Oklahoma launched the first Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) in 1998. At that time, the term QRS (Quality Rating System) was the term used to describe these systems, constructed to “assess, improve and communicate about the level of quality in early care and education settings,” according to Anne Mitchell in her QRIS toolkit, Stair Steps to Quality. Recently, the ‘I’ has been added to create the term QRIS, the ‘I’ standing for Improvement. The addition of the ‘I’ has helped to shift the focus away from merely rating early care and education programs – expanding the idea of quality to include continuous quality improvement. It also helps redefine the term “quality” to include such things as serving families in a culturally competent manner, including supports that will allow families, in partnership with early care and education professionals, to facilitate their child’s optimum development and school readiness. During the past ten years,seventeen other states havejoined Oklahoma in fullyimplementing QRIS. All butfive of the remaining states aredrafting standards, piloting orconsidering how to implementQRIS. If you are interested inlearning more about how thisapplies to your state, see thereference materials in thisdocument and contact yourState Child Care Administrator for additional information specific to your state.

Share What You Know.Research by NAEYC revealed that early childhood educators feel a strong sense of responsibility to help prevent child abuse and neglect, but want to know more about effective strategies.

The Right Tools Are Always Helpful. The Strengthening Families Protective Factor (SF/PF) Framework is a strong support for quality in early care settings.

Primary Prevention

A KeyA KeyIn High Quality Early Care and Education

Settings

Important ways Children’s Trust Funds Can be engaged in states’ Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS)

Getting Started

What is QRIS?

IngredientIngredient

The Alliance’s Early Childhood Initiative

(ECI)

2

Stories from Three ECI States: Embedding the Strengthening Families Protective Factor (SF/PF) Framework Into QRIS

Working Together.

One Goal.

A System of Systems

QRIS is a composite system that unifies multiple sectors of the early childhood education system. Some of the sub-systems represented in states’ QRIS are:

Child Care Licensing

Professional Development System

Early Care and Education Providers – Centers and Family Child Care

Child Care Resource & Referral

Early Childhood Mental Health

Departments of Education

Higher Education

All of these must agree upon how the basic elements of QRIS should be structured and implemented. Building the five protective factors (parental resilience, social connections, concrete support in times of need, knowledge of parenting and child development and social and emotional development of children) is a priority for each of these systems.

Basic Elements of QRIS

Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect Before it Ever Occurs by Strengthening Families.

There are five elements that are common to almost all states’ QRIS:

1. Standards – at least two levels of quality above state’s basic licensing requirements – may align with early learning guidelines.

2. Accountability – Monitoring and assessment of standards

3. Support to ECE Practitioners – technical assistance, training and other supports to help practitioners along the pathway to quality.

4. Financing – tiered reimbursements, grants and other support tied to quality.

5. Parent Education – actually, educating parents to be savvy consumers of high quality early care and education as they see how it will benefit their most precious resource – their children.

Each of these elements can serve as a “door” by which Children’s Trust Funds may seek to enter QRIS. By partnering with early childhood stakeholders to embed the five protective factors into QRIS, Children’s Trust Funds have the opportunity to systemically strengthen families.

Early Care and Education Professionals Children’s Trust Funds

Children’s Trust Funds Early Care and Education Professionals

3

Together,

with the right tools. . .

We can strengthen

families. “Quality Early Care andEducation programs are thefoundation for a child abuseand neglect preventionagenda.” --- Sharon L. Kagan

Evidence points to thereality that quality earlycare and education

programs strengthen children and families and ultimately reduce child abuse andneglect.

Children’s Trust Fundshave valuable

experience implementing effective community-based family strengthening strategies.

The StrengtheningFamilies Protective

Factor Framework is a tool that Children’s Trust Funds can offer as a resource to help unite the multiple sectors of the early childhood field necessary to build and sustain Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS).

Why should Children’s

Trust Funds become

involved with QRIS?

