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Many long-time supporters of a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) got a boost when Governor Jim Doyle announced his proposal for a $10 million investment at a press conference January 22 in Milwaukee. Surrounded by preschool children from Malaika Early Learning Center, the Governor unveiled his QRIS proposal, called YoungStar, aimed at improving the overall quality of child care in Wisconsin. The effort is aimed particularly at improving early learning and development for children enrolled in Wisconsin Shares, the state’s nearly $400 million child care subsidy program. The program serves about 60,000 children from low-income working families monthly. Wisconsin Shares has grown rapidly since it was launched as part of Wisconsin’s welfare reform efforts, with strong bipartisan support and a strong reputation nationally. However, the program has been marred by revelations of fraud over the last year. Addressing fraud in Wisconsin Shares took up considerable legislative attention in the last budget. While details of the Governor’s proposal have not yet been made public, WCCF has taken a strong stand in favor of implementing a robust QRIS. In a recent letter to members of the Joint Finance Committee, WCCF Executive Director Ken Taylor supported QRIS. Here is the case he made on behalf of WCCF: “We know how important the first five years are in children’s development. We know that well over 160,000 children are served in regulated child care settings in Wisconsin, and that 60,000 of those children are funded through the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program. And yet, besides basic regulation, which focuses primarily on health and safety, there is not a coherent system to ensure that children are in settings that help them grow, develop and learn. Quality matters. The quality of care kids receive has a significant and proven impact on their development and school-readiness. A solid QRIS would protect our investment. Wisconsin Shares represents a major investment of state resources, so we must watch that investment carefully. Our investment will yield much better returns—in terms of both cost and child outcomes—if we work to improve and monitor the quality of care. It would improve accountability. A QRIS will build much-needed accountability and oversight into Wisconsin Shares while also improving quality through technical assistance, professional development and incentives for improving programming. It would incentivize quality. By promoting best practices, a QRIS will help ensure that our scarce child care dollars are spent WISELY rather than rewarding substandard programs, which may be doing more harm than good. It would empower parents. Parents need and deserve the best information possible about the settings in which they place their children. They need to know that when they go to work their kids are in good hands. QRIS works. We know that at least 19 states already have statewide QRISs for child care, and evaluations are encouraging, for example:
The time is now to provide a system for quality improvement, helping programs improve and children thrive.” WCCF is working with the 14-member Early Learning Coalition and with business and civic leaders to support QRIS. If you would like to be kept informed about QRIS and other early care and education issues, sign up for our Early Learning Matters newsletter, and other newsletters and action alerts, at: http://capwiz.com/wccf/mlm/verify/. To read the Governor’s press release on QRIS, go to: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?locid=19&prid=4901. To see Milwaukee Journal Sentinel coverage, including a quote from WCCF, go to:
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