Invest in Children
Child Care Quality Fund:
Accreditation and Literacy
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Invest in Children Child Care Quality Funds
2
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Historically, programs have submitted grant
proposals to EEC for Child Care Quality Funds
(“Invest in Children” License Plate Funds) to
support quality improvements

Funds are available for “providing grants to not
for profit child care organizations for the purpose
of improving child care services including, but not
limited to, teacher training, training and
education of consumers and parents, the
purchase of educational curricula and materials,
specialized training for bilingual and bicultural
providers and consumers and technical assistance
for acquiring accreditation by the National
Association for the Education of Young Children”
Invest in Children Child Care Quality Funds
3

EEC has historically collected approximately $300K
a year in the Child Care Quality Fund

In FY10 and FY11 EEC did not award any grants
through these funds

As of January 2011, there is $ 793K in the Fund

EEC is recommending the use of $450K in the Fund
to support program quality improvements through:
 Accreditation fees
 Intentional literacy efforts
 Child Development Associate (CDA) fees

Funds for grants to programs to pay for CDA or
accreditation fees and/or early literacy activities

Programs must rate Level 2 or higher on
QRIS to be eligible
Foundations of Early Literacy
4
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The quality of a child’s early environment and
experiences can have long term positive effects on
his or her brain architecture

Literacy development is the foundation for success
in school, work, and life

Literacy development is predicated on a
sustainable system of high quality resources:
 Access to high quality curriculum
 Professionally trained and prepared educators
 Family support for learning
 Sustainable system of high quality resources
and services
Early Literacy and Dual Language Learners
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Literacy development involves the seven key
components:

Literacy as a source of enjoyment

Vocabulary and language

Phonological awareness

Knowledge of print

Letters and words

Comprehension

Books and other texts
These components are necessary in both single
and dual language learner (DLL) environments
Early Literacy and Dual Language Learners
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Language environments for DLLs should also have:

Bilingual and bicultural representatives trained in
second language acquisition and the influence of
culture and poverty on language acquisition

An assessment tool for measuring language
development
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A high level of parent involvement and engagement

Materials and activities that reflect students’ home
languages and cultures

Educators should routinely communicate children’s
language acquisition process with families

Environments and curricula should reflect the cultural
and linguistic diversity of the children and align with EEC
Guidelines for optimal second language and literacy
development
Early Literacy Support Grants
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
In the Quality Rating and Improvement System
(QRIS) programs must demonstrate quality across
five key domains, including Curriculum and
Learning

In order to move to a level 3 in the key domain of
Curriculum and Learning, staff must
 Demonstrate language and literacy skills in
English or the child's language that provide a
model for children, and
 Use screening tools, progress reports,
formative assessments, and observational
information to set goals for children across all
developmental domains
Early Literacy Support Grants
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
In order to support acquisition of early literacy skills
and use of early literacy tools, EEC plans to issue
individual grants of up to $5,000 each to programs to
support the four areas identified in the 2011 Striving
Readers Comprehensive Literacy plan:
 Core curriculum and assessments
 Leadership and professional education
 Equitable access to quality services for families
 A coherent system of literacy initiatives

Proposals will need to demonstrate the following:
 Whole child curricula
 Literacy specific curricula
 Access to high quality literacy and language
materials and environments
 Assessment and intervention
 Family involvement
Foundations of Accreditation
9

Accreditation is widely-recognized as a leading measure
of quality in early education and out-of-school time

Accreditation systems require programs to meet
standards above minimum state regulatory requirements

Achieving accreditation involves extensive self-study and
validation by professionals outside the program to verify
that quality standards are met

Three major national program accrediting bodies:
 National Association for the Education of Young
Children (NAEYC)
 National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC)
 Council on Accreditation (COA)

All three share the same goals to provide high-quality
care and education and positive learning
experiences for children
Accreditation Support Grants
10

Research has demonstrated that accreditation
positively impacts program quality, including
benefits to children, families, and staff

Accreditation documentation may be used as proof
of meeting some of the standards in the new QRIS

In order to support program accreditation in
Massachusetts, EEC plans to issue individual grants
to programs to cover 50% of the fees up to $2500
for accreditation
Accreditation Support Grants
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Fees that can be paid with Accreditation Support Grants:

NAEYC:
• 50% of fees towards each of level of the application
one to four
• Applicant must provide a plan over an 18 month
timeline for completion of the accreditation process
• Note: programs that are eligible for scholarship
through NAEYC’s Accreditation Scholarship Program
must apply and provide proof of application to EEC
along with Accreditation Support Grant proposal

NAFCC:
• 50% of fees for Application or Annual renewal

COA:
• 50% of fees for Accreditation Fee or Site Visit Costs
Child Development Associate (CDA)

CDAs support programs in advancing to Level 2 or
beyond on the QRIS via educators qualifications/
workforce development

CDA Competency Goals

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Goal I: To establish and maintain a safe, healthy
learning environment
Goal II: To advance physical and intellectual
competence
Goal III: To support social and emotional
development and to provide positive guidance
Goal IV: To establish positive and productive
relationships with families
Goal V: To ensure a well-run, purposeful program
responsive to participant needs
Goal VI: To maintain a commitment to
professionalism
Child Development Associate (CDA)
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
CDA functional areas by goal
 Safety, Health, Learning Environment (Goal I)
 Physical, Cognitive, Communication, Creativity (Goal II)
 Self, Social, Guidance (Goal III)
 Families (Goal IV)
 Program Management (Goal V)
 Professionalism (Goal VI)

Candidates for CDA assessment must:
 Be 18 years of age or older
 Hold a high school diploma or GED
 Have 480 hours of experience working with children
and 120 clock hours of formal child care education
within the past five years

Child Care Quality Funds may be used to pay for CDA fees
for up to 8 individuals per center-based program or
multi-staffed family child care (FCC) program, or for
individual FCC providers