Welcome to the Lactation Education Accreditation and Approval Review Committee (LEAARC). LEAARC reviews and grants formal recognition to education programs in lactation. LEAARC recognition is a formal, non-governmental, peer-review process of voluntary self evaluation. The integrity and good faith of the program, its administration, faculty, and students are essential to the evaluative process. LEAARC honors a diversity of educational models such as distance education, self-paced programs, programs within large and small institutions, college-based programs and those that are not-for-profit and for-profit. Programs recognized by LEAARC are the leaders in the field of lactation education. Students are assured that these programs cover essential topics and skills, have a qualified faculty, and portray themselves honestly in their advertising.

LEAARC either provides Approval of an individual course or formulates recommendations to CAAHEP for Accreditation of an academic program. Both distinctions provide a reliable indicator of educational quality to employers, insurers, counselors, educators, governmental officials, and the public, based on adherence to established criteria and standards of the profession.

LEAARC is the former Accreditation and Approval Review Committee on Education in Human Lactation and Breastfeeding (AARC) which underwent a name change to the Lactation Education Accreditation and Approval Review Committee (LEAARC) in February, 2012.