Best Beginnings STARS to Quality
Field Test Plan
Updated Information Jan. 14, 2011
Welcome to the Best Beginnings STARS to Quality Program - a continuous quality improvement program for early childhood education in Montana!
Early childhood stakeholders have developed their vision for quality early childhood education in Montana and have identified a new approach to investing in and ensuring strong quality outcomes for children. Stakeholders include:
Montana Early Childhood Advisory Council
The Best Beginnings STARS to Quality Program is a voluntary quality rating improvement system that aligns quality indicators with support and incentives for early childhood programs and early childhood professionals. The Early Childhood Services Bureau has enjoyed watching the program grow and develop with the input from the various stakeholders, and has listened carefully to early childhood professionals, parents, and national experts to provide a strong program, desired by many. This excitement continues to grow and the demand has reached great heights already.
About the Program
About the Field Test
Best Beginnings STARS to Quality Matrix and Criteria
FAQ's & What's New with STARS
STARS Contacts
STAR Level Achievement Request Form
Star Levels
Support for STARS programs
Training
For Montana specific notes for the Environmental Rating Scale, please contact your coach.
About the Program
The proposed quality system for Montana has several arms:
1) Workforce Development
2) Quality Rating Improvement System
3) Infrastructure to administer the programs, provide training
, coaching, and technical assistance, and to validate the STARS system
Program Essentials:
- 5 STAR System
- Research based criteria
- Workforce support through the Montana Early Care and Education Career Path, encouraging professional development along a continuum of training
- Maintaining quality over time
- Renewal based on validation of Level and program improvement plan
- Monetary Incentives for continual program improvement
- Monetary Incentives based on Level achieved
- Resources, Help, and Support to move through the Levels provided by Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, the Early Childhood Project, and other state determined resources.
- Program Assessment Tools are incorporated including:
- Environmental Rating Scales
- Program and Business Administration Scales
- Center on Social & Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) TPOT and TPITOS.
- If a program chooses to move off the system, they can come back at a STAR 1 or at a higher level if they meet the criteria.
The two scales above are assessed by contracted STARS assessors
This scale is used as part of the coaching experience for programs implementing the CSEFEL pyramid model.
- If a program moves down a level, the incentives decrease.
- Local Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies are the point of entry for the STARS system.
About the Field Test
Why a field test?
the program to work in its entirety, especially related to
incentives
type representation
Participants have been chosen for the field test and will be posted soon.
Field Test Specifics:There are 125 slots statewide for participation in the field test and applications are accepted until June 1, 2010. Of the 125 slots, 72 slots will be available for incentives and 53 will be available for programs choosing to participate without incentives but will still benefit from the infrastructure coaching, technical assistance, and training.
Criteria must be met to participate in the program, and to move through the STARS system. Any State of Montana child care provider that has a regular license or registration, a regular state licensed Early Head Start or Head Start program, or a tribal program that is state licensed or registered, or has a formal MOU requested by the tribe that can show the equivalent to Montana license or registration standards are met, may be eligible. Tribal programs may also demonstrate that they are in the process of pursuing a formal MOU with the State. To pursue an MOU, please contact the Quality Assurance Division.
Providers must have been in business and licensed/registered as described above, in Montana for one full year. A provider cannot participate in STARS if 1) they are on the National Disqualified List for the Child and Adult Care Food Program, 2) they have a negative licensing action, or 3) they or anyone related to the business have had three strikes in the Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship program due to fraud. Providers with licensing deficiencies on their last licensing inspection will be subject to further review by Department staff to determine the severity and resolution of the deficiencies in relation to participation in the STARS program.
Resources and support through coaching, technical assistance and training, and STAR kits will be available for all enrolled in the STARS Program.
To see how the selection process worked, please click here...
Support for STARS programs:
Infrastructure information continues to be refined, finalized and updated. Please check the website regularly for more information.
Assessors have been chosen who are in the process of becoming trained and reliable in the following scales:
- Environmental Rating Scales
- Program/Business Rating Scales
Assessors understand the importance of fairness, and were selected through an application, interview process, and could demonstrate availability and limited conflicts of interest.
