The Early Childhood Development Center, Inc. (ECDC), founded in 1971, is a nonprofit program accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and licensed by the Indiana Bureau of Child Development. ECDC operates two programs, one on the campus of Saint Mary's College and the other on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. Both sites are governed by one Board of Directors and operate with the same educational philosophy, curriculum, parent involvement, college student involvement and enrichment opportunities. ECDC is partially funded by Saint Mary's College and the University of Notre Dame to serve their communities.

ECDC serves as an early childhood leader, administering grants and facilitating activities in our community which support early childhood quality and training initiatives. ECDC is active with NAEYC, IAEYC, the Step Ahead Council, the Educare Committee, Early Childhood Professionals of Northern Indiana, Director's Roundtable, National Coalition of Campus Children's Centers and other early childhood committees and organizations.

Early childhood programs accredited by NAEYC's National Academy of Early Childhood Programs have voluntarily undergone a comprehensive process of internal self-study, invited external professional review to verify compliance with Criteria for High-Quality Early Childhood Programs, and been found to be in substantial compliance with the Criteria. The Criteria can be found on NAEYC's Web site at www.naeyc.org/accreditation.