Which child care programs will be affected by the quality rating system?

All licensed and certified child care programs will automatically be part of the statewide ratings. Programs should begin to evaluate what they can do to improve their quality. Once finalized, programs will receive complete information about the system. All regulated programs will receive a rating, which they can display in any way they wish (such as on advertising or promotional materials). The greatest impact will be for programs that serve high numbers of children in the state child care subsidy program (Wisconsin Shares), because ratings will directly affect payment rates. All regularly and provisionally certified (non-licensed) family child care providers will be included in the quality rating system, but it is not yet defined how these programs will be rated and tied to the system of reimbursement. Certified providers are currently assessed only once every 2 years, there is considerable turnover among certified providers, and rates for certified providers are lower than for ...  more