In July of 1993, the law requiring all childcare centers to be regulated by the Virginia Department of Social Services went into effect. Prior to that time, religiously sponsored centers operated with their own guidelines in place.
At that time, Va.D.S.S. implemented a set of guidelines by which all church sponsored preschools and childcare centers would be held accountable. These included the following:
- Health and Fire Inspections
- Staff Health reports
- Criminal Background Checks
- Student / Teacher ratio requirements
- Continuing education requirements
- Educational requirements for program directors
- Building requirements (square footage, number of bathrooms, etc…)
These documents are presented and reviewed every year. Church sponsored centers have the option of applying for a License or a Religious Exemption certificate. Guardian Christian Academy has chosen to apply for the certificate. This insures that we can continue to provide our faith - based programming.
If our operation is found to be in compliance with the Social Services guidelines, the Religious Exemption certificate is renewed for the coming school year. You will find the letter of approval posted right outside the Early Childhood office.