The Early Childhood Services Bureau recognizes the following businesses who are independently supporting If you are a STARS to Quality Participant, |
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www.reporterbigsky.com Customer Service Team (406)248-7881 |
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The State of Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Early Childhood Services Bureau does not endorse particular vendors, these vendors have provided this opportunity to Best Beginnings STARS to Quality participants independently as a means of supporting high quality early care and education for young children.
COACHING
Programs will be assigned a coach through their local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency. The coach will assist programs in quality improvement planning, action planning, understanding the STARS program criteria and steps involved, and will be there to work with the program to meet individual program goals. Coaches will also assist programs in their applications to advance STAR levels and will verify programs are ready based on the criteria for each STAR level.
STAR KITS
Programs will receive STAR Kits from their coaches to assist in understanding and preparing for the criteria at each STAR level. Resources, samples, and tools are provided as part of the STAR Kits to support coaching needs, program improvement needs and tracking or monitoring of progress. For example, a criterion may be to conduct daily health checks. The STAR Kit will include a sample daily health check form to assist with this process.
CSEFEL
Coaches are trained in the CSEFEL (Center on Social Emotional Foundations for Early Learning) Pyramid Model and will provide training related to implementation of the CSEFEL model and also coaching to support a program’s approach to CSEFEL. Additionally, the Early Childhood Project has a professional on staff that will serve as the statewide CSEFEL coordinator working with the coaches to meet the needs of participating programs.
STATEWIDE HEALTH CONSULTATION COORDINATION
A statewide health consultation coordinator is available to assist coaches as child care health advocates and programs in meeting the criteria related to health and wellness throughout the STARS program. This coordinator will also monitor, update, and provide health related training and curricula as described in STARS.
NAFCC ACCREDITATION MENTORING
Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies will be available statewide to coordinate mentoring to programs pursuing NAFCC accreditation.
WORKFORCE SUPPORT AND INCENTIVES, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
More information is available through the Early Childhood Project and also addressed under workforce incentives on this site.
Best Beginnings STARS to Quality Incentives:
Best Beginnings STARS to Quality Incentives
The two connected charts indicate the resources available to enrolled programs (STARS incentives) or individuals (WORKFORCE incentives).
STARS incentives are available to programs in two forms:
1) quality improvement awards
2) tiered reimbursement percents above standard state reimbursement rates for those facilities choosing to serve Best Beginnings Scholarship families.
STARS Incentives (Quarterly) |
|||||
Family |
Group |
Small Center |
Medium Center |
Large Center |
|
STAR 1 |
Beginner STAR Kit, Resources, Help and Support |
||||
STAR 2 |
$625 |
$875 |
$1250 |
$1625 |
$2063 |
5% increased reimbursement for Best Beginnings Scholarships |
|||||
STAR 3 |
$938 |
$1375 |
$1875 |
$2500 |
$3125 |
10% increased reimbursement for Best Beginnings Scholarships |
|||||
STAR 4 |
$1250 |
$1875 |
$2500 |
$3375 |
$4063 |
15% increased reimbursement for Best Beginnings Scholarships |
|||||
STAR 5 |
$1563 |
$2250 |
$3125 |
$4250 |
$5000 |
20% increased reimbursement for Best Beginnings Scholarships |
|||||
STARS incentives are to be used for continuous quality improvement, staff support and salaries, professional development, equipment, etc. Anything that would assist a program in moving to the next level and maintaining the STAR level achieved. STARS incentives must be used in accord with an approved quality improvement plan.
WORKFORCE incentives are available in a variety of forms and are not tied directly to the Best Beginnings STARS to Quality Program, and have separate eligibility criteria.
Click here to see the Early Childhood Workforce Incentives
All incentives for the Best Beginnings STARS to Quality System, including STARS incentives and workforce incentives, are subject to eligibility requirements as outlined in policy and are dependent on funding.
Civil Rights
If you believe that you have been discriminated against because of race, national origin, ethnic background, sex, religious affiliation, or disability, you have a right to file a complaint.
To file a complaint of discrimination contact:
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
999 18th Street, Suite 407
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 844-2024; (303) 844-3439 (TDD)
(303) 844-2025 FAX
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/complaints/index.html
or
Jamie Palagi, Chief
Early Childhood Services Bureau
DPHHS, P. O. Box 202925
Helena MT 59620-2925
