Quality Counts

The Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend Region (ELC) has partnered with Whole Child Leon and Moms Like Me to market their Quality Counts initiative. Click here for Quality Counts.

Research has proven that the first few years of life is when a child’s most critical growth and development occurs. Like a garden, children need quality early learning and care in order to grow. By providing your child with these essentials, you will ensure that they have all they need to be prepare them for success in school

Entitled ‘How does your child grow’, this initiative is intended as a tool to educate parents on how on choosing quality child care for their children. It is important for parents to know what environment they are putting their child into for 8-10 hours each day. Parents need to make informed decisions.

The Quality Counts initiative uses a five star rating scale to rate child care providers on their;

• Health and Safety (are staff taking actions to prevent the spread of germs – hand washing);
• Curriculum, Screening and Assessment (do they have a developmentally appropriate curriculum, and are they using it?, also, are they completing screenings and assessments on their children?);
• Family Engagement (communicating with and engaging parents);
• Program Administration; and
• Staff Qualifications.
• Programs can also elect to have an additional component rated, called ‘learning environments’.

Instead of using an overall rating, child care providers are rated individually on each component. That way parents can make informed decisions on what’s important to them.

Only child care providers contracted with the ELC are able to participate in this initiative. Saying that, only providers who score a 3 or above in all components are able to contract with the ELC. Currently the ELC has 270 child care providers across the seven counties of the Big Bend Region in their provider network. These child care providers include child care centers, family child care homes and public and private schools. Each year the ELC monitors network child care providers. For more information, visit www.ELCBigBend.org.