QUALITY ASSURED
The Early Care & Learning Council, New York’s child care resource network has achieved national quality assurance! The Council recently completed a validation visit, the culmination of a two year review process. Yesterday, the Council was notified by Child Care Aware of America (formerly the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies) that they are Quality Assured, becoming the third state network in the country to do so.
The Child Care Aware of America Quality Assurance program offers CCR&Rs and State Networks the opportunity to demonstrate that they understand Best Practices standards. The Best Practices for CCR&Rs and for State Networks are research-based and were developed in consultation with the field. The standards address all aspects of service delivery and agency functions. Child Care Aware of America Quality Assurance is a voluntary, national certification program for the field of Child Care Resource and Referral, including local CCR&Rs and State Networks. The process for Quality Assurance guides CCR&Rs and State Networks toward continuous quality assurance and excellence in service delivery. New York State’s local CCR&Rs are embarking on the process of Quality Assurance as well. Three have already achieved the status; the Child Care Councils of Nassau, Suffolk and Steuben.
The Early Care & Learning Council began the process two years ago. Throughout that time the Council demonstrated proficiency in nine elements; services for local CCR&Rs, stakeholder relationships, data analysis and reporting, public policy, child care and early education systems building, public awareness, strengthening and supporting CCR&R through direct services, administration and governance.
Marsha Basloe, Early Care & Learning Council Executive Director: “I started in the early stages of this process. I was immediately amazed at the amount of work that was involved but soon saw the fruits of the labor. With each step our processes improved. I am so proud of the staff and board at the Early Care & Learning Council. We are now the largest Quality Assured state network in the country. I look forward to continuing this level of excellence to ultimately affect the lives of over 2 million children.”
Ollie Smith, Interim Executive Director of Child Care Aware of America: “As a Quality Assured organization, the Early Care & Learning Council has established itself as a leader in the nation. The achievement of Quality Assurance proves Early Care & Learning is a model state network providing outstanding services to local CCR&R agencies, families, child care providers and policymakers in New York.”
The Early Care & Learning Council and its 37 CCR&R members provide a service to New York State like no other. Providing professional development, connecting families to child care, advising the business community and informing policy makers are just a few of the activities that this network is engaged in on a daily basis. As the state network, the Early Care & Learning Council is not only a leader in the state, but now an example for 47 other states to achieve this level of quality in serving their populations.
