Deborah Neill , Tennessee Department of Human Services, Child Care, Adult & Community Programs

1. Deborah Neill, Tennessee Department of Human Services, Child Care, Adult & Community Programs JoAnna Cheatham, University of Tennessee College of Social Work Office of Research & Public Service Berlin, Germany - March 2005 Evaluating Quality in Child Care Licensing: The Tennessee Report Card and Star-Quality Child Care Program

2. Evaluations started in late 2001 as a result of legislation passed in 2000. The purpose of the evaluation is to: Give parents and agencies more info about the quality of care Improve the quality of child care The Report Card Program is mandatory for all DHS-licensed child care agencies. The Star-Quality Program, which is limited to higher quality agencies, is voluntary. Child care agencies are evaluated annually. The evaluation includes an assessment using the appropriate Environment Rating Scales. Tennessee Child Care Evaluation System

3. Evaluating Child Care Quality The measurement of both process quality + structural quality = Better child care evaluation Structural Quality • Information about the structural aspects of a program • Collected by TDHS licensing staff Process Quality • Assessment of the environment or what the children experience everyday • Collected by TDHS assessment staff through the Environment Rating Scales

4. Evaluation & Report Card Program Centers are evaluated on seven areas: • Director qualifications • Professional development • Compliance history • Parent/family involvement • Ratio and group size • Staff compensation • Program assessment

5. Evaluation & Report Card Program Family and group homes are evaluated on five areas: • Professional development • Compliance history • Parent/family involvement • Business management • Program assessment

6. Evaluation & Report Card Program Agencies are evaluated annually and receive results of their evaluation and assessments with their new licenses and a report card. This report card has check marks next to the criteria the facility achieved rather than scores or ratings. criterion The report card is posted along with the agency’s license to give parents and others more information about the agency. criterion criterion

7. Star-Quality Child Care Program Participation in the Star-Quality Program, which recognizes higher quality agencies, is voluntary. The Star-Quality report card includes component ratings as well as an overall rating. Agencies can earn up to 3 stars in each component and up to 3 stars for an overall rating. A provider’s overall rating is determined by totaling the component ratings and then dividing the total by the number of areas on which the provider’s program was evaluated.

8. Star-Quality Child Care Program What do Star-Quality Program participants get? Bonus paymentsfor any certificate children in their care A second, more detailedreport card,andup to 3 starsto apply to their licenses

9. Evaluation Process • Licensing schedules the evaluation about 1-2 months before an agency’s license is to be renewed. • Licensing collects the structural quality data and assessment conducts the on-site observations with the Rating Scales and send scores to licensing. • Licensing calculates the agency’s ratings and completes the appropriate report card. • Licensing mails the evaluation results, including a program assessment results report, to the agency with its new license and report card.

10. Possible Evaluation Results • Four possible rating results: • Meets licensing standards or 1, 2, or 3 stars • Two levels of ratings: an overall rating and component ratings • The overall rating is the average of the component ratings. • If a child care agency earns at least 1 star on the compliance history and program assessment components and for its overall rating, the agency is eligible to participate in the Star-Quality Child Care Program.

11. Assessment Results Report • 3 types of scores: item, classroom or home, and an overall score • Possible results: a score on each that ranges from 1 (inadequate care) to 7 (excellent care) • Report also includes a list of all item scores and a strengths report for each home or classroom • Assessor’s notes for each room or home assessed; detailed notes about any items that were scored 1, 2, or 3 • Contact information for the local Child Care Resource & Referral Center

