43 Westchester Programs and Providers Selected to Begin
Implementation of QUALITYstarsNY!
QUALITYstarsNY, New York State’s quality rating and improvement system is a voluntary and organized system that evaluates and improves quality in early care and education programs. In addition, this five star rating system will give parents the tools to make an informed choice about their options for child care.
Once fully implemented, New York State will join 25 other states that currently have a statewide quality rating and improvement system (QRIS). In the past ten years, 80% of the nation’s states has become involved in some form of QRIS ranging from exploration of the process to full implementation.
Under QUALITYstarsNY, assessments of programs and providers are based on the four Standard categories. These categories include: Learning Environment, Family Engagement, Management and Leadership and Qualifications and Experience.
The QUALITYstarsNY (QSNY) Standards for Center and School –based programs can be found here.
The QUALITYstarsNY (QSNY) Standards for Family-based programs can be found here.
The New York State Education Department has allocated $4 million to support implementation of QUALITYstarsNY in 2012 - 2014. Programs initially eligible to participate are child care centers, family/group providers, Universal Pre-Kindergartens, Head Start programs and registered nursery school programs. School based programs will be invited to participate in the fall of 2012.
After four QUALITYstarsNY Information Sessions were held at the Child Care Council during Summer, 2012, 77 Westchester programs and providers applied to participate in this phase of implementation. Of the 77 applicants, 43 were selected, including 14 of Westchester’s field test sites. Click here to see the list of Westchester’s programs and providers that were selected to participate in QUALITYstarsNY.
The 43 programs in Westchester, along with over 350 others throughout New York State will have the chance to participate in QUALITYstarsNY. These programs will complete the QSNY standards checklist providing documentation that supports their program’s practices. Those that score a baseline rating of 3 to 5 stars will also receive an independent Environment Rating Scale assessment. Based on the results of each program’s assessments, participants will work with a Quality Improvement Specialist to create a Quality Improvement Plan, tailored to the needs of their program. Access to financial resources for professional development and a materials grant will be available. Participants will earn baseline star ratings. Programs/providers will be re-assessed and re-rated in 2014.
All participants will be expected to enter information on staff qualifications into Aspire, the New York State Workforce Registry. This is an online system that will track the employment and professional growth of the early childhood workforce and provide a single point of access for education, training, and scholarship opportunities.
Programs and providers not participating in QUALITYstarsNY in 2012, can begin to prepare their programs by reviewing the QSNY Standards and documentation to become familiar with the requirements and possibly make quality improvements to their program. The Council’s Professional Development Training Calendar contains many workshop that will assist your program in preparing for QUALITYstarsNY. These workshops are identified by a star next to the training’s description. To access the Council’s Training Calendar, click here.
