Report

A description of the processes and financing strategies states used to develop QRIS.

Report.pdf

A guide for implementing a QRIS, including guidance for the early planning stage, the development and assessment of standards, the use of incentives to encourage quality improvement, the financing of the system, and the outreach to promote parental awareness of the system.

Report.pdf

An analysis of the validity of North Carolina's 5-star child care licensing system, based on data collected from 84 child care centers.

A guide to developing, implementing, and evaluating a child care quality initiative involving the collection and dissemination of child care quality indicator information to parents.

This 2007 document presents recommendations by the Michigan Quality Rating and Improvement System (MQRIS) Workgroup for a child care quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) in Michigan. Two parallel tracks are recommended for quality rating (i.e., one for licensed center-based care and one for registered family home providers and licensed group home providers). All registered family home providers and licensed providers will have the opportunity to achieve the first tier of quality upon licensure (or registration for family home providers). Participation in the QRIS is voluntary.

This Microsoft PowerPoint indicates that it is important to collect early childhood outcomes data to respond to Federal reporting requirements and to meet provider/teacher and local/State need for outcome information. It is assumed that some States want to use outcome data to improve programs for children and families. The question is not whether children made progress, but rather, the percentage of children that made more progress than would have been expected without the program. It is important to note that program improvement can occur at many levels and in different ways.

This document presents findings from a Florida study on the availability and accessibility of formal professional development programs that offer college credit. Researchers identify strengths and weaknesses in early childhood program dynamics and examine course offerings and articulation of credit among institutions of higher education (IHE) in Florida. Overall, institution representatives report having students who want to be educated and faculty with the expertise to provide a quality education.

This report presents Year 1 findings from a five-year study of six student cohorts at Antioch University, California State University-East Bay, Mills College, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, and the University of La Verne in California. These cohorts are enrolled in B.A. completion programs, which target small groups of adults working in early care and education. The students in the study demonstrated a strong commitment to the early care and education field, having worked continuously in center- or home-based settings for an average of about 16 years.

This executive summary highlights the findings from an inventory of almost all of the California institutions of higher education that train adults to teach children under the age of five years, including certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and PhD programs. Findings show that in California, 136 institutions of higher education, or approximately one-half of the State's public colleges and universities, are engaged in preparing teachers to work with young children prior to kindergarten.

This strategy brief examines one strategy for improving quality, namely, using a State quality rating system (QRS) to assess after-school programs and the needs of school-age children. The brief explores how States can use their existing or newly emerging rating system to more strategically promote after-school program quality. It also shares State strategies for aligning the rating system with broader after-school professional development efforts.

Report.pdf