Smart Start strategies cited that improved child care quality.

Smart Start strategies cited that improved child care quality - иашм«ш| - FPG Child Development Institute Summary of report Twelve Smart Start partnerships that have made significant strides in improving child care quality are profiled in this study. The puipose was to understand how partnerships are accomplishing quality improvement. Researchers interviewed 37 key participants who answered several questions about how their community had approached quality improvement. Important factors identified were leadership, support of the workforce, customized ТА, and collaboration with community partners. These factors are discussed in the report with examples of how they were implemented. Partnerships designed different approaches to meet unique community strengths and needs. No single strategy can ensure success. A combination of efforts is necessary and strategies must change over time. The 12 partnerships examined here began their efforts from a range of stalling points and in a variety of urban and rural communities, illustrating that quality improvement can indeed be accomplished. Duration of participation in Smart Start varied widely across the partner¬ ships with some beginning in 1993 and some as recently as 1998. This suggests that significant quality improvement can occur within a few years, although more time would likely yield even greater gains. Foundations and strategies to improve quality Research provides little guidance as to what types of technical assistance strategies can best improve child care quality, yet several local Smart Start partnerships in NC have made remarkable progress in increasing the level of child care quality in their communities. Key participants were interviewed in 12 of these partnerships to find out their keys to success. No single strategy stood out as essential to success, but several were mentioned repeatedly. The report documents these factors with examples and quotes from participants. A combination of the following strategies seems essential to quality improvement: 1 . Ensure strong leadership through the partnership board and local providers; stay focused on quality and help develop a common definition of quality within the community. 2. Plan strategically to develop effective programs, using a multi-faceted approach based on research evidence. 3. Support education and professional development of the child care workforce and work with community colleges and universities to make it logistically and financially possible for teachers to obtain more education. 4. Provide financial rewards for improved quality and higher education through scholarship and bonus programs. 5. Provide on-site, customized technical assistance to providers based on a needs assessment; develop supportive relationships with providers and monitor progress closely. 6. Collaborate with a wide array of community partners who can each contribute to the overall quality improvement effort from a unique base of knowledge, skills and resources. In the full report, each of the above strategies is broken down into as many as 10 specific action steps with extensive examples and quotes from participants to illustrate the specific approaches these partnerships have taken. A main conclusion of the study is that methods to improve the quality of care must be individualized at the provider level and at the county level. No silver bullet exists. Quality enhancement requires clearly focused goals and multiple strategies that are built as a system of linked services. Quality has improved significantly in NC since the beginning of Smart Start and this report documents some of the reasons why. This Snapshot Ls based on “Demonstrating Effective Child Care Quality Improvement,” a report by the Smart Start Evaluation Team at the FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The authors are Karen Taylor and Donna Bryant. The full report is on the web at <http://www.fpg.unc.edu/smartstart/>. Printed reports are $5 each and for more information, call Karen Taylor at 919-966-2559.