WSLN 2008 Idaho Notes 500 members in Idaho 5 local affiliates Population in Idaho: 1,429,096 Persons per square mile: 15.6 Land Area: 83,557 square miles Rivers, mountains and farmland dominate the state’s landscape; Manufacturing, Agriculture and Tourism are the key industries

IdahoSTARS Provider Eligibility for Idaho Child Care Program (ICCP) child care subsidy for low income parents Idaho State Training and Registry System professional development for child care and preschool teachers includes –Child Care Registry –Career Pathway –Scholarships – academic, mentoring, training, environment assessment –Incentives – for progress on career pathway –Approved Trainers and Training –7 Regional Child Care Resource offices - Parent Referrals for child care –Quality Child Care Rating Scale

Voluntary Improvement IdahoSTARS Quality Child Care Rating System 2008 Two stars pts One star pts Four stars pts Three stars pts

Quality is measured through six QUALITY STANDARDS Points are earned on a 40 point scale Inclusion IdahoSTARS QCCRS Environment Strengthening Families Professional Development Group size Staff-to-child ratio

Our goals Inform Parent Choice  Parents know what quality care is and are encouraged to request it  Measure quality Improve the quality of child care  Increase quality  More programs are prepared to serve children with special needs  Child care providers see themselves as professionals and increase their training and education Implement Strengthening Families through Early Care and Education  Reduce incidents of child abuse and neglect by supporting family strengths

Strengthening Families “For our center the Strengthening Families training has helped us see our relationship and responsibility to the children, families and the community we serve. We are making a difference..” “We are learning how to form social connections and expand our knowledge of parenting and child development. We hope to offer our parents more information on the social and emotional needs of children by having a parent resource center. We are also learning to network with outside organizations to fill the gaps we are not able to fill. “Overall, this association with IdahoSTARS and the Strengthening Families component have helped us be one of the best childcare centers in Idaho.”

This is Important!  We work with communities, agencies and legislators to build support for a tiered reimbursement system tied to the QCCRS, for state daycare licensing, for quality early childhood care and education for every Idaho child.  Idaho has no statewide child care licensing. The voluntary Quality Child Care Rating System is the only formal indicator parents can use in choosing a center or family provider.  Embedding the Strengthening Families training into the QCCRS weaves child abuse prevention into the fabric of child care delivery.