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May 22, 2008 5:44 pm US/Eastern
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"Quality Counts" Strives For Quality Daycare
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
An effort to improve child care centers throughout Miami-Dade County is gaining momentum. The initiative involves creating a voluntary 5-star rating system that will help parents choose the right center for their child. It's called the Quality Counts program.
A helping hand to help kids is music to the ears of Angela Ortega. She is the director of Jean Piaget Academy in Miami.
"We want to improve the quality of the service we give so in order to do that we need good materials," said Ortega.
Ortega is one of the first to sign up for Quality Counts, a voluntary rating system that will evaluate the standard of education at early learning centers.
"It's like when you go on vacation and you're looking for a hotel or resort," said Sandra Camacho with The Children's Trust. Some of the centers will be rated with 5-stars, others with 4-stars.
Participating centers will receive financial incentives to make improvements and financial rewards for achieving a 5-star rating.
"It was a voluntary participation but they offered us grants for equipment and materials for the center," said Ortega.
The $22-million project would pay for things like computers, books and art supplies, educational scholarships and wage supplements for the staff.
The Children's Trust, Early Learning Coalition and the Early Childhood Initiative partnered to develop this program county-wide with just one goal in mind.
"The ultimate goal is for the child to receive the best early education possible," said Camacho.
"At the end the children are going to have the best and that's what we want," said Ortega.
The program started in January.
More than a dozen other states have similar Quality Counts systems already in place.
To find out more call The Children's Trust at 2-1-1 or go to
http://www.thechildrenstrust.org/initiativesqris.asp
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