To Parents Worried About Choosing a Developmental Support Facility: "Reliable Developmental Support Facility Guide (CDQ Certified)" Launched to Visualize Support Quality

Image of the "Reliable Developmental Support Facility Guide (CDQ Certified)" site.

The General Incorporated Association Ninkyou Kentei Kyokai (Location: Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Representative Director: Tomoyuki Inoue) has launched the portal site "Reliable Developmental Support Facility Guide (CDQ Certified)" to objectively evaluate the quality of support provided by developmental support facilities and offer information for parents to choose facilities with peace of mind.

▼ Site URL ▼

https://ryouiku-quality.ninkyou.jp/

"CDQ Certification" is an abbreviation for Child Development Quality Certification. It is an initiative that introduces facilities that meet certain standards after examining the support content and operational structure of developmental support facilities involved in developmental support, such as child development support and after-school day services, from multiple perspectives.

This site aims to provide information that makes it easier for parents to consider "a facility that suits their child" by organizing not only basic facility information but also parent evaluations, information disclosure status, support content, number of professional staff, and initiatives for human resource development.

● Background of Launch

While the number of developmental support facilities is increasing, there are also voices saying, "I don't know which facility to choose."

In recent years, developmental support facilities that support children with developmental characteristics, such as child development support and after-school day services, have been expanding nationwide. On the other hand, while the increase in the number of facilities has broadened choices for parents, it has also created concerns such as "I don't know which facility is right for my child" and "It's difficult to see the details of the support from just the website or word-of-mouth."

The General Incorporated Association Ninkyou Kentei Kyokai has been involved with over 50,000 participants, including parents, educators, welfare professionals, and developmental support facility staff, through the provision of qualifications such as "Child Development Support Professional" related to developmental support.

In light of this, to gain a deeper understanding of the actual situation of parents using and choosing developmental support facilities, our association conducted a "Survey on the Actual Use of Developmental Support Facilities."

In this survey, many actual voices were received from parents using developmental support facilities, including anxieties felt when choosing a facility, lack of information before and after use, difficulty in understanding support content, and challenges related to collaboration with facilities.

In particular, when choosing a developmental support facility, various perspectives are necessary, not only the distance from home and availability but also whether support tailored to the child's characteristics can be received, whether collaboration with parents is conducted carefully, and whether the support policy is clearly disclosed.

However, the disclosure status of such information varies by facility, making it difficult for parents to compare and consider.

The "CDQ Certification" launched this time was initiated based on these survey results and the voices of parents and support providers received daily. It aims to help parents choose developmental support facilities with peace of mind by clearly visualizing the quality of support and the characteristics of the facilities.

Furthermore, the "Survey on the Actual Use of Developmental Support Facilities," which served as the background for the launch of the CDQ Certification site, is available as an attached document to this press release.

d184482-2-ac3e3446de1608984c4ce133e4fe465d.pdf

● What is CDQ Certification?

CDQ Certification Logo 1 CDQ Certification Logo 2

A certification system that "visualizes" the quality of support provided by developmental support facilities from multiple perspectives.

CDQ Certification is a certification system that objectively evaluates the quality of support provided by developmental support facilities and visualizes it in an easy-to-understand manner.

It comprehensively assesses not only the scale, facilities, and visible achievements of a facility but also evaluates from multiple perspectives such as parent evaluations, information disclosure status, support policies, professionalism, and human resource development.

In developmental support, a child's growth and changes differ for each individual. Therefore, it is not possible to judge the quality of a facility solely by short-term results. CDQ Certification emphasizes not only "what kind of support is provided" but also the facility's attitude towards children and parents and how those initiatives are disclosed.

CDQ Certification is not intended to uniformly categorize facilities as "good" or "bad." Its purpose is to make it easier for parents to choose a facility that matches their child's characteristics and family situation by clearly conveying the characteristics of each facility.

● CDQ Certification Review Criteria

"Parent Evaluation" and "Transparency" to determine eligibility for listing, plus additional information to convey facility features.

CDQ Certification comprehensively assesses the quality of support from multiple perspectives, rather than evaluating developmental support facilities solely by specific indicators or numerical values.

Eligible facilities for review are those registered with the "Information Disclosure System for Disability Welfare Services, etc." operated by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and that regularly report information. This ensures that the evaluation is based on facilities where a certain level of information disclosure and operational structure can be confirmed.

Based on this, the main review criteria for determining eligibility for listing are "Parent Evaluation" and "Transparency."

1. Parent Evaluation

From the perspective of parents actually using the facility is indispensable when considering the quality of support provided by developmental support facilities.

CDQ Certification emphasizes how parents perceive the support, not just the information provided by the facility. Based on parent evaluations publicly disclosed by facilities in accordance with national guidelines, we confirm aspects such as the clarity of support, support tailored to the child's characteristics, explanations to parents, consultation support, and the relationship with the facility.

For example, we consider aspects such as whether adequate space is secured for the child's activities, whether specialized support tailored to the child's characteristics is received, whether clear explanations are provided regarding operating rules, support programs, and user fees at the time of use, and whether regular meetings and advice on parenting are provided.

Parent evaluation is used as an important criterion for determining whether to list, in order to confirm the actual usage status that is difficult to see from the facility's explanation alone, and the quality of support felt by parents.

2. Transparency

Parents cannot choose a facility with peace of mind if they do not understand what kind of support is being provided and what policies are being followed when choosing a developmental support facility.

