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Initiative Name:
Arkansas' Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS)
State:
AR
Category:
Child Care, Quality Improvement
Source Of Information:
ZERO TO THREE Policy Center state updates
Status:
Active
Year Started:
2010
Description:
Last July, Arkansas initiated a new quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) to give child care providers a clear path to improve their programs and provide parents with the knowledge and tools needed to identify high-quality child care in their communities. Better Beginnings is the culmination of almost five years of work spurred by the Arkansas Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Initiative. Hundreds of early childhood professionals were involved in designing the new approach.
The voluntary three-tier system evaluates programs along five dimensions: administration; staff qualifications and professional development; learning environment; environmental assessment; and child health and development. Requirements are aligned with the state’s early learning guidelines and core competencies for professionals. Programs must meet all the requirements at one level before advancing to the next. The state provides training, an online toolkit, and an application checklist to help providers prepare for and achieve certification.
All licensed and registered child care providers, including family child care homes and facilities serving school-age children, are eligible to participate in Better Beginnings. Incentive grants are awarded to facilities that achieve star certification to help them improve and/or maintain their quality level. Grant amounts are slightly larger at the lowest star level to encourage and support programs in working toward meeting the higher standards at levels two and three.
The Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education maintains a website of all licensed and registered child care providers that allows parents to search by star level. The Better Beginnings website also has resources to help parents understand the importance of high-quality child care and how best to find it in their communities.
