Download - Deborah Neill , Tennessee Department of Human Services, Child Care, Adult & Community Programs
Deborah Neill, Tennessee Department of Human Services, Child Care, Adult & Community Programs
JoAnna Cheatham, University of Tennessee College of Social Work Office of Research & Public Service
Berlin, Germany - March 2005
Evaluating Quality in Child Care Licensing: The Tennessee
Report Card and Star-Quality Child Care Program
Tennessee Child Care Evaluation System
Evaluations started in late 2001 as a result of legislation passed in 2000. The purpose of the evaluation is to:• Give parents and agencies more info about the quality
of care• Improve the quality of child care
The Report Card Program is mandatory for all DHS-licensed child care agencies. The Star-Quality Program, which is limited to higher quality agencies, is voluntary.
Child care agencies are evaluated annually. The evaluation includes an assessment using the appropriate Environment Rating Scales.
Evaluating Child Care Quality
The measurement of both process quality + structural quality = Better child care evaluation
Structural Quality Information about the structural aspects of a program Collected by TDHS licensing staff
Process Quality Assessment of the environment or what the children
experience everyday Collected by TDHS assessment staff through the Environment
Rating Scales
Evaluation & Report Card Program
Centers are evaluated on seven areas:• Director qualifications• Professional development• Compliance history• Parent/family involvement• Ratio and group size• Staff compensation• Program assessment
Family and group homes are evaluated on five areas:
• Professional development• Compliance history• Parent/family involvement• Business management• Program assessment
Evaluation & Report Card Program
This report card has check marks next to the criteria the facility achieved rather than scores or ratings.
Agencies are evaluated annually and receive results of their evaluation and assessments with their new licenses and a report card.
criterion
criterion
criterionThe report card is posted along with the agency’s license to give parents and others more information about the agency.
Evaluation & Report Card Program
Star-Quality Child Care Program
The Star-Quality report card includes component ratings as well as an overall rating. Agencies can earn up to 3 stars in each component and up to 3 stars for an overall rating.
A provider’s overall rating is determined by totaling the component ratings and then dividing the total by the number of areas on which the provider’s program was evaluated.
Participation in the Star-Quality Program, which recognizes higher quality agencies, is voluntary.
Star-Quality Child Care Program
What do Star-Quality Program participants get?
Bonus payments for any certificate children in their care
A second, more
detailed report card, and up to 3 stars to apply to their licenses
Evaluation Process1. Licensing schedules the evaluation about 1-2 months
before an agency’s license is to be renewed.2. Licensing collects the structural quality data and
assessment conducts the on-site observations with the Rating Scales and send scores to licensing.
3. Licensing calculates the agency’s ratings and completes the appropriate report card.
4. Licensing mails the evaluation results, including a program assessment results report, to the agency with its new license and report card.
Possible Evaluation Results Four possible rating results:
Meets licensing standards or 1, 2, or 3 stars Two levels of ratings: an overall rating and
component ratings The overall rating is the average of the
component ratings. If a child care agency earns at least 1 star on the
compliance history and program assessment components and for its overall rating, the agency is eligible to participate in the Star-Quality Child Care Program.
Assessment Results Report 3 types of scores: item, classroom or home, and
an overall score Possible results: a score on each that ranges from
1 (inadequate care) to 7 (excellent care) Report also includes a list of all item scores and a
strengths report for each home or classroom Assessor’s notes for each room or home assessed;
detailed notes about any items that were scored 1, 2, or 3
Contact information for the local Child Care Resource & Referral Center
Child Care Resource and Referral Centers
•Provider on-site technical assistance•Quality improvement information and
assistance
•Birth to Three Collaborative-initiative for the training and
application of the Program for Infant/Toddler Caregiver (PITC)
philosophy and other Infant/Toddler curriculum
•Tennessee Child Care Provider Training (TN-CCPT)
Free to all licensed providers Health and safety Administration Early childhood education Child development Behavior management
•School Age training and technical assistance
•Parent Referral Services•Community Out-Reach
•Parent Education
•Special needs consultations •Child Care health consultant
•Lending Library/Curriculum Boxes
Pre-Employment and Pre-Service Director and Caregiver
Training
•Free Video/CD ROM
Tennessee’s Outstanding Providers Supported through
Available Resources (TOPSTAR)
•Mentoring and support groups for family providers
•On-site technical assistance and training for family providers
Report Card &Report Card & Star-Quality SystemStar-Quality System
Director
Qualifications
Staff/Child Ratios
and Group Sizes
Compliance History
Professional
Development
Staff
Compensation
Program Assessment
Parent/FamilyInvolvement
• Annual Mandatory Report Card and if eligible:
•Voluntary Star-Quality Participation Bonus certificate payments
for 1-2-3 Stars
Child Care Licensing and Assessment•Licensed and Approved Child Care Agencies receive a minimum of four
unannounced and one announced inspections per year•Report Cards on Quality issued annually for all agencies
www.state.tn.us/humanserv/childcare.htm
Tennessee Child Care Facilities Corporation
(TCCFC)•Business management training
and assistance•Corporate and community
partnership grants•Public/Private Partnership
ProgramChild and Adult Care Food Program
(CACFP)•Reimbursement for cost of meals for
eligible children
Centralized Help for Parents
•Web-site listings and information
•Toll free help, Child Care Complaint line at 1-800-462-8261
Child Care Certificate Program
•Assistance to Families First and low-income working parents
TECTATennessee Early Childhood
Training Alliance
•Free 30 clock hour orientation•60% of college course tuition
towards a CDA
What Does It Cost?
