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Since the relaunch of the Alabama Quality STARS Child Care Quality Rating and Improvement system this January, the program has earned a 98% satisfaction rating from participating providers. The program, a partnership between the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education and Alabama Department of Human Resources, offers annual payments of up to $80,000 to center-based child care providers, $12,100 for family child care providers and $14,300 for family group home providers. Amounts depend on each program's rating, between 1 and 5 STARS, using a research-based quality rubric and teacher assessments. All licensed child care programs automatically earn 1 STAR for following minimum standards. Since January, 42 center-based programs have been awarded STAR ratings of 2 or higher, and four have earned a 5 STAR rating. Assessors have also rated 19 home providers, 13 of whom were previously rated in the old system. The previously-rated sites increased their ratings by an average of 3 STARS in the new system, and four of those providers have achieved a 5 STAR rating. Over 250 providers have expressed interest in the enhancement option within Quality STARS, which is currently being piloted. The enhancement track allows providers to receive personalized technical assistance and funding in order to improve their STAR rating. For more information on Alabama Quality STARS, visit https://alabamaqualitystars.org/. |
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