Kern
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Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies
Community Connection for Child Care
Contact your local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency using the website information here to access the child care search tool or call 1-800-KIDS-793 (1-800-543-7793) for more information and support.
County Program Profile: Kern
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.
Time Period: 2019–2020
QRIS :: Kern Early Stars
Kern County’s voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement System, Kern Early Stars, serves state-funded child development centers, private child development centers, and family child care providers in Kern County and is administered by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. Since July 2015, more than 183 sites have been rated or received support to improve quality. Kern Early Stars has three levels of participation and measures several elements of program quality including:
- Child Development and School Readiness
- Teachers and Teaching
- Program and Environment
County Contact Information
Funding Streams
- CSPP
- QCC
- IMPACT
Partner Agencies
- Community Connection for Child Care/Resource & Referral Community Care Licensing
- CPIN
- PITC
- Local School Districts – Arvin School District
- Bakersfield City School District
- Delano Union Elementary School District
- Edison School District
- Greenfield School District
- Panama Buena Vista School District
- Community Action Partnership of Kern First 5 Kern Bakersfield Homeless Center Kern County Superintendent of Schools – Early Childhood Education Bakersfield College
- Taft College
- Bakersfield Adult School
- California State University
- Bakersfield Children’s Center
Process to Outreach/Onboard Programs and Providers
Kern Early Stars, in partnership with Consortium members, will identify potential participants and provide information on the benefits of participation. A designated Kern Early Stars staff member will schedule an initial meeting with potential participants to discuss the benefits, opportunities, and requirements of participation. Kern Early Stars staff will actively engage sites in determining the training, coaching, and technical assistance needed to help them in the development of a quality improvement plan.
Quality Improvement Program Support Strategies
Kern Early Stars (KES) has implemented a two-year “onboarding” option, in which the participant attends four or five training sessions within a one-year time span. The trainings cover the components of each of the elements of the Rating Matrix. The site is assigned a coach, who works directly with the participants. It has been found that this process better prepares participants for the continuous improvement journey and the rating process.
Local Approach to Offering Financial Incentives and Stipends
The local approach to offering financial incentives and stipends includes a stipend based on the tier rating. Other incentives include personalized coaching, numerous community resources and linkages, and a variety of high-quality training opportunities.