{"status":200,"message":"Success","data":{"id":"ed766d81-984b-52f8-a39a-80a78cf71b2b","title":"Maryland Accreditation Support Fund","description":"Maryland's Accreditation Support Fund, administered by the Maryland State Department of Education's Office of Early Childhood through Maryland EXCELS (the state's quality rating and improvement system), provides financial support to help licensed child care centers and registered family child care homes cover costs associated with pursuing state or national accreditation. The fund includes two tracks: (1) National Accreditation Support covers required application fees for initial applications, renewals, and annual updates — Family Child Care providers may apply as a first step toward NAFCC accreditation; recognized accrediting bodies include AMS, AMI/USA, AIMS, AWSNA, Cognia, COA/ASA, Lumen, MSDE, MSA-CESS, NAC, NAEYC, NAFCC, and NECPA; (2) Maryland Program Accreditation Support covers the cost of non-consumable instructional materials for licensed child care centers and school-age only programs pursuing Maryland Accreditation, with reimbursement caps of $2,500 (programs serving ≤100 children) or $3,000 (programs serving >100 children) per accreditation cycle. Funds cannot be used for facility improvement, association membership fees, staff training, costs already covered by another funding source, or costs exceeding the fee charged by the accrediting organization.","status":{"value":"open"},"source":"https://earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org/funding-opportunities/accreditation-support-fund","funding":{"details":"Two tracks of assistance: (1) National Accreditation Support — funds to cover required accreditation application fees (initial, renewal, annual update) paid directly to the accrediting organization on behalf of the applicant; 13 recognized accrediting bodies include AMS, AMI/USA, AIMS, AWSNA, Cognia, COA/ASA, Lumen, MSDE, MSA-CESS, NAC, NAEYC, NAFCC, and NECPA. Family Child Care providers may apply for the National Accreditation Support Fund as a first step toward NAFCC accreditation. (2) Maryland Accreditation Support — reimbursement for non-consumable instructional materials (e.g., curricula, books, classroom technology, outdoor play equipment, science/sensory materials) per the Infants and Toddlers and Preschool/School-Age Classroom Learning Materials Checklists. Reimbursement caps: up to $2,500 per accreditation cycle for programs serving 1–100 children; up to $3,000 per accreditation cycle for programs serving 101+ children. Consumable items (paint, crayons, markers, glue, paper) are not reimbursable. Purchases must be within 12 months before the date of application. Funds cannot be used for facility improvement, association membership fees, staff training, or costs already covered by another funding source.","maxAwardAmount":{"amount":"2500.00","currency":"USD"}},"acceptedApplicantTypes":[{"value":"custom","customValue":"for-profit"},{"value":"custom","customValue":"non-profit"}],"customFields":{"agency":{"name":"agency","fieldType":"object","value":{"name":"Maryland State Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood"},"schema":"https://commongrants.org/custom-fields/agency"},"contactInfo":{"name":"contactInfo","fieldType":"object","value":{"email":"accreditationsupport.fund@maryland.gov, accreditation@marylandexcels.org"},"schema":"https://commongrants.org/custom-fields/contactInfo"},"additionalInfo":{"name":"additionalInfo","fieldType":"object","value":{"url":"https://compass.maryland.gov/incentives/#/incentive/accreditation-support-fund","description":"Maryland Community Compass record"},"schema":"https://commongrants.org/custom-fields/additionalInfo"},"eligibilityCriteria":{"name":"eligibilityCriteria","fieldType":"object","value":{"beneficiaryTypes":[{"code":"for_profit","name":"for-profit"},{"code":"non_profit","name":"non-profit"}],"details":"Licensed child care centers, registered family child care homes, and school-age only programs in Maryland pursuing state or national accreditation, including Maryland Accreditation and accreditation through recognized national bodies such as NAEYC, NAFCC, NAC, COA/ASA, Cognia, and others. 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Separate applications exist for National Accreditation Support and Maryland Accreditation Support. For National Accreditation, submit a completed accreditation application, Work Plan, accrediting organization fee page, and current accreditation certificate (if applicable); processing takes approximately 30 days from submission of all required documents and payment is made directly to the accrediting organization. For Maryland Accreditation, submit separate reimbursement forms per vendor with receipts attached, using the applicable Classroom Learning Materials Checklist (updated November 2025). Family Child Care providers can follow a video tutorial available on the Maryland EXCELS Accreditation Support Fund page for guidance. For questions, email accreditationsupport.fund@maryland.gov or accreditation@marylandexcels.org. FAQs and application details are available on the Maryland Public Schools Early Childhood website and at marylandexcels.org/maryland-accreditation/accreditation-support-fund.","schema":"https://md.api.cg.a6lab.ai/docs"},"mdProgramAudience":{"name":"mdProgramAudience","fieldType":"string","value":"Licensed child care centers, registered family child care homes, and school-age only programs in Maryland pursuing state or national accreditation, including Maryland Accreditation and accreditation through recognized national bodies such as NAEYC, NAFCC, NAC, COA/ASA, Cognia, and others. Maryland Accreditation track serves preschool and school-age child care programs (ages 3–16).","schema":"https://md.api.cg.a6lab.ai/docs"},"mdUseOfFunds":{"name":"mdUseOfFunds","fieldType":"string","value":"National Accreditation: required application fees (initial, renewal, annual update) paid directly to the accrediting organization, including NAFCC accreditation for Family Child Care providers. Maryland Accreditation: reimbursement for non-consumable instructional materials including language and literacy materials, mathematics materials, discovery/science/nature materials, outdoor learning equipment, music and movement instruments, dramatic/imaginative play props, technology (computers, tablets, software, assistive tech), and other instructional materials. 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