Assessing States' Child Care Quality Rating Systems (QRS)
Boller, Kimberley, 2008
Mathematica Policy Research

A project to create resources for States regarding the evaluation of child care quality rating systems (QRSs), systems that have been put in place to measure, monitor, and promote high-quality child care. The project has five goals: (1) to provide descriptive and comparative information as well as evaluation evidence regarding QRS through the development of a compendium on QRS (estimated release: Early 2010); (2) to conduct an in-depth, comparative, multi-case study of selected QRS and efforts to evaluate their effectiveness (estimated release: Spring 2010); (3) to conduct a comprehensive secondary analysis of data from existing evaluations of QRS (estimated release: Summer 2010); (4) to produce a paper that synthesizes and evaluates the information from both the case studies and the secondary data analysis (estimated release: Fall 2010); and (5) to develop a toolkit that will serve as a resource for states regarding best practices in the evaluation of QRS (estimated release: Early 2011).

Child Care Bureau/OPRE Projects

Child care patterns of school-age children with employed mothers
Capizzano, Jeffrey, 2000
(Occasional Paper No. 41). Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

An examination of variations in out-of-school time child care arrangements used by families with working mothers, based on data from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF)

Reports & Papers

The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment: Compendium of quality rating systems and evaluations [Executive summary]
United States. Administration for Children and Families. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, April 2010
Washington, DC: U.S. Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.

A summary of a compendium of information on quality rating systems of child care and early education programs, including a proposal of an analytic framework for the assessment and evaluation of quality rating systems and profiles of such systems in 26 states

Executive Summary

Early care and education for children in low-income families: Patterns of use, quality, and potential policy implications
Adams, Gina, May 2007
Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

A review of research in four areas: 1) child care and early education usage patterns among children from low-income families, 2) child care and early education quality and its relation to child development, 3) child care and early education quality for children from low-income families, and 4) the policy context shaping child care and early education quality

Other

Early care and education quality and child outcomes
Burchinal, Margaret, May 2009
(Publication No. 2009-15, OPRE Research-to-Policy Brief No. 1). Washington, DC: Child Trends.

An overview of research on the relationship of child care and early education quality to children's cognitive, social, and academic development

Fact Sheets & Briefs

The Effects of Quality Information and Financial Assistance on Child Care Choices and Employment Outcomes of Low-Income Families in Minnesota
Tout, Kathryn, 2007
Child Trends

The study builds on an existing evaluation of a pilot quality rating system (QRS) by examining how low-income families in Minnesota make child care decisions. This study explores how families navigate the complex array of child care settings, financial resources, and information about available child care and how the implementation of the QRS affects these processes. The project tracks individuals in QRS and non-QRS communities for two years to gather data for descriptive analyses and the testing of econometric models. The following broad research questions are addressed: (1) What factors influence awareness of and use of QRS information in choice of child care setting? What are the characteristics of families using the QRS? How does the QRS affect choice of child care? (2) Does the QRS affect the use of subsidies? Does the type of setting chosen affect the use of subsidies? Which characteristics of the family are associated with use of CCAP subsidies? (3) How do subsidies affect choice of child care? Do subsidies change the type of child care chosen? Do subsidies change the quality of child care chosen? Is the use of subsidies associated with more stable child care arrangements over time? (4) What factors influence child care stability, reliability, and employment outcomes? Findings from the study will be used to inform the pilot QRS and to provide information to state and federal policymakers about how factors such as the type and quality of care chosen are related to the stability of child care and, in turn, to low-income parents' employment and family outcomes.

Child Care Bureau/OPRE Projects

Evaluation of Parent Aware: Minnesota’s quality rating and improvement system pilot: Year 2 evaluation report
Tout, Kathryn, March 2010
Saint Paul, MN: Minnesota Early Learning Foundation.

Findings from an implementation and process evaluation of the second year of Parent Aware, Minnesota’s quality rating and improvement system (QRIS), including information on program characteristics and stakeholder perspectives

Reports & Papers

Issues for the next decade of quality rating and improvement systems
Tout, Kathryn, May 2009
(Publication No. 2009-14, OPRE Issue Brief No. 3). Washington, DC: Child Trends.

A discussion of issues related to quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs), including new challenges facing QRISs, QRIS research and evaluation, QRIS design and implementation, and tools for guiding QRIS evaluation efforts

Fact Sheets & Briefs

Multiple purposes for measuring quality in early childhood settings: Implications for collecting and communicating information on quality
Zaslow, Martha, May 2009
(Publication No. 2009-13, OPRE Issue Brief No. 2). Washington, DC: Child Trends.

A discussion of the different purposes for measuring child care and early education quality, including the importance of distinguishing among different purposes when assessing quality and the need for care when assessments are to be used for multiple purposes

Fact Sheets & Briefs

Observations of child care provided by family, friends and neighbors in Minnesota: A report of the Minnesota Child Care Policy Research Partnership: Briefing paper
Tout, Kathryn, February 2006
(DHS-4515-ENG). St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Human Services.

A summary of a study of family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) child care settings, with a focus on caregivers' interactions with children, activities and materials available, and physical environments and routines, based on observations of 41 FFN providers in Minnesota

Fact Sheets & Briefs

Recent changes in Minnesota welfare and work, child care, and child welfare systems
Tout, Kathryn, 2001
(State Update No. 3). Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

A brief on changes to social welfare policies in Minnesota from 1997 to 2000

Fact Sheets & Briefs

A snapshot of quality in Minnesota's child care centers: A report of the Minnesota Child Care Policy Research Partnership
Tout, Kathryn, 2005
St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Human Services.

An observational study of quality and need for resources at child care centers in Minnesota

Reports & Papers