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DEL News
November 5, 2008
DEL seeks child care providers to help test project
OLYMPIA – The Department of Early Learning (DEL) invites Washington child care providers who are interested in improving the quality of care they offer families to apply now for the field test year of the state’s voluntary quality rating and improvement system.
DEL is field testing the system, called Seeds to Success, in five communities around the state. Family home and child care center providers in those five communities who are licensed by the state or certified by a Tribal Nation are eligible to apply. Providers with a revoked or suspended license, or who serve only school-age children (ages 5 through 12) may not apply.
Twenty-five providers will be selected in each of the five communities, which are: Clark County, Kitsap County, Spokane County, and the neighborhoods of East Yakima and White Center as defined by Thrive by Five Washington.
A short application is available in English and Spanish on DEL’s Web site at www.del.wa.gov. Providers who are unable to complete the application online can contact their community coordinator for help (contact information is listed below). Providers must submit their application by December 1.
Providers chosen to participate will work with a coach to create a plan for improvements to the quality of their programs. Because licensed providers already must follow strong state safety and health rules, Seeds to Success focuses on improvements above and beyond health and safety, in such areas as learning environments, adult-to-child interaction and parent involvement. Financial bonuses are tied to those improvements.
An independent review team will assess participating providers’ programs and submit a report and recommended rating to DEL, which will assign a rating of one to five apple seeds. During this field test year, those ratings will not be made public, so that DEL and the five communities can test and adjust the system.
At least 17 states around the nation have implemented quality rating and improvement systems, and many more are designing or field testing a system. The 2007 Legislature earmarked $4.75 million for DEL to design and field test a quality rating and improvement system. Research shows that high-quality child care environments help ensure children are safe, healthy and prepared to succeed in school.
The field test year runs through June 30, 2009. A status report on Seeds to Success is due from DEL to the Legislature in December.
For more information about Seeds to Success, visit www.del.wa.gov/seeds.
Contact information for the five communities:
White Center
Caroline Shelton
Child Care Resources of King County
1225 S. Weller, Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98144
Phone number: 206.329.1011, extension 209
E-mail address: shelton@childcare.org
East Yakima
Cynthia Juarez
Ready by Five\Educational Service District 105
501 W. Lincoln Ave., Suite C
Yakima, WA 98902
Phone number: 509.454.2488
E-mail address: cynthiaj@readybyfive.org
Spokane County
Myah Houghten
Washington State University Spokane
412 E. Spokane Falls Blvd.
Spokane, WA 99202
Phone number: 509.358.7606
E-mail address: houghten@wsu.edu
Clark County
Jodi Wall
Educational Service District 112
2500 N.E. 65th Ave.
Vancouver, WA 98661
Phone number: 360.750.7500, extension 156
E-mail address: jodi.wall@esd112.org
Kitsap County
Diane Johnson
Olympic Educational Service District 114
105 National Ave North
Bremerton WA, 98312
Phone number: 360.782.5089
E-mail address: djohnson@oesd.wednet.org
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The Washington State Department of Early Learning is a Governor’s Cabinet-level state agency created in 2006 to bring heightened visibility and focus to early learning and help all Washington children reach their full potential. DEL oversees the state-funded comprehensive preschool program, child care licensing, and other initiatives and programs to support parents as children’s first and most important teachers. For more information, visit the DEL Web site at www.del.wa.gov.
For more information:
DEL Communications Manager Amy Blondin
360.725.4919 (office)
360.878.0628 (cell)
amy.blondin@del.wa.gov