QUALITY COUNTS

Quality Counts is based on California's Quality Rating and Improvement System (CA-QRIS), which supports and rewards child care providers for offering high-quality care and helps parents understand quality. Participating Quality Counts child care and preschool programs exceed state licensing standards and choose to be evaluated, make improvements, and measure those improvements every year. They achieve a star rating that indicates the level of quality the facility provides for children and families, much like the star ratings given to hotels and restaurants. The standards reflect what we know is good for children and prepares them for school... Quality Counts is built on over 18 years of local collaborative quality initiatives in the county. As a result of this work, Santa Barbara County was one of 16 counties selected by the California Department of Education to participate in the state's federal Race To the Top -Early Learning Challenge grant. This 4.5-year grant, which began in..