1. Primary
Prevention
A Key Ingredient
In High Quality Early Care
and Education Settings
Important ways Children’s Trust Funds
Can be engaged in states’ Quality Rating and
Improvement Systems (QRIS)
What is QRIS?
Oklahoma launched the first Quality Rating and Improvement
System (QRIS) in 1998. At that time, the term QRS (Quality Rating
System) was the term used to describe these systems, constructed to
“assess, improve and communicate about the level of quality in early
care and education settings,” according to Anne Mitchell in her
QRIS toolkit, Stair Steps to Quality. Recently, the ‘I’ has been added
to create the term QRIS, the ‘I’ standing for Improvement. The
Getting Started addition of the ‘I’ has helped to shift the focus away from merely
rating early care and education programs – expanding the idea of
quality to include continuous quality improvement. It also helps
redefine the term “quality” to include such things as serving families
in a culturally competent manner, including supports that will allow
The Right Tools Are
families, in partnership with early care and education professionals,
Always Helpful. to facilitate their child’s optimum development and school readiness.
The Strengthening Families During the past ten years,
Protective Factor (SF/PF) seventeen other states have
Framework is a strong support joined Oklahoma in fully
implementing QRIS. All but
Share What You Know. five of the remaining states are
Research by NAEYC revealed drafting standards, piloting or
considering how to implement
that early childhood educators
QRIS. If you are interested in
feel a strong sense of
learning more about how this
responsibility to help prevent
applies to your state, see the
child abuse and neglect, but
reference materials in this
want to know more about
document and contact your
effective strategies. State Child Care Administrator for additional information specific to
your state.

2. Stories from Three ECI Education Professionals
Early Care and States: Children’s Trust Funds
The Alliance’s
Embedding the Strengthening Families Protective Early Childhood Initiative
Factor (SF/PF) Framework Into QRIS (ECI)
Working Together.
One
Goal.
Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect Before it Ever
Occurs by Strengthening Families.
A System of Systems Basic Elements of QRIS
There are five elements that are common to almost
QRIS is a composite system that unifies multiple
all states’ QRIS:
sectors of the early childhood education system.
1. Standards – at least two levels of quality
Some of the sub-systems represented in states’
above state’s basic licensing requirements –
QRIS are:
may align with early learning guidelines.
Child Care Licensing
•
2. Accountability – Monitoring and
Professional Development System
•
assessment of standards
Early Care and Education Providers –
• 3. Support to ECE Practitioners – technical
Centers and Family Child Care
assistance, training and other supports to
help practitioners along the pathway to
Child Care Resource & Referral
•
quality.
Early Childhood Mental Health
•
4. Financing – tiered reimbursements, grants
Departments of Education and other support tied to quality.
•
Higher Education 5. Parent Education – actually, educating
•
parents to be savvy consumers of high quality
All of these must agree upon how the basic
early care and education as they see how it
elements of QRIS should be structured and
will benefit their most precious resource –
implemented. Building the five protective factors
their children.
(parental resilience, social connections, concrete
support in times of need, knowledge of parenting Each of these elements can serve as a “door” by which
and child development and social and emotional Children’s Trust Funds may seek to enter QRIS. By
partnering with early childhood stakeholders to embed the
development of children) is a priority for each of
five protective factors into QRIS, Children’s Trust Funds
these systems.
have the opportunity to systemically strengthen families.
2

3. Children’s Trust Funds Early Care and Education Professionals
Together,
with the right tools. . .
We can
strengthen
families.
“Quality Early Care and
Why should Education programs are the
foundation for a child abuse
Children’s Trust and neglect prevention
agenda.”
Funds become --- Sharon L. Kagan
involved with
QRIS? Strengthening Families Protective Factor Framework
Evidence points to the
1
reality that quality early
care and education programs
strengthen children and
families and ultimately
reduce child abuse and
neglect.
2 Children’s Trust Funds
have valuable
experience implementing
effective community-based
family strengthening
strategies.
The Strengthening
3
Families Protective
Factor Framework is a tool
that Children’s Trust Funds
can offer as a resource to
help unite the multiple
sectors of the early
childhood field necessary to
build and sustain Quality
Rating and Improvement
Systems (QRIS).
3

