WCCF has a new report on YoungStar, Wisconsin’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for child care.
The brief describes the remarkable progress made in the implementation of YoungStar statewide, including information on ratings statewide and by region, efforts to help programs improve, and considerations and challenges for the future. Some key findings include:
• 72% of Wisconsin Shares children are in programs with 3- to 5-Star ratings.
• 31,625 children were in 3- to 5-Star programs in July 2014.
• A total of 4257 child care programs have been rated on a five-star scale as of July 2014. Wisconsin is 4th in the nation in the number of child care centers and homes rated by a QRIS.
• 56% of programs received a 2-Star rating.
• The Northern and Western regions have the highest percentage of children in 2-Star programs. The Southeastern (Kenosha/Racine) and Northeastern regions have the highest percentage of children in 3- to 5-Star programs.
• The average number of children served by the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program has dropped by 13,259 over the past six years. This drop is significant because when fewer children are served by Shares, fewer children benefit from YoungStar’s quality improvement program.
To access an electronic version of this YoungStar report and to see the range of early care and education publications put out by WCCF, go to: https://kidsforward.org/assets/YoungStar-report-5.pdf or
https://kidsforward.org/assets/YoungStar-July-2014-Executive-Summary.pdf