The Washington Department of Early Learning is considering adoption of a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) which would offer financial incentives to private licensed child care providers who agree to strengthen the way they care for young children. The professional staff of a QRIS program first assesses child care facilities within a state and assigns them a quality rating, generally using a scale of one to five stars. More stars reflect a facility’s higher child care quality. Once an assessment is complete, the typical QRIS program uses financial incentives, such as higher subsidy payments, staff training grants or educational scholarships, to encourage child care owners to raise the star rating of their facilities.

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