CDQ Certification emphasizes "transparency," that is, how the content and initiatives of the support are disclosed, in addition to the quality of support itself.

From the perspective of transparency, we check whether information such as support content, policies, and facility characteristics is organized in an easy-to-understand manner for parents, and whether the facility's philosophy and approach to support are appropriately conveyed.

This makes it easier to grasp the actual situation of the facility, which is difficult to see from superficial information alone, and the attitude towards support. CDQ Certification uses whether this transparency meets a certain standard as an important criterion for determining listing.

3. Additional Information to Convey Facility Features and Strengths

In addition to the review criteria for determining eligibility for listing, CDQ Certification also organizes additional information to help parents understand the facility's characteristics more concretely.

Specifically, this includes aspects such as the number of professional staff such as speech therapists, occupational therapists, and social workers, how their expertise is utilized in actual support, whether staff training and learning opportunities are secured, and whether initiatives are taken to create a stable workforce and a supportive work environment.

While this information is not a direct criterion for listing eligibility, it is used as reference information to more concretely understand the characteristics, strengths, and support direction of each facility.

To help parents consider not just "which facility is good" but "which facility is suitable for my child," CDQ Certification separates and organizes review criteria and additional information, thereby visualizing the quality of support provided by developmental support facilities from multiple angles.

● Features of This Site

CDQ Certified Facility Logo & Excellent Facility Logo

1. Introduction of Developmental Support Facilities

This site introduces developmental support facilities that meet certain standards based on the CDQ Certification criteria.

Facility introduction pages include basic information such as location and service category, as well as support content, usage environment, number of professional staff, facility characteristics, and trends in parent evaluations, presented in a format that makes it easy for parents to compare and consider.

Facilities are also categorized as "CDQ Certified Facilities" and "Excellent Facilities."

"Excellent Facilities" are facilities judged to meet certain standards based on their basic operational structure, information disclosure status, and parent evaluations.

"CDQ Certified Facilities" are facilities that meet the criteria for "Excellent Facilities" and for which more detailed information about support content and structure can be confirmed through detailed information provided by the facility.

2. Child Development Support Professional Columns

In addition to facility information, this site also features "Child Development Support Professional Columns" that provide learning and information related to developmental support.

Utilizing insights from the learning of Child Development Support Professionals and primary information from opinion exchanges and surveys conducted by our association, we disseminate easy-to-understand themes that parents and support providers can apply to their daily interactions.

We aim to provide information that is useful not only for parents looking for developmental support facilities but also for those struggling with how to interact at home or understand their child's characteristics.

3. Expert Columns

Expert columns provide information on child support and parent support from the perspectives of experts involved in developmental support, such as speech therapists, child development support managers, psychological counselors, and childcare workers/kindergarten teachers.

Through the knowledge of experts who interact with children and parents in the field, we offer opportunities to deepen understanding of developmental support itself, not just choosing a developmental support facility.

● Future Outlook for Developmental Support

Towards a society where anxiety about choosing a facility is reduced and support quality is accurately conveyed.

In the future, we aim to provide more accurate and understandable information by further enhancing the content of listed facility information and promoting information provision and updates from facilities.

Furthermore, by expanding the number of CDQ Certified Facilities, we will establish a system where the characteristics and strengths of developmental support facilities that are earnestly engaged in support are appropriately conveyed to parents.

We aim for a society where children and parents who need developmental support can choose their support provider with confidence, rather than being burdened by a lack of information or continuing to struggle with choosing a facility.

In line with its philosophy of "Understanding is the first step to support," the General Incorporated Association Ninkyou Kentei Kyokai will continue to work towards building a society where children and families are not isolated, through the dissemination of correct knowledge about developmental disabilities, the training of support providers, and the dissemination of information related to developmental support.

● Site Overview

Site Name: Reliable Developmental Support Facility Guide (CDQ Certified)

URL: https://ryouiku-quality.ninkyou.jp/

Operation: General Incorporated Association Ninkyou Kentei Kyokai

Management and Operations Manager: Hiroaki Mochizuki

Main Content: Introduction of developmental support facilities, overview of CDQ Certification, review criteria, Child Development Support Professional Columns, Expert Columns

Target Audience: Parents looking for child development support/after-school day services, developmental support facility staff, education and welfare professionals, etc.

● About the General Incorporated Association Ninkyou Kentei Kyokai

General Incorporated Association Ninkyou Kentei Kyokai Logo

The General Incorporated Association Ninkyou Kentei Kyokai is an organization that promotes correct knowledge about developmental disabilities and expands the circle of support under the slogan "Understanding is the first step to support."

We support the learning of those who support children and families, including parents, educators, welfare professionals, and developmental support facility staff, primarily through the certification of qualifications such as "Child Development Support Professional," "Developmental Disability Communication Supporter," "SST Specialist," and "Mental Health Supporter."

We also work to convey the voices of the field and homes to society through opinion exchange meetings and original surveys for participants, and by disseminating information related to developmental support.

We aim to realize a society where children with developmental disabilities and their families are not isolated, where each individual's characteristics are understood, and where they can receive appropriate support.

▼ Official Website ▼ https://ninkyou.jp/

Hiroaki Mochizuki, Director and Secretary-General, General Incorporated Association Ninkyou Kentei Kyokai

● Contact Information for Inquiries

General Incorporated Association Ninkyou Kentei Kyokai Director and Secretary-General, Hiroaki Mochizuki

▼ Inquiries ▼ https://ryouiku-quality.ninkyou.jp/contact/