Annually, Tennessee spends approximately $27 million on the Child Care Evaluation System and the support programs necessary to sustain its success. This cost can be broken down as follows: $3 million for the assessment program $1 million for research, data management, and quality
assurance $5 million for child care provider training and
technical assistance $18 million for Star-Quality bonuses
Evaluation & Report Card Results from Years 1, 2, and 3
Distribution of Overall Report Card Scores for All Evaluated Child Care Centers
(Group scores)
Year 1: n=1982; Year 2: n=2154; Year 3: n=2076
30.7
%
6.3%
27.7
% 35.2
%
19.7
%
4.0%
28.4
%
47.8
%
20.4
%
2.4%
22.8
%
54.4
%
0 Stars 1 Star 2 Stars 3 Stars0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
609
425
424
125 87 49 550
612
474
698
1030
1129
Evaluation & Report Card Results from Years 1, 2, and 3
Component Ratings for Child Care Centers 5 of 7 Components
# of 0 Stars Years 1–2–3
# of 3 Stars Years 1–2–3
Compliance History & Program Assessment
# of 0 Stars Years 1–2 2–3
# of 3 Stars Years 1–2 2–3; Years 1–3 (PA)
Evaluation & Report Card Results from Years 1, 2, and 3
Distribution of Overall Report Card Scores for All Evaluated Family and Group Homes
(Group scores)
Year 1: n=1045; Year 2: n=1114; Year 3: n=1096
3 6. 7
%
1 2. 1
%
3 1. 2
%
2 0. 1
%2 8. 7
%
7 .0 %
2 9. 4
%
3 4. 9
%
2 9. 7
%
3 .9 %
2 8. 6
% 3 7. 7
%
0 Stars 1 Star 2 Stars 3 Stars0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
383
320
326
126
78 43
326
327
314
210
389
413
Evaluation & Report Card Results from Years 1, 2, and 3
Component Ratings for Family & Group Homes 3 of 5 Components
# of 0 Stars Years 1–2–3
# of 3 Stars Years 1–2–3
Compliance History
# of 0 Stars Years 1–2–3
# of 3 Stars Years 1–2 2–3
Program Assessment
# of 0 Stars Years 1–2–3
# of 3 Stars Years 1–2 2–3 Years 1–3
Average Classroom/Home Observation Scores for Years 1, 2, and 3 by Scale
3.9 4.
5 4.7
4.4
4.3 4.
8
4.9
4.6
4.2 4.
8
4.8
4.6
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
ITERS (Infant&Toddlers)
ECERS-R(Preschool)
SACERS(School-aged)
FDCRS(Family/Group
Homes)
Yr. 1 Yr. 2 Yr. 3
Evaluation & Report Card Results from Years 1, 2, and 3
Lessons Learned• Everyone needs a shared vision of quality. The report card system
and the Environment Rating Scales provide this to help improve quality care for all children.
• Making it happen takes a systems approach and real collaboration can be tedious, but very rewarding! Remember to keep ALL partners continuously in the loop.
• Perfect the system as much as possible BEFORE introducing it to providers. Expect any “mistakes” to be remembered for a very long time!
• Be prepared to provide intensive support and attention—$, training, information, evaluation, reporting, analysis, and process improvements.
Lessons Learned— continued
• Anticipate resistance—listen to this and learn from it. This can be from the collaborators as well as the child care providers.
• Manage expectations of how much change can take place and the pace of this change. There is always a lag between implementation and institutionalization of any process; expect some slippage.
• Develop a grievance/complaint process. Use it to improve the process.
• Remember to respect the knowledge and skills of collaborators and partners.
• Communicate, then communicate, and especially remember to communicate!
To Learn More—Contact
Deborah Neill—[email protected]
JoAnna Cheatham— [email protected]
www.state.tn.us/humanserv/childcare.htm
www.tnstarquality.org