GLENBURN – After a year of training and changes, day care owner Tammy Tewhey has won national accreditation from the National Association of Family Child Care.

Tewhey and her husband, Ron Tewhey, have run Tammy’s Loving Day Care in Glenburn for 14 years and are the first family-run day care in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties to achieve this national accreditation.

Of the 1,650 family child care providers in Maine, 34 statewide have received NAFCC accreditation, according to the 2006 Market Rate Report from the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Tammy Tewhey first heard about the national accreditation process from Penquis CAP education specialist Sally Healey.

“I just knew that I wanted to keep doing day care for a long time, and I wanted to improve it,” she said Wednesday. “I was committed to it.”

She pointed out that the parents she serves have been supportive and seem pleased by the changes. There are 17 children at the Tewheys’ day care, but only up to 12 at a time ranging in age from 6 weeks to 12 years.

The accreditation helps providers reach quality improvement goals and helps parents and policymakers identify high-quality family child care.

The Tewheys spent 12 months completing the accreditation process with technical assistance from Maine Roads to Quality and Penquis Child Care Resource Development Center.

“It’s a much nicer working environment,” Tammy Tewhey said. “Everything runs more smoothly because of all the training that I’ve taken and the things I’ve learned and applied.”

To become accredited, the day care must meet 90 percent of the 300 standards set by the national organization.

Tewhey also had to go through 90 hours of training, fingerprinting for an FBI background check, and health screenings.

“You have to be self-motivated to do it,” Tammy Tewhey said, adding that she would encourage others to make the commitment.

To retain the accreditation, the Tewheys must go through the same process every three years.

This accreditation also qualifies the Glenburn day care to receive a Quality Certificate from the state Department of Health and Human Services.

“The quality of care I now offer is much greater than before I attended the training courses,” Tammy Tewhey said.

Throughout the yearlong accreditation process, Tammy Tewhey said, she learned about child development, how to set up a quality and multicultural learning environment, and what materials to use so children can learn through play.

“It is our job to supply them with the appropriate materials for the appropriate developmental stage they are on, as well as guide them on to the next developmental stage if they are ready for it,” Tammy Tewhey said.

On the business side, the Tewheys have implemented contracts, created a handbook, begun performing observations and learned how to maintain healthy relationships with the families they serve.

“It’s well worth the effort,” Tammy Tewhey said. “It’s made a big improvement for us here.”