Massachusetts

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• Massachusetts
• Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS)
• Overview and Update

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Overview

• What and Why of QRIS
• Massachusetts Process for Developing a QRIS
• Preliminary Recommendations
• Moving Forward

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A Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS)
is a method to assess, improve, and communicate
the level of quality in early care
educationand after-school settings.(Stair
Steps to Quality, United Way Success by Six, p. 4)
QRISQuality Rating and Improvement System
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Why QRIS?

• QRIS are an early education and care market
  intervention that help address the tension
  between increasing standards to produce better
  outcomes for children and maintaining affordable
  prices for families.

From Anne Mitchell
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QRIS Creates a Structure to Organize Key
Functions of an Early Education and Care System
in MA
Standards for Programs, Practioners, and Children

• Support to Programs
• and Educators to Meet
• and Maintain Standards

Positive Outcomes for Children, Families and
Communities
Financial Supports for Families
Systems Planning, Monitoring, Accountability and
Enforcement
Family Education, Engagement and Support
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Slide from Anne Mitchell
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Components of Massachusetts QRIS

• 1. Standards
• 2. Monitoring and Accountability
• 3. Program and Practitioner Supports
• 4. Fiscal Incentives
• 5. Family Information and Education
• and the overarching structure

Each element will go through 3 phases Design,
Public Input, Implementation
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MA QRIS Timeline

• Feb 08 Jul 08 Dec 08 Jul 09 Dec 09 Jul 10

• Standards
• Design Phase
• Public Input
• Implementation
• Monitoring Accountability
• Design Phase
• Public Input
• Implementation
• Program and Practitioner Supports
• Design Phase
• Public Input
• Implementation
• Fiscal Incentives
• Design Phase
• Public Input
• Implementation
• Consumer Engagement
• Design Phase
• Public Input

Today
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Design Process for the QRIS Structure and
Standards
EEC Board Parent Advisory EEC Advisory
QRIS External Working Group(Subgroup of
Advisory Committee)
EEC Internal QRIS Team
Drafts of the Standards now go to Public Input
Phase
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Standards Design Teams

• Internal EEC Standards Design Team
• Phil Baimas, Prof. Dev. and Regulation
• Pat Cameron, Special Education
• Amy Checkoway, UPK and Quality
• Joan Clark, IT
• Gail DeRiggi, Family Support
• Nancy Doyle, Quality
• Joyce Holen, Regional Licensing
• Annette Lamana, Quality
• Jennifer Louis, Research
• Dave McGrath, Licensing
• Larisa Mendez-Penate, Comp Services
• Anita Moeller, Programs
• Deena Papanikolaou, Legal
• Kelli Piligian, Regional Licensing
• Alda Rego, Finance
• Pam Roux, Prof. Dev.
• Rod Southwick, Research

• External Stakeholders Standards Design Team
• Mary Ann Anthony Catholic Charities
  (representative of MADCA)
• Chad dEntremont Early Education for All
• Marcia Farris MassAEYC
• Jodi Figuerido Institute for Education and
  Professional Development
• Barbara Finlayson Hampshire Educational
  Collaborative
• Sarah Fujiwara Horizons for Homeless Children
• Gwynn Hughes Massachusetts After-school
  Partnership
• Kelty Kelley Massachusetts Community
  Partnerships Councils
• Pam Kuechla PACE Child Care Works /
  Massachusetts Child Care Resource and Referral
  Network
• Kay Lisseck Schott Fellows
• Kathy Modigliani Family Child Care Project
• Kathy Reticker Acre Family Day Care
  (representative of MADCA)
• Grace Richardson American Family Child Care
  Association, Ind. Family Child Care Provider
• Jim Robertson Plowshares
• Jason Sachs/Karen Silver Boston Public Schools
• Ronna Schaffer MA Head Start Association
• Peg Sprague United Way of Mass Bay and the
  Merrimack Valley
• Nancy Topping-Tailby MA Head Start Association

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MA QRIS Overarching Structure Preliminary
Recommendations

• Include licensed and license-exempt programs and
  providers serving children birth 14 years of
  age.
• Voluntary participation initially, eventually may
  be mandatory to receive certain funding.
• Design of standards should consider different
  setting types.
• Recognize and incorporate existing quality
  standards, such as Head Start, NAEYC and NAFCC
• Hybrid of mandatory criteria plus points to move
  to next level.
• Provide financial and other quality supports
  during implementation.

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MA QRIS StandardsPreliminary Recommendations

• Five levels of quality defined in draft standards
  with combination of required criteria and more
  flexible points.
• Nine categories within draft standards
• Relationships
• Physical Environment
• Leadership and Management
• Health and Safety
• Curriculum and Assessment
• Community Involvement
• Family Involvement
• Program Evaluation
• Workforce Quality and Support
• Special Education Cultural Competence embedded
  across categories of draft standards.
• Three versions of draft standards by program
  type
• Center/school-based
• Family child care
• School-age

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Center/School-Based StandardsDRAFT
1 Need to insert appropriate language for other
types of license-exempt programs, i.e. Catholic,
Montessori
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Moving Forward with QRIS

• Next 6 months
• Standards out for public review
• Design of Monitoring Accountability component
• Design and begin implementation of the Program
  and Practitioner Supports component
• Continue communication with the field to gather
  input
• Next 1-2 years
• Design Fiscal Incentives component
• Pilot QRIS rating system and quality supports
• Align with other EEC initiatives
• Income Eligible Re-procurement
• UPK
• Workforce Taskforce recommendations
• FY10 Budget

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Seeking EEC Board Guidance on

• Preliminary recommendations and structure of
  standards
• Key questions for public input phase
• Feedback/thoughts on other elements of MA QRIS
• For more information http//www.eec.state.ma.us/Q
  RIS.aspx