Child, Youth, and Family Studies, Department of
Nebraska Quality Rating System (QRS) Pilot Study
Document Type Article
Presentation to the Nebraska Early Childhood Interagency Coordinating Council, August 2005.
Abstract
The National Child Care Information Center defines it as a strategy to improve the quality of early education and care by providing “star ratings” like those for hotels or restaurants. A QRS is a: 1. Consumer guide 2. Benchmark for program improvement 3. Accountability measure for funding
At this time, 10 states have implemented statewide systems (e.g. Colorado, Kentucky, Oklahoma, North Carolina) and 25 more have some kind of tiered quality reimbursement strategy: 20 states have 2-3 tier system; 8 states have 4 tier systems; 7 states have 5-6 tier systems