2 of the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sex Offenses
- The Minister of Education may provide the necessary support after the evaluation to manage the quality of child care services at the evaluated child care centers (Article 30(5) of 「Child Care Act」).
Publication of evaluation results- The results of the evaluation can be found on the website of the Ministry of Education, the Child Care Support Center, or the agency or organization entrusted with the evaluation (Article 32-3(2) of 「Enforcement Rule of the Child Care Act」).
1. Results of evaluation following evaluation
2. Evaluation history for 10 years prior to the date of publication of evaluation results
3. Where the effectiveness of the evaluation result is suspended, the fact thereof
4. Other matters deemed necessary by the Minister of Education to verify the results of the evaluation of child care centers in each field
Evaluation index- Evaluation and certification of child care centers will be conducted based on evaluation indexes including the following matters (Article 31 (3) of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
· Child care environment
· Operation of child care courses
· Expertise of child care workers and user satisfaction