4. Stories from Three ECI States: The Alliance’s
Embedding the Strengthening Families Protective Early Childhood Initiative
Factor (SF/PF) Framework Into QRIS (ECI)
In September of 2008, three ECI States (Pennsylvania,
Tennessee and Idaho) were chosen to participate in
Strengthening Families Through QRIS -- an intensive effort to
support their state’s QRIS with the Protective Factors*
Pennsylvania
In 2002, Pennsylvania commissioned the Early Care and Education Quality
Study as a part of the Task Force on Early Care and Education. The study
indicated a decline in the quality of early childhood settings, both in center‐
based and family child care homes. Keystone STARS, Pennsylvania’s QRIS,
Collaboration
was launched in 2002 to address the alarming decline in quality. The robust
voluntary system is a continuous quality improvement program available to
Requires
all regulated child care providers in Pennsylvania. Keystone STARS has
steadily increased the quality of centers, group homes and family child care
Concentration
homes. Approximately 1,500 child care providers participated in Keystone
STARS in June 2004, serving 72,000 children. By January 2009 that number
had grown to over 5,000 child care providers serving over 180,000 children
The vibrant network of the
and their families. The ECI team in Pennsylvania has embedded language
from the SF/PF Framework into their Best Practices Guide and Optional ECI Learning Community . . .
Tools. These tools assist programs as they seek to move up to higher levels
represents partnerships between
of quality. Another aspect of the ECI team’s work is to create a tool kit for
CTFs and early childhood
child care providers that will support their use of the SF/PF approach as
stakeholders in 27 states. Each
they reach for higher quality. As this team studied the common elements of
member of the Learning
QRIS, they saw their best opportunity or “door” into their state’s QRIS to be
Community is committed to:
that of “supports to ECE practitioners” (p.2).
♦ Transformational systemic
change to benefit children and
families
Tennessee
♦ Attainment and
Tennessee’s QRIS actually includes two programs: strengthening of the five
• Child Care Evaluation & Report Card Program –
protective factors among all
required for all licensed and approved child care providers
families and communities
• Star Quality Child Care Program – voluntary program
♦ A future where all children
that recognizes child care providers who meet a higher
live in safe, stable and nurturing
standard of quality.
QRIS standards in Tennessee require both of the above programs to families and communities.
participate in a program assessment. This is done through a variety
of standard assessment tools, such as the Environment Rating Scale.
The ECI Theory of Change
Tennessee has identified alignment between the various ERS tools
and the SF/PF Framework. Often child care programs may view the maps out a plan to accomplish
ERS as a list of requirements that they must check off. An awareness the goals stated above. A key
of how these requirements serve to strengthen families is a powerful strategy will be to explore ways
motivation. The ECI team in Tennessee is choosing to embed the
in which states can embed the
SF/PF Framework into their QRIS through the “door” of “standards”
Strengthening Families
and “accountability.”
Protective Factor Framework
into their states’ Quality Rating
and Improvement Systems
(QRIS). See www.ctfalliance.org
*This work is made possible through funding from the Doris Duke Charitable for more information.
Foundation and the A.L. Mailman Foundation
4

5. Children’s Trust Funds Early Care and Education Professionals
3 Idaho
Resources:
To learn more about the National Alliance of
Enthusiastic support from child care providers
Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds’ Early
and a disdain for regulations by state policy
Childhood Initiative work with Strengthening
makers form the backdrop for efforts to
Families Through QRIS, see:
increase quality for early care and education
www.ctfalliance.org/qris
settings in Idaho. Yet, since 2003 a unique
relationship between the Idaho Association for
To download a copy of the Strengthening
the Education of Young Children (Idaho
Families Self-Assessment, Guidebook for Early
AEYC) and the University of Idaho
Childhood Programs and other materials, see:
(IdahoSTARS state training and registry
www.strengtheningfamilies.net
system) was the basis for a collaboration that
eventually included Idaho’s Children’s Trust
The federal American Recovery and
Fund. Although quality efforts initially
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the
focused on voluntary training and education
“Stimulus Package,” offers some opportunities
scholarships, mentoring, and environment
to implement early childhood policy and
assessment, by 2006 a broader focus began to
systems change. To learn more about how this
include the use of the Strengthening Families
could possibly benefit implementation of
approach as an integral component of Idaho’s
QRIS, see: www.buildinitiative.org
Child Care Quality Rating and Improvement
System (QRIS) and accounts for 20% of the
The National Child Care Information Center
quality standards. QRIS is currently in the
has recently updated information about states
design phase and being implemented through
who are fully implementing QRIS, with links
a statewide pilot program in over 20 cities.
to states’ QRIS websites:
The pilot includes 52 centers and family-based
http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/qrs-
programs, serving nearly 3,000 children and
defsystems.html
their families. Idaho has been successful at
incorporating major components of the
Advancing Child Abuse and Neglect Protective
Strengthening Families approach (including
Factors: The Role of the Early Care and
the self-assessment) into the QRIS standards.
Education Infrastructure by Sharon L. Kagan
They have created a curriculum around the
gives a justification of why high quality early
SF/PF Framework that will soon be expanded
childhood programs are a logical foundation
to programs outside of the QRIS pilot,
for a child abuse and neglect prevention
utilizing the “support to ECE practitioners”
agenda:
door into their QRIS. The most recent work
http://www.cssp.org/uploadFiles/Kagan.pdf
being undertaken by the ECI team is to
For further information,
implement the Community Café and reach out
to parents to cultivate their “leadership voice”
contact:
in order to raise an awareness of the
importance of quality child care and create a
greater demand for higher quality and a Martha Reeder, Program Manager
strong statewide voluntary QRIS. Early Childhood Initiative
National Alliance of Children’s Trust and
Prevention Funds
marthareeder@gmail.com
5

6. Strengthening Families
Through QRIS
Children’s Trust and Preventions Funds across the United States have
embraced the Strengthening Families Protective Factor (SF/PF)
Framework as a way to build strong families and communities and to
support the optimal development of the very youngest and most
vulnerable children.
Early Care and Education Systems have recognized the need for
higher quality early care and education settings, and have pursued the
development of Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) as a
way to meet this need.
High quality early care and education settings that reach out to
parents in significant and meaningful partnerships may be one of the
best ways to prevent child abuse and neglect. As QRIS are being built
and revised, the critical opportunity exists to strengthen families and
prevent child abuse before it ever occurs.
Early Care and Education
Primary Prevention: A Key Ingredient in High Quality
National Alliance of
Children’s Trust and
Prevention Funds
5712 30th Avenue NE
Seattle WA 98105
Phone (206) 526-1221
[Recipient]
Fax (206) 526-0220
info@ctfalliance.org
Address Line 1
www.ctfalliance.org
Address Line 2
Address Line 3
Safe and Healthy
Address Line 4
Children
Strong and Stable
Families
Thriving and Prosperous
Communities