Great Start to Quality is a rating system that improves early childhood development services and outcomes for Michigan’s families. Michigan’s new Great Start to Quality program helps early childhood educators—those working in child care, pre-k, family homes and Head Start programs—improve the quality of their programs while helping families find the best early learning settings for their children.

The rating system will be tied to Michigan’s quality standards for early learning programs, awarding quality stars from one to five, with five being the highest quality. Once implemented, parents throughout Michigan will have an honest, consistent assessment of program quality—consumer information they currently lack. Early learning providers also gain the benefits of a consistent set of standards on which to assess and improve their programs as well as to objectively distinguish the quality of their services for consumers. Competition and investment based on standards and high quality is a winning proposition for Michigan’s youngest children, assuring them access to high quality early childhood development, which has proven to be the foundation for success in school, career and life.

The Early Childhood Investment Corporation is developing and implementing Great Start to Quality on behalf of the Michigan Department of Education Office of Great Start, which oversees public early learning programs. The Childcare and Development fund provides the funding from the Office of Great Start within the Department of education and supports the implementation of Great Start to Quality.

How it works: Participation in Great Start to Quality begins with licensure. Movement beyond Level One is voluntary and starts with online self-assessment against Michigan’s quality early learning standards and then validation of the self-assessment. After that, the program educator is provided with guided steps to make quality improvements, including support from a quality improvement consultant. As participants move up levels, they meet higher standards and a higher level of quality. While state resources are limited and necessitate that the program be voluntary, there is evidence from other states that a publicly visible rating system raises demand for quality and encourages early learning educators to participate in the system.   

Other components of Great Start to Quality include:

GREAT START TO QUALITY RESOURCE CENTERS implement Great Start to Quality, Michigan’s state-of-the art, tiered quality rating and improvement system.  Great Start to Quality has been designed to increase the quality of early learning and care provided in all licensed early learning and development programs and includes unlicensed, subsidized providers within the quality improvement portion of the system.  Great Start to Quality Resource Centers implement Great Start to Quality by providing access to materials and resources for early learning and development programs, early childhood educators and families statewide; providing professional development and training opportunities, consultation and coaching.  These centers will empower parents to become savvy consumers who choose high quality for their children.  They will provide accountability so that donors, legislators and taxpayers feel confident investing in quality and will give providers a roadmap for quality improvement.

Great Start CONNECT is Michigan’s online Early Learning Resource and houses the licensed early learning and development program child care provider search database, the workforce professional development registry, connections to resources across the state, and consumer education information about quality child care and child development.    

 

Teacher Education and Compensation Helps, or T.E.A.C.H ®:  This scholarship and financial assistance program offers supports for early childhood educators child care and early learning providers to continue their higher education through tuition scholarships and financial supports.

History

In Michigan, 64% of children under the age of 6 are in the care of someone other than a family member on a regular basis. Research clearly shows that it is the quality of this early learning and care that matters most. The typical child care and/or early learning setting in Michigan is licensed but not accredited (less than 4% of center-based programs are accredited), so there is currently no widespread objective basis by which to judge the quality of programs. Without this information there is no way to determine where quality gaps exist, effectively target funding and supports to address those gaps, establish incentives for programs to improve, and empower parents to make informed choices about their children’s early learning and care.

The Quality Rating and Improvement System Design Project

To improve the quality of early learning and care programs in Michigan, the Early Childhood Investment Corporation and the Great Start Early Learning Advisory Council (GS-ELAC) have worked with the Build Initiative to secure funding to complete a design for a QRIS in Michigan.

A QRIS Design Project Management Committee has been formed to prepare recommendations by Thanksgiving for a QRIS that will provide:

• A quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) for licensed centers and group homes, registered family homes, including Great Start Readiness Programs and Head Start Programs
• Easy access to information for families about the quality of early learning and care programs and the relationship between high quality programs and school readiness
• A quality development continuum (QDC) for enrolled, subsidized but unlicensed, child care providers (aide and relative providers)
• Data that demonstrate the impact of the QRIS and the QDC on helping to prepare children for school
• Quality improvement supports for early learning and care programs

Our Vision
Implementing a QRIS will help Michigan take another essential step on the road to assuring that all children in Michigan arrive at kindergarten safe, healthy, eager and prepared for school success. A QRIS will help to assure that children are ready for kindergarten, providers have a clear path to improve quality, and families have information to make the best decisions for their child’s early learning and care.

Our Work
In March of 2010, the Great Start Early Learning Advisory Council (GS-ELAC) agreed that a Committee should be formed to oversee the development of a design for a quality development, rating and improvement system to address program quality, across all child care and early learning settings. Click on the link below to read the “Recommendations for Michigan’s Quality Assurance System for Child Care and Early Education.” The document was adopted by the GS-ELAC at its November 17th meeting.

July 2011

MI-QRIS Field Test Implementation Timeline
QRIS Field Test Design Committee Notes July 21, 2011

May 2011

QRIS/QDC Field Test Design Committee Recommendations Field Update

Great Start Quality Rating and Improvement System ield Test Design Committee Scope of Work

QRIS Field Test Design Committee 

Nov. 2010)
Recommendations for Michigan’s Quality Assurance System for Child Care and Early Education
QRIS recommendation appendices

(Oct. 2010)
Quality Development Continuum

Download QRIS Design Project Overview (PDF)
(General)

Visit the QRIS National Learning Network
(General)

Share feedback on the QRIS planning feedback page
(General)