The QCC County Program Profile provides county data from the Common Data File (CDF) and the Annual Progress Report (APR). For counties that are a part of a consortium, the QCC County Program Profile provides a combined view of the CDF and APR. Both qualitative and quantitative data are presented to provide a local view of early learning and care climate.

Quality Child Care Matters, Contra Costa County’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), supports and incentivizes child care providers to offer the best care possible. First 5 Contra Costa and the Contra Costa County Office of Education implement the program.

Participating early learning sites are rated on their level of quality (as state funding allows) and receive training, one-on-one coaching, specializatin track training, financial incentives, and support to raise their quality. Participants also benefit from programs that First 5 Contra Costa funds at the county’s three community colleges.

The Contra Costa County Office of Education, funded by the Contra Costa Local Planning and Advisory Council for Early Care and Education (LPC), supports the system through:

• child development permit processing
• professional growth advising
• technical assistance and consultation for directors of public centers
• reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs for teachers at participating state preschool programs for tuition fees, professional development registration costs, books and educational material costs related to early childhood education, and/or child development courses

Since 2014, hundreds of sites have been rated and/or received support to improve quality. 165 child care sites are currently enrolled in QM.

• First 5 Contra Costa Prop 10 (Tobacco Tax)
• IMPACT First 5 California
• CSPP Block Grant
• QCC Block Grant
• QCC Workforce Pathways Grant
  

• Contra Costa County Office of Education
• First 5 Contra Costa
• CocoKids

Outreach and recruitment for upcoming Quality Matters programs take place between May and August; we prioritize private centers and family child care homes who serve low-income families and children. We partner with our resource and referral agency (CocoKids) to outreach and recruit new sites, and to provide information sessions to interested participants. Our coaching team plays a key role in this process as well. Once sites express interest to participate in Quality Matters, they receive an application packet. When the application process is completed, sites are assigned a quality improvement coach, navigator, or model.

Coaching dosage for QRIS sites is determined by site tiers, program type, and individual needs. Sites that are new to Quality Improvement or would benefit most from a peer learning environment are placed into a facilitated learning gorup. Sites that could benefit most from 1:1 coaching are assigned to a Quality Improvement coach and receive multiple coaching touchpoints each month. Sites demonstrating high quality teaching practices are assigned to another cohort, which is offered Specialization tracks of deep-dive PD offerings, such as Anti-Bias practices, inclusion of children with special needs, and PITC.

Quality Improvement System (QIS) sites will be assigned a Quality Improvement Navigator (QIN) and are required to participate in communities of practice (CoPs). The QIN will provide technical assistance to sites to support them on the development of the site’s QIP, provide professional development training resources, and provide linkages to county-wide general resources. The goal for QIS sites is to become a QRIS within one year of participation in Quality Matters. First 5 Contra Costa, Contra Costa County Office of Education, and CocoKids collaborate to offer a wide array of professional development opportunities for Quality Matters providers.

Finance incentives to Quality Matters providers are calculated based on their tier rating and program type. In Contra Costa, we leverage funds to ensure that we implement an equitable QRIS for state-funded, public sector, and Title 22 programs. CSPP sites receive stipends base don ratings level and number of CSPP classrooms. All other program types receive a flat rate stipend of $800 to participate in QM progrmaming. Quality Matters participants have priority in participating in our local Professional Development Program (PDP). The goal of the program is to incentivize workforce degree attainment.

An Owner of a Large Family Child Care Home shared: If I had to summarize what has been the most significant change, I would say the environment and curriculum are much more appropriate to the children’s specific developmental needs. It has made me more aware of developmentally appropriate practices and setup to meet all their needs. The program has helped the children we teach by allowing us to have an environment that allows them to experience, explore, and create while having fun and learning at the same time. It has helped my professional development because even though I have taken many ECHD classes it is very different to have an actual coach come and personalize all the things you learn in a classroom and help you put them into practice in your school. I would tell new potential families that QRIS is a very difficult program to participate in the first time around; however, it is totally worth it in the long run. It has great marketing potential, in that families love to hear that you participated in a voluntary training from the state because you want to offer better care.

Learn more from the videos below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECNYcX_6joY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP3_PMn1f1w