How to choose the best child care setting?
Once you know what kind of program you are looking for, you should consider some elements of quality. QCCA helps you navigate this maze! Elements of quality programs include:
-Loving and nurturing relationships between adults and children
-Teachers, directors, family child care providers are trained in child development
-A safe and healthy environment
-Learning activities that support each child’s interests, growth, and needs
-Low teacher-child ratio
-Families have relationship with the program/staff
Other Resources to Help Understand Quality
The California Department of Education, Early Learning and Support Division, offers a free resource guide, Care About Quality: Your Guide to Child Care with information on quality child care and things to consider when choosing quality child care.
California’s Department of Social Services Child Care Licensing Program provides additional health and safety information on licensed child care centers and family child care homes throughout California.
The California Child Care Resource & Referral Network offers free resources and key information. A key information and resource is TrustLine, which is a registry parents can use to help them select an in-home or home care provider for their children. All child care providers listed with TrustLine have passed a background screening. For more information about TrustLine, visit www.trustline.org, or call 1.800.822.8490.
Quality Counts California offers a Frequently Asked Questions resource for parents on what is a QRIS (Quality Rating and Improvement System) and its importance in your child care search. A reminder, once in the library, click on the green button that says “view original” to see the PDF file in your browser to download or print.