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

Statewide or local child care Quality Rating Systems (QRS) are in place in 26 states and are under consideration in many others as tools to measure, monitor, and promote quality in early child care and education programs. The QRS Assessment produced a series of products as a resource to inform decision-making about and evaluation of QRS. Key products include: (1) a compendium of QRS, (2) two in-depth study reports (one focused on quality measurement and one on the role of QRIS in integration of the early care and education system); (3) a secondary data analysis on quality measurement, and (4) a toolkit for evaluating QRIS. Research questions include: (1) What is the variation in how select QRIS define and measure quality?; (2) What processes are used to measure components and determine an overall rating?; (2) What is the availability (and use) of consistent and reliable data on quality measurement?; (4) What role does QRIS have and to what extent does it contribute to integration of early care and education programs?; (5) How could states and localities monitor and assess the extent to which QRIS contribute to ECE system development?; (6) What is the prevalence of quality rating components across QRIS and at different levels?; (7) How does the prevalence of quality rating components differ between rating levels across QRIS and between types of providers (such as Head Start and accredited centers)?; (8) What is the unique effect of each quality component on observed quality?; and (9) What patterns of quality profiles emerge based on unique effects of components and how do these profiles map to actual rating levels in QRIS?

Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects

The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment: Child care quality rating and improvement systems: Approaches to integrating programs for young children in two states
United States. Administration for Children and Families. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, August, 2011
(OPRE Report 2011-28). Washington, DC: U.S. Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.

An examination of the role, and how to assess the role, that state child care quality rating and improvement systems can play in early childhood care and education system integration and development, based on document reviews, administrator interviews, and two-day site visits in Indiana and Pennsylvania

Reports & Papers

The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment: Compendium of quality rating systems and evaluations
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 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

Reports & Papers

The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment: Defining and measuring quality: An in-depth study of five child care quality rating and improvement systems
United States. Administration for Children and Families. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, August, 2011
(OPRE Report 2011-29). Washington, DC: U.S. Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.

An examination of aspects of child care quality rating and improvement systems related to definitions and measures of quality, including variation in definitions and measures, processes to measure each component and determine the overall level of quality, and availability of data on quality ratings, based on in-depth case studies in Miami-Dade County, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee

Reports & Papers

The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment: Measuring quality across three child care quality rating and improvement systems: Findings from secondary analyses
United States. Administration for Children and Families. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, August, 2011
(OPRE Report 2011-30). Washington, DC: U.S. Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.

A study of the prevalence of quality components among participating child care quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) providers and their relationship to observed quality, based on analyses of QRIS administrative data, professional development registries, and observation data in Miami-Dade County, Florida, Illinois, and Tennessee

Reports & Papers

The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment: The Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Evaluation Toolkit
United States. Administration for Children and Families. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, August, 2011
(OPRE Report 2011-31). Washington, DC: U.S. Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.

A guide to planning and conducting child care quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) evaluations

Other

Supporting quality in home-based child care: Final brief
United States. Administration for Children and Families. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, March 31, 2010
Washington, DC: U.S. Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.

Highlights of findings from an examination of the prevalence and quality of home-based child care, with a focus on programs and initiatives to improve the quality and outcomes of children who attend

Reports & Papers

Using vouchers to deliver social services: Considerations based on the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program experiences
United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, November 02, 2007
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

An examination of the role of voucher systems in delivering social services through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, based on interviews with state program administrators, conversations with local area staff, and in-depth site visits and case studies

Reports & Papers

Using vouchers to deliver social services: Learning from the goals, uses, and key elements of existing federal voucher programs
United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, March 30, 2007
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

An overview of the role of voucher systems in delivering social services, including child care, with descriptions of how vouchers currently are used in public programs

Other

Welfare-to-work transitions for parents of infants: In-depth study of eight communities [Final report]
United States. Administration for Children and Families. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, 2001
Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research.

A qualitative study of the relationship between various child care policies and the ability of low income parents of infants to meet the work or school requirements for receipt of public assistance, based on interviews with service providers and both teenage and adult parents receiving Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) from 8 purposively-selected communities across 6 states

Reports & Papers