January 29, 2008

Purdue evaluating new program to improve Indiana childcare

Jim Elicker, associate professor and director of early childhood programs in Child Development and Family Studies at Purdue, will evaluate the system called Paths to Quality, which assigns one of four levels of child care to participating providers.

"This system is intended to do for child care providers what a four-star rating can do for a hotel," Elicker said. "It lets consumers know more about the qualifications and track record of providers before they take their children to one. Purdue's role is to evaluate Paths to Quality as an outside observer and determine if it is really improving child care quality."

His work is funded through a four-year, $600,000 federally-funded contract administered by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.

Elicker said 15 states have similar rating systems for child care. Indiana introduced the system on a pilot basis in the Evansville and Fort Wayne areas. Four-hundred providers from those areas already are making the transition from the pilot program to the new statewide program.

 "As part of the evaluation, we'll be determining if Paths to Quality does improve the level of child care in Indiana. We'll be observing randomly-selected providers and doing assessments of children, evaluating cognitive skills and social skills," Elicker said.

The assessments will be used to determine if Paths to Quality improves child care quality and professionalism.

The program promotes continuous improvement for child care providers by offering cash incentives and training, and technical assistance. It establishes four levels of care.

The first - Level 1 - recognizes a center for meeting basic health and safety requirements and having a license in good standing with the Family and Social Services Administration and the Division of Family Resources. Staff members receive orientation within 30 days of their hiring. Basic health and safety policies and procedures are in place in qualifying facilities.

Level 2 facilities are required to have a "learning environment" that provides for a child's language and literacy skill development. Activities and materials have to reflect the age, interests and abilities of all children. Staff and caregiver professional development is promoted, and the provider must have a written philosophy and goals for children. Families also must be provided program information.

Level 3 will offer a planned curriculum. Learning environments for the children must be developmentally and culturally appropriate and meet any special needs a child has. Parents and staff will evaluate the program annually. The director and staff must have demonstrated professional growth. Level 3 status will  be awarded only to providers that have been in operation for at least one year or have a lead caregiver with at least a year of experience in a licensed or Bureau of Child Care nationally recognized setting.

Level 4 providers must be accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the National Association of Family Child Care or other state-approved organizations.

Paths to Quality is voluntary and free. Providers that join must agree to a verification visit as part of an assessment before they are placed in one of the four levels. Yearly reverification visits will determine if providers have maintained their current level or achieved a higher level.

Goals are designed to improve the transition children make from preschool daycare to kindergarten. By raising professionalism, it also encourages a more stable child care work force. As a result, parents with greater information on provider quality may seek a higher level of child care.

The Paths to Quality concept was created in the 1990s to identify and support high-quality early care and education. It was first implemented in northeast Indiana in 1996. In 2000, Allen County's Early Childhood Alliance, Child Care Resource and Referral Agency, implemented Paths to Quality. Five surrounding counties adopted the program the next year. Eleven counties in southern Indiana implemented the program in 2005.

Southwest Indiana providers increased participation in Paths to Quality over a three-year period that ended last year. Ninety-three percent of licensed centers, 75 percent of all registered day-care ministries, and 67 percent of all part-time programs were enrolled. About one-third of family child care homes participated. Providers participating in Paths to Quality were studied by Elicker from 2005 to 2007. Sixty-four percent of providers were at Level 1 in 2005. Fifty-one percent of providers were classified in levels 2,  3 or 4 last year.

Once providers enroll, staff members are eligible for training, ongoing mentoring and cash incentives to attain higher levels.

A public educational campaign about Paths to Quality will be part of the system launch.

Writer: Dave Kitchell, (765) 496-9711, dkitchell@purdue.edu

Source: James Elicker, (765) 494-2938, elickerj@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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