Implementing a quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) is an increasingly popular strategy to expand the access of families, especially the most vulnerable, to high-quality child care programs. Currently there are 22 statewide QRIS and several states have QRIS implemented at the county level. Recently QRIS was a major component of the Race-to-the-Top Early Learning Challenge competition. It is likely to continue to be the framework on which policymakers build an integrated system of early learning and development, inclusive of child care, Head Start, and state-funded pre-K programs. The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) and the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), recently conducted a study to explore the perspective of center directors on both the opportunities and the challenges faced by “on-the-ground” participants in QRIS. … Download this resource to read the rest of the research.
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