1

2

3

Strengthening Families Protective Factor Framework

The Alliance’s Early Childhood Initiative

(ECI)

4

Stories from Three ECI States: Embedding the Strengthening Families Protective Factor (SF/PF) Framework Into QRIS

The vibrant network of the ECI Learning Community . . .

represents partnerships between CTFs and early childhood stakeholders in 27 states. Each member of the Learning Community is committed to:

Transformational systemic change to benefit children and families

Attainment and strengthening of the five protective factors among all families and communities

A future where all children live in safe, stable and nurturing families and communities.

The ECI Theory of Change

maps out a plan to accomplish the goals stated above. A key strategy will be to explore ways in which states can embed the Strengthening Families Protective Factor Framework

Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). See www.ctfalliance.org for more information.

CollaborationRequires Concentration

Children’s Trust Funds Early Care and Education Professionals

5

Idaho

Enthusiastic support from child care providers and a disdain for regulations by state policy makers form the backdrop for efforts to increase quality for early care and education settings in Idaho. Yet, since 2003 a unique relationship between the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children (Idaho AEYC) and the University of Idaho (IdahoSTARS state training and registry system) was the basis for a collaboration that eventually included Idaho’s Children’s Trust Fund. Although quality efforts initially focused on voluntary training and education scholarships, mentoring, and environment assessment, by 2006 a broader focus began to include the use of the Strengthening Families approach as an integral component of Idaho’s Child Care Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) and accounts for 20% of the quality standards. QRIS is currently in the design phase and being implemented through a statewide pilot program in over 20 cities. The pilot includes 52 centers and family-based programs, serving nearly 3,000 children and their families. Idaho has been successful at incorporating major components of the Strengthening Families approach (including the self-assessment) into the QRIS standards. They have created a curriculum around the SF/PF Framework that will soon be expanded to programs outside of the QRIS pilot, utilizing the “support to ECE practitioners” door into their QRIS. The most recent work being undertaken by the ECI team is to implement the Community Café and reach out to parents to cultivate their “leadership voice” in order to raise an awareness of the importance of quality child care and create a greater demand for higher quality and astrong statewide voluntary QRIS.

3Resources:To learn more about the National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds’ Early Childhood Initiative work with Strengthening Families Through QRIS, see: www.ctfalliance.org/qris

To download a copy of the Strengthening Families Self-Assessment, Guidebook for Early Childhood Programs and other materials, see: www.strengtheningfamilies.net

The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the “Stimulus Package,” offers some opportunities to implement early childhood policy and systems change. To learn more about how this could possibly benefit implementation of QRIS, see: www.buildinitiative.org

The National Child Care Information Center has recently updated information about states who are fully implementing QRIS, with links to states’ QRIS websites: http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/qrs-defsystems.html

Advancing Child Abuse and Neglect Protective Factors: The Role of the Early Care and Education Infrastructure by Sharon L. Kagan gives a justification of why high quality early childhood programs are a logical foundation for a child abuse and neglect prevention agenda: http://www.cssp.org/uploadFiles/Kagan.pdf

For further information,contact:

Martha Reeder, Program ManagerEarly Childhood InitiativeNational Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Fundsmarthareeder@gmail.com

[Recipient]

Address Line 1Address Line 2Address Line 3Address Line 4

Children’s Trust and Preventions Funds across the United States have embraced the Strengthening Families Protective Factor (SF/PF) Framework as a way to build strong families and communities and to support the optimal development of the very youngest and most vulnerable children.

Early Care and Education Systems have recognized the need for higher quality early care and education settings, and have pursued the development of Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) as a way to meet this need.

High quality early care and education settings that reach out to parents in significant and meaningful partnerships may be one of the best ways to prevent child abuse and neglect. As QRIS are being built and revised, the critical opportunity exists to strengthen families and prevent child abuse before it ever occurs.

Strengthening Families Through QRIS

Primary Prevention: A Key Ingredient in High Quality

Early Care and Education

National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds

5712 30th Avenue NE Seattle WA 98105

Phone (206) 526-1221 Fax (206) 526-0220 info@ctfalliance.org www.ctfalliance.org

Safe and Healthy Children

Strong and Stable Families

Thriving and Prosperous Communities