TKW Consulting

Child care
centers aren't above average
Updated: 11/29/2005 09:02:05 AM
ST. PAUL (AP) - One-fourth of
Minnesota's child care centers for children ages 3 to 5 received high marks while most of the rest met only minimal standards, according to a federally funded study.

The study by Child Trends examined 100 out of the state's 850 licensed centers and programs that care for children in the 3-to-5 age group. The study found that 4 percent fell below minimal quality.

The notion of "quality child care" has been in the spotlight as research has shown that early experience is key to cognitive development. And nearly half of Minnesota children younger than 5 are being cared for by someone other than a parent for at least 20 hours a week.

"The attention is coming from within the field," said Ann McCully, executive director of the Minnesota Childcare Resource and Referral Network. "It's also being driven by the business community and policy makers who are getting involved in early childhood issues."In the Child Trends study, observers watched a classroom for three hours, then followed up with interviews with staff and directors.

High-scoring centers tend to be accredited, use some sort of formal curriculum and employ teachers with bachelor's degrees.

"We were not that surprised by the results," said Kathryn Tout, a senior researcher at Child Trends. "We know child care centers have a lot of challenges. It's an industry without a lot of financial resources. They're operating on the edge."

In an effort to help parents evaluate child care and boost quality across the board, several groups have proposed that Minnesota adopt a rating system.

"We know parents want quality, but they have a hard time distinguishing it," said Nancy Johnson of the Greater Minneapolis Day Care Association. "They want someone who will love their child, keep their child safe and, beyond that, introduce new learning concepts and respond to their child. A rating system provides a shorthand way, just like ratings of hotels or restaurants, of telling parents these things have been looked at."

The proposal, spearheaded by the nonprofit group Ready for K, includes a voluntary, four-level rating system to evaluate licensing, as well as staff qualifications, curriculum, teacher interactions and parent involvement.

Proponents hope to start a small pilot program with private and public funding this spring. Ultimately, they hope the state would run it.

Chuck Johnson, an assistant commissioner at the state Department of Human Services in charge of child care, said there is room for improvement in quality, but there are practical matters to consider."It makes some sense (to have) an easy way to access a system for parents," Johnson said. "But I'm not sure exactly how you do it. In some other states that have done it, it has required a huge field staff out there reviewing these centers. It's a whole other level on top of licensing."

In the short term, it may be more feasible to have an online database that would allow parents to search information posted by the day-care providers themselves, such as prices and curriculum and, at the same time, pull up any complaints or licensing violations.