Children have more options to receive a high quality child care experience:
High quality child care is safe, clean, enriching and age appropriate. Child care centers are rated on the star system by the N.C. Division of Child Development. Centers receive star ratings on a scale of one to five. Centers receiving 4 and 5 stars are considered higher quality. Stars are awarded based on teacher education and program standards.
Contributions by Smart Start to high quality care:
Local partnerships offer intensive technical assistance to child care centers geared to improving or maintaining their star rating
Smart Start offers child care subsidy that allows parents to be employed and their children to be enrolled in quality child care.
Smart Start has programs that provide education assistance, health benefits and salary supplements to child care teachers.
Results:
Child care centers and homes that participate in more Smart Start quality
improvement activities provide higher quality care
When the local Smart Start partnership has been in operation longer and
is funded at a higher level: There are more slots in 4- and 5-star child
care facilities in the counties served by the partnership and the average
star rating for child care facilities is higher.
64 local partnerships funded activities to improve and/or maintain quality
child care is 66 counties
43 local partnerships administer 8,284 slots in the More at Four Program
in 53 counties. The 8,284 slots represent 68 percent of the total More at
Four slots.
47,492 children received a Smart Start child care subsidy that enabled families
to be employed and their children be enrolled in quality child care. This
represents 41% of all children 0-5 who received a child care subsidy.
26,474 or 56% of the children who received a Smart Start child care subsidy
were enrolled in high quality child care facilities (centers with a 4 or
5 star rating by the Division of Child Development (DCD).
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Target Groups of Children Average Star Rating
Children enrolled in regulated child care programs 3.25
Children receiving subsidy enrolled in regulated child care programs 3.25
Children with special needs receiving subsidy enrolled in regulated child
care programs 4.00
Target Groups of Children Percent Enrolled in 4- and 5-star Child Care Programs
Children enrolled in regulated child care programs 50%
Children receiving subsidy enrolled in regulated child care programs 60%
Children with special needs receiving subsidy enrolled in regulated child
care programs 75%