Privacy Policy
How The NECPA Commission, Inc. collects, uses and protects information when you visit necpa.net.
Effective date: November 11, 2026
Who we are
The NECPA Commission, Inc. ("NECPA," "we," "us") is a non-profit organization that offers National Early Childhood Program Accreditation, the National Administrator Credential (NAC), the Certified Childcare Professional (CCP) credential and membership in the National Child Care Association (NCCA), its subsidiary since 2019. This policy covers our website, necpa.net. Our address is 5901 Kingstowne Village Parkway, Suite 100, Kingstowne, Virginia 22315.
Information we collect
Information you give us. When you fill out an enrollment form, contact form, application or request, we collect what you enter. This may include your name, email address, phone number, mailing address, program or employer details, licensing information and credential history.
Information collected automatically. Like most websites, we and our service providers collect basic technical information when you visit, such as your IP address, browser type, device type, pages viewed, and the date and time of your visit. Some of this is collected with cookies (see below).
Payments. All payments must be made through the secure forms on our website and in the NECPA Client Portal. For your security, we do not accept payments by phone, email or mail. Payments are processed by Authorize.net, a secure payment processor, through our forms built with Formstack and Salesforce. We do not store full payment card numbers on our website.
How we use information
- To process enrollments, applications, renewals and memberships
- To answer your questions and provide support
- To send you information about your program, credential or account
- To understand how our website is used so we can improve it
- To keep our website secure and prevent fraud or abuse
- To meet our legal and accreditation obligations
We do not sell your personal information.
Services that help run our website
We use trusted third-party services. Each one handles information under its own privacy policy.
| Service | What it does |
|---|---|
| Authorize.net | Securely processes payments made through our forms and the Client Portal |
| Salesforce and Formstack | Enrollment forms and the NECPA Client Portal, where programs and candidates submit forms and manage their accounts |
| Jotform | Contact form, resource request forms and applications |
| Zapier chatbot | Answers questions on our Contact, FAQ and program pages. Please don't enter sensitive personal information in the chat. |
| Google Analytics | Measures how visitors use our website, in aggregate |
| Meta Pixel (Facebook and Instagram) | Measures visits from our Facebook and Instagram ads and helps us show our ads to people who have visited our website |
| GTranslate | Translates pages into other languages when you choose one |
| Wordfence | Protects our website from attacks. It may log IP addresses and set security cookies. |
| WP Engine | Hosts our website |
Some pages link to other websites, such as Smart Horizons, YouTube, state agencies and our partners. We are not responsible for their privacy practices.
Cookies
Cookies are small files stored by your browser. We use them to keep the site secure, remember your language choice, measure site use and measure our advertising. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; some features may not work as expected if you do. To opt out of Google Analytics, you can use the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. To control the ads you see on Facebook and Instagram, visit your Meta ad preferences.
When we share information
We share information only as needed to run our programs and website: with the service providers listed above; with Verifiers, Field Counselors, councils and reviewers involved in your accreditation or credential; and when required by law or to protect the rights and safety of NECPA, our programs or others.
State agencies. We share program data with state agencies that maintain approvals for their state Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) or that award Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) funding or other state support.
Public Program Search. The program name, address and accreditation dates of every NECPA-accredited program are listed in our public Program Search.
How long we keep information
We keep records for a required retention period of three years after a program's accreditation ends or it becomes inactive. At the end of that period, records are generally destroyed: paper records are redacted, burned, pulverized or shredded, and electronic records are destroyed or erased. We keep a record longer only in rare cases, after weighing its usefulness against cost and storage limits.
How we protect information
We use reasonable safeguards, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), two-factor sign-in for website administrators and security monitoring. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information.
Children's privacy
Our website is for early childhood professionals, programs and families. It is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.
Your choices
You can ask us to access, correct or delete your personal information, or to stop sending you emails. Some records must be kept to maintain your accreditation or credential. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under state law. To make a request, contact us using the details below.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We'll post the new version here and update the effective date.
Contact us
Questions about this policy? Email [email protected], call 855-706-3272, or write to The NECPA Commission, Inc., 5901 Kingstowne Village Parkway, Suite 100, Kingstowne, Virginia 22315.