Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/quality-rating-systems--the-experiences-of-center-directors/5017306/
NOTE; *QRS initiatives define levels of quality based on research and then support providers with funding and technical assistance to increase their quality. Each program is assessed and given a number of “stars” to indicate to parents what level of quality the program has reached.There’s a policy locomotive chugging through the states in the name of “quality rating systems” (QRS)*. The 13 states that have QRS in place and the other 29 studying it believe this effort can improve quality, help the poorest children to get the highest quality care, educate consumers, and potentially create a system out of what is a cacophony of funding streams, regulations, and learning standards. As a director of a local effort to improve quality and the co-chair of New York State’s Work Group on QRS, I thought the experiences of center directors participating in their state’s QRS could be illuminating �" and indeed they were.
A dozen diverse center directors were interviewed from three states with different approaches to their quality rating systems: Colorado, where most financial incentives vary by locality; Pennsylvania, which offers the most generous grants to enter the system and acquire more stars; and Tennessee, which has the strongest relationship to licensing ...