Section 4Sec./Art. 4

Definitions. - As used in this Act:

(a) Child Development Center (CDC) refers to a facility in a barangay, municipality, city, or province, where children below five (5) years of age are cared for during part of the day by ECCD service providers to deliver ECCD programs and services;

(b) ECCD Curriculum refers to the developmentally appropriate educational objectives and practices, programs of activities, organized learning experiences, recommended learning materials, and appropriate assessment for children below five (5) years of age that are aimed towards the seamless transition to, and adequate preparation for, the formal learning system. The ECCD System shall be implemented by ECCD service providers through center-based programs, home-based programs, and other programs that provide innovations and alternative modalities to ensure and promote the health, nutrition, and the attainment of developmental milestones of children below five (5) years of age.

It shall be reviewed every two (2) years and shall consist of national program goals and guidelines, instructional objectives, and content outline that are age-appropriate, individually appropriate and culturally relevant;

(c) ECCD Services refers to the services delivered in implementing ECCD programs for the early childhood education, health, nutrition, and social development of young children below five (5) years of age;

(d) ECCD Service Providers include the various professionals, paraprofessionals, and volunteer caregivers who are directly responsible for the care and education of young children below five (5) years of age through center-based modalities, home-based modalities, and other alternative modalities that provide innovations. They shall include, but shall not be limited to, child development teachers (CDTs), child development workers (CDWs), teacher aides, rural health midwives, social workers, community health workers, barangay nutrition scholars, Parent Effectiveness Service volunteers, parents, parent-substitutes, newborn to pre-school caregivers, and play facilitators;

(e) ECCD System refers to the full range of health, nutrition, early childhood education, and social services development programs that for the basic holistic needs of young children below five (5) years of age, and promote their optimum growth and development.

The modalities for the delivery of these programs shall include:

(1) Center-based modalities, such as the day care service established under Republic Act No. 6972 or the "Barangay-Level Total Development and Protection of Children Act", community or faith-based early childhood education programs initiated by NGOs or people's organizations, workplace-related child care and education programs, child-minding centers, and health centers and stations;

(2) Home-based modalities, such as the neighborhood-based play groups, family child care programs, parent education, and home visiting programs; and

(3) Other alternative modalities that provide innovations, including those to be employed during and after disaster and emergency situations, for the development, effective implementation, and continuous delivery of ECCD services; and

(f) Parent Education refers to the various formal and alternative means of providing parents and parent-substitutes with information, skills, and support systems to assist them in their roles as their children's primary caregivers and educators. These include public and private parent education programs linked to center, home, and media-based child care and education programs.