• The Program Environment
• Sufficient space for activities
• Variety of play materials
• Clean and comfortable play area

• The Number of Staff per Child

• The Interactions Between
• Adults and children
• Children with other children
• Children with activities and materials

Programs applying for the highest level in this component may choose to have an environment rating scale completed.

Environmental Rating Scale

Environment rating scales are nationally recognized tools used to measure the quality of care offered by programs. These quality assessment scales were developed through the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Trained evaluators visit programs to observe the children and their environment. Evaluators score programs on how well, or how often, certain things occur. For example, evaluators will:

• Determine if good health practices, such as hand washing, are followed when children are diapered or fed
• Watch how the caregivers interact with the children and whether they respond to the children's needs
• Observe activities to see whether the children have opportunities to play and learn according to their levels of development
• Evaluate the safety of the classroom area
  
  

The law requires that, at a minimum, a lead teacher be 18 years old and has either experience or receives in-service training. Quality child care requires a well-trained workforce that is able to create and sustain trusting relationships that are the foundation for young children's learning. Quality child care requires low child to staff ratios that allow caregivers to give individualized attention to each child to support their learning.   Currently the State of Georgia requires only 10 hours of training to care for children, 515 fewer than required to do nails. Wages for child care workers are among the lowest of any profession. According to recent research conducted by the Center for the Child Care Workforce, wages for child care workers in Georgia are among the lowest nationally at $7.33 hourly, $15,247 annually. Most child care workers have no health insurance or other benefits. It is not surprising that turnover in the child care workforce is estimated at 30% a year.

To earn higher points in the education component of the rated license child care staff must complete more formal education and have experience working with preschool children. The number of points a center can earn for staff education is based on:

• The education and experience levels of the administrator
• The number of lead teachers with child care credentials
• The number of lead teachers with more early childhood education and experience
• The number of teachers with formal education and/or experience
  
  

• The administrator and all lead teachers must have completed their credential requirements
• A certain percentage of staff must have extra semester hours and/or child care experience

Centers will earn more points if more staff has completed early childhood coursework and have more experience working with children. For example, at the highest level in Education Standards, five points are earned if:

• The administrator has a Level III NC Administration Credential or equivalent, and experience
• 75% of lead teachers have at least an associate's degree in Early Childhood and experience
• 50% of teachers have completed their NC Early Childhood Credential or equivalent, and have additional coursework as well as experience
• School age staff have completed school age coursework, Basic School Age Training, and have experience working with school age children

Family Child Care Homes:

The number of points you earn in education standards is based on education coursework completed, as well as child care experience. The Division's staff will evaluate your transcripts to determine the number of semester hours that can be counted towards the higher levels in this component. At the highest point level you will need to have completed at least an associate's degree in Early Childhood, and have experience working with children.

Compliance History 

Compliance history is calculated by reviewing the number of violations that have been cited during the last three years. More serious violations, such as violations of staff/child ratio, supervision or discipline, have a more significant impact on their score. If the program has been in operation less than three years, their compliance history is based on the length of time that you have been open. Programs with fewer violations score higher points in this component.

Provider must follow basic health and safety requirements in order to operate a child care program. Some of the child care licensing requirements that are checked in a Center's compliance history are:

• Supervision of children
• Condition of equipment and materials
• Discipline practices
• Child/staff ratios
• Sanitation practices
• Staff education and training development

Who are using a QRS

Several States currently use some type of rating system and recent research has demonstrated that the imposed rating system have not only provided parents with a valuable tool in choosing a quality child care, but has also improved the quality of child care throughout the State or region that have the system in place.  According to the National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC), as of July 2004, 11 States (Colorado, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Vermont) report having a QRS with multiple levels throughout their State; an at least 25 States are in the process of exploring or designing a QRS, unfortunately, Georgia is not one of those States.  In addition more than two dozen States reports having a tiered reimbursement system, in which higher rates are paid to programs that meet higher standards than the state’s licensing regulation. Several States have conducted studies examining the effectiveness of their QRS and found that child care quality has improved across the board. 

Research on QRS effectiveness

In North Carolina, research on Smart Start had demonstrated that children who attend high-quality child care significantly scored higher on measures of skills and abilities considered important for school compared to children from low quality child care centers.

An important component of the (QRS) is the incentives, improvement grants, and performance awards that participating programs will receive. The Child Care Recourse Service (CCRS) will reward quality providers and struggling providers with programs and incentives to improve, and provide parents with ratings on how a program performs on key indicators of quality.  The Child Care Recourse Service will provide resource and links for financial incentives and resources and encourage improvements in training and services.

Why a Five Star System?

A five star licensing system was developed because this type of rating system is typical for many products and services. An additional benefit of the star rated license system is that it recognized providers for the higher quality care that they provide. Lastly, the star rated license acts as a roadmap for providers to follow as they strive to improve the quality of their care. The star rated license system provides information to parents about what level of licensing a child care program has earned, and what are the different possible levels. It is one piece of information that can be used when searching for child care.

Child care programs can reapply to increase the number of stars earned if they have made improvements in the different components. If it is determined that they are eligible for more stars, or points, then a new license would be issued. Once a program has received a star rated license, it is their responsibility to ensure that they stay at the level shown on their permit. When visits are made to child care programs, licensing staff monitor to ensure that the program is continuing to meet all requirements. If they are not, they are given an opportunity to correct any violations. If they are unable to do so, a new license will be issued that reflects the current level of care that is being provided.

If the current star rating is one star, a provider can apply for a higher license at any time. If the child care facility holds a 2-5 star rated license, then they must wait at least six months from the effective date of your current license before reapplying.

A copy of the application for the 2-5 star rated license and documents that support the number of points earned for the star rated license are kept on file at Child Care Resources along with other public information about the facility (visits, inspections, etc.). This would include the compliance history score calculated when the application was submitted and a copy of the Environment Rating Scale Assessment, if one was completed.

Currently in Georgia, there are 2,835 Centers, in which 14 percent are accredited and 6,136 family Childcare Himes with 1 percent accredited.  Accreditation requires child care programs to meet standards that exceed minimum State regulatory requirements. However, the steps between State licensing and achieving national accreditation are often significant, especially for home child care providers. Accreditation was designed to promote and recognize high-quality, professional family child care. Accreditation standards cover the following content areas: relationships, environment, activities, developmental learning goals, safety and health, and professional and business practice [National Association for Family Child Care, (NAFCC)]. There are 95 percent of children in license centers or Child Care Homes, 3.9 percent are cared for by relatives and 1 parent is cared for by non-relatives. Currently there are 15 Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies, none of which offer any type of rating system for child care providers or parents in the State of Georgia (2007 Child Care in the State of Georgia).