Description:
As large numbers of children regularly attend child care settings, many states have struggled to provide enough high quality spaces to meet children's needs. Recent policy investments at the state and federal levels have focused on Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives to improve the quality of care available to children and families. One such effort is the California Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC), a program funded by a competitive federal grant (2011 to 2016). Our research partnership examined when and how child care providers engaged in QI --as related to RTT-ELC. Our research focused on licensed family child care (FCC) for two reasons. First, although many of the most vulnerable children can be found in FCC, most research has focused on center-based child care settings. Second, FCC homes are a particularly flexible segment of the workforce but it is a sector that is shrinking across many states, including California. If system-building efforts like the California RTT-ELC and new statewide efforts to continue and extend QRIS do not take into account the unique characteristics of FCC homes, FCC providers may opt out of systems created for them or stop operating.
Resource Type:
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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