Family Child Care Business Toolkit – Quality Improvement

Table of Contents

Building Access to Child Care

Quality Improvement

Child Development Council Quality Improvement Services

Technical Assistance

We are here to answer your questions, by phone, e-mail, or on-site (yours and ours!). Questions run the gamut from regulations to program development, so don’t be shy about asking! Call us at 607-273-0259 or email info@childdevelopmentcouncil.org.

Intensive Technical Assistance

Provided in hourly units this free service is optimal for making big changes to your education or program, yet individualized to your needs. ITA Application

Infant-Toddler Staff Training

CONTENT

Support for Parents of Infants and Toddlers

monthly book group

weekly support zoom call-in

warm line

Coaching

Coaching is an interactive process based on a collaborative relationship between the coach and the child care professional, coaching is a 1:1 process. The Council’s certified coach can provide coaching for child care staff and administrators of programs serving infants and toddlers in Cortland and Tompkins County as a professional development opportunity. 

Coaching is intentionally designed to promote sustainable growth in attitudes, skills and knowledge to effectively implement best practices for the optimal development of young children and their families. Through observation, discussion, and reflection the coach promotes the other person’s ability to grow toward identified goals. EC Pyramid coaches will work in their districts/programs with administrators, teachers, staff, family members and caregivers to support the implementation of Pyramid model practices in early education, group care and/or home settings.

Retention Grants

We have a limited number of quality improvement grants available for family and group family child care providers. The grants are available for up to $500 towards quality improvement including professional development, building and grounds, safety requirements and in educational materials that relate to curriculum development.

Eva Boman Cochran Professional Development Scholarships

Resources in this fund vary. Contact us for more information. VERIFY THIS IS STILL AVAILABLE

Early Childhood Credentials

NYS Council on Children and Families – Earlychildhood.org

The NYS Council on Children and Families established the following credentials to improve the competencies contain information on programs that have been established to improve the competencies of people working with children and their families including:

• Infant and Toddler Care and Education Credential
• Children’s Program Administrator Credential
• NYS Early Learning Trainer Credential
• Family Child Care Credential
• Family Development Credential
• School-age Child Care Credential

New York State Quality Improvement Services and Initiatives

Quality Stars NY 

Quality Stars NY (QSNY) is a voluntary quality rating system for early care and education programs. It is currently being piloted in 12 communities across the state. For more information, visit the Quality Stars NY website.

Accreditation of Early Childhood Programs

Accreditation is a voluntary process through which licensed and approved programs can demonstrate they meet specified standards. Accreditation standards often exceed minimum licensing requirements and reflect leading practices of quality children’s programs. The process of achieving and maintaining accreditation is in itself a process of quality improvement, examining all aspects of the program and administration. 

Child care centers, school-aged child care and home-based programs are accredited by different professional organizations.

Center Accreditation

Centers work to achieve accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). NAEYC Accreditation began in 1985 with the goal of providing an accrediting system that would raise the level of early childhood programs. Today, over 6,500 programs are NAEYC Accredited. For more information about accreditation and other resources available through the NAEYC, visit them online at http://naeyc.org.

Family Child Care Accreditation

The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) administers the only national accreditation system designed specifically for family child care providers.

Learn more about steps to NAFCC accreditation at https://www.nafcc.org.

School Age Child Care (SACC) Accreditation

http://www.afterschoolworksny.org/