Financing & Financial Incentives

Relatively little has been written about what kind of strategies and techniques do the most to help early care and education (ECE) programs operate as financially viable businesses. This issue brief draws lessons from the experiences of organizations that are using two broad approaches to promoting financial stability of ECE programs.

OpEx_IssueBrief2_BizSide-final-1[1].pdf

This new issue brief examines the use of tax credits to raise the quality of services and to make high quality early care and education more available to low-income and working-poor families.

OpEx_IssueBrief_Tax_Final-1[1].pdf

These graphics show how finance can be linked to the quality levels of a QRIS and then layered to fund a single child or classroom of children.

Aligning Finance with Common Standards.pdf

Tiered Reimbursement Q&A: For States in the Early Planning Stages for a Tiered Reimbursement Component to their QRIS

TieredReimbursementQ&AFINAL.pdf

The QRIS Cost Estimation Model is a web-based tool that can help users project QRIS costs and allows users to generate multiple reports that compare the cost of a pilot, phased-in approach, or fully implemented QRIS. The model requires users to enter assumptions (e.g., projected participation rates, number of QRIS levels, and provider incentives), and can illustrate how different elements impact cost.

The QRIS Resource Guide is intended as a tool for States and communities to explore key issues and decision points during the planning and implementation of a quality rating and improvement system (QRIS).[1] The Guide is divided into eight sections. Each section contains a set of questions, with guidance for addressing the questions, for States to consider and discuss when planning, implementing, or revising a QRIS.

QRISResourceGuide.pdf

This publication provides information and considerations for State child care administrators and policymakers for improving access to high quality school-age programs that reflect the unique needs of school-age children. A systems framework is used to illustrate strategic approaches to using the Child Care and Development Fund and other resources to build a strongly aligned system of quality improvement. (publisher abstract)

Report.pdf

This report covers 18 months of the Minnesota Parent Aware QRIS pilot from July, 2008 through December, 2009, and is part of the process evaluation of the program.  The report addresses the supply of programs and the tuition rates charged by programs in the pilot areas, provides a synthesis of data from multiple sources to describe the number and percent of eligible programs that have enrolled in Parent Aware, their patterns of enrollment, and the star ratings received by those programs.