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.

Raising Quality Together (RQT), Sacramento County’s voluntary Quality Counts California (QCC)/Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), serves programs in Sacramento County and is administered by the Sacramento County Office of Education (http://www.sacramentocountyearlylearning.org). Raising Quality Together, implemented by the Sacramento County Office of Education, has been supporting participating sites to improve quality through professional learning, coaching, mentoring, rating, assessment, and other supports since 2012. Sacramento County’s QCC rating system has five point levels and measures the seven elements of program quality included in the Quality Continuum Framework. The QRIS Rating Matrix is based on three core areas:

1. Child Development and School Readiness

2. Teachers and Teaching

3. Program and Environment Participating sites who choose to be rated and earn a Tier 4 or 5 rating receive a Block Grant annually.

Sites who earn a lower tier rating are eligible for an annual monetary incentive. RQT participants who choose to not be rated have access to numerous professional learning opportunities at no cost and individualized technical assistance based on a Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) they complete with an RQT mentor annually. Administrators and family child care owners also have access to the Early Learning Administrators Leadership Academy (ELALA), which is a cohort held over the course of several months, strengthening leadership, management, and relationship-building skills. Annually, there is an event held for program staff to have their transcripts reviewed as they pursue degree completion.

• QRIS CSPP
• QRIS I/T
• CMIG IMPACT

• Child Action, Inc.
• First 5 Sacramento
• Los Rios Community College District
• California State University, Sacramento
• SETA Head Start

Raising Quality Together (RQT) provides information on our website, presents information at appropriate gatherings and meetings, and recruits individually with phone calls and in-person or virtual visits. Individual recruitment takes place from August to September, and website and outreach takes place throughout the year. Interest letters are submitted by returning and new sites, and orientations are held to provide information on what RQT is about. Currently, we accept all interested sites, with priority given to sites that are in Local Planning Council–identified zip codes and providers serving low-income, dual language learner, and special needs children. California State Preschool Program (CSPP) sites are also given priority for participation in QRIS. When we have a waitlist, the information submitted by the interested programs are evaluated by the management team, and sites are invited to participate based on where they fall in the required priority areas.

RQT staff provides coaching/mentoring and guidance and support based on identified goals for improving quality in participating programs, including Quality Improvement Plan development, implementation, and monitoring. A professional learning or college coursework plan is developed utilizing data such as ERS or CLASS assessments or validation results for rated sites, or through a self-assessment for non-rated sites.

Currently, Raising Quality Together (RQT) offers Block Grants to all sites with a Tier 4 or 5 rating and cash incentives to sites that rate a Tier 3 annually. Raising Quality Together (RQT) administers the Workforce Development Pathways Grant and subcontracts with Child Action, Inc., the local resource and referral agency, to distribute these stipends. Eligible early learning and care providers submit a notification of interest and, if eligible, are able to receive stipends for approved professional learning, reimbursement, and/or college coursework.

A Center Director shared: The program at the Playschool and I both very much appreciate all the mentoring, classes, and trainings RQT has provided. We can honestly say that the RQT program has helped enable us to reach the high quality that we desire at the program at the Playschool and we cannot thank the staff enough for all their hard work and dedication to this field. Thank you!