12. Tennessee Department of Human Services Child Care System www.state.tn.us/humanserv/childcare.htm • Child Care Licensing and Assessment • Licensed and Approved Child Care Agencies receive a minimum of four unannounced and one announced inspections per year • Report Cards on Quality issued annually for all agencies • Child Care Resource and Referral Centers • Provider on-site technical assistance • Quality improvement information and assistance • Birth to Three Collaborative-initiative for the training and application of the Program for Infant/Toddler Caregiver (PITC) philosophy and other Infant/Toddler curriculum • Tennessee Child Care Provider Training (TN-CCPT) • Free to all licensed providers Health and safety Administration Early childhood education Child development Behavior management • School Age training and technical assistance • Parent Referral Services • Community Out-Reach • Parent Education • Special needs consultations • Child Care health consultant • Lending Library/Curriculum Boxes • TECTATennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance • Free 30 clock hour orientation • 60% of college course tuition towards a CDA Program Assessment Compliance History Director Qualifications Professional Development • Child Care Certificate Program • Assistance to Families First and low-income working parents Report Card &Star-Quality System • Annual Mandatory Report Card • and if eligible: • Voluntary Star-Quality Participation • Bonus certificate payments • for 1-2-3 Stars • Pre-Employment and Pre-Service Director and Caregiver Training • Free Video/CD ROM Parent/Family Involvement Staff/Child Ratios and Group Sizes Staff Compensation • Tennessee Child Care Facilities Corporation (TCCFC) • Business management training and assistance • Corporate and community partnership grants • Public/Private Partnership Program • Tennessee’s Outstanding Providers Supported through Available Resources (TOPSTAR) • Mentoring and support groups for family providers • On-site technical assistance and training for family providers • Centralized Help for Parents • Web-site listings and information • Toll free help, Child Care Complaint line at1-800-462-8261 • Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) • Reimbursement for cost of meals for eligible children

13. What Does It Cost? • Annually, Tennessee spends approximately $27 million on the Child Care Evaluation System and the support programs necessary to sustain its success. This cost can be broken down as follows:  • $3 million for the assessment program • $1 million for research, data management, and quality assurance • $5 million for child care provider training and technical assistance • $18 million for Star-Quality bonuses

14. Evaluation & Report Card Results from Years 1, 2, and 3

15. Evaluation & Report Card Results from Years 1, 2, and 3 • Component Ratings for Child Care Centers • 5 of 7 Components # of 0 Stars  Years 1–2–3 • # of 3 Stars  Years 1–2–3 • Compliance History & Program Assessment • # of 0 Stars  Years 1–2  2–3 • # of 3 Stars  Years 1–2  2–3; Years 1–3 (PA)

16. Evaluation & Report Card Results from Years 1, 2, and 3

17. Evaluation & Report Card Results from Years 1, 2, and 3 • Component Ratings for Family & Group Homes • 3 of 5 Components • # of 0 Stars  Years 1–2–3 • # of 3 Stars  Years 1–2–3 • Compliance History • # of 0 Stars  Years 1–2–3 • # of 3 Stars  Years 1–2  2–3 • Program Assessment • # of 0 Stars  Years 1–2–3 • # of 3 Stars  Years 1–2  2–3 • Years 1–3

18. Evaluation & Report Card Results from Years 1, 2, and 3 Average Classroom/Home Observation Scores for Years 1, 2, and 3 by Scale

19. Lessons Learned • Everyone needs a shared vision of quality. The report card system and the Environment Rating Scales provide this to help improve quality care for all children. • Making it happen takes a systems approach and real collaboration can be tedious, but very rewarding! Remember to keep ALL partners continuously in the loop. • Perfect the system as much as possible BEFORE introducing it to providers. Expect any “mistakes” to be remembered for a very long time! • Be prepared to provide intensive support and attention—$, training, information, evaluation, reporting, analysis, and process improvements.

20. Lessons Learned—continued • Anticipate resistance—listen to this and learn from it. This can be from the collaborators as well as the child care providers. • Manage expectations of how much change can take place and the pace of this change. There is always a lag between implementation and institutionalization of any process; expect some slippage. • Develop a grievance/complaint process. Use it to improve the process. • Remember to respect the knowledge and skills of collaborators and partners. • Communicate, then communicate, and especially remember to communicate!

21. To Learn More—Contact Deborah Neill—deborah.neill@state.tn.us JoAnna Cheatham— cheathamj@sworps.utk.edu www.state.tn.us/humanserv/childcare.htm www.tnstarquality.org