Peggy M. Ball Bio
Peggy Ball
(MA, CPM), currently works as a State Technical Assistance Specialist for the National Child Care Information Center and Technical Assistance Center, a service of the Child Care Bureau (NCCIC) and as a Coordinator of the QRIS National Learning Network, a joint initiative of Build and the Smart Start National Technical Assistance Center.
While director of the North Carolina Division of Child Development from 2000-2006, she implemented the Five Star Rated License for child care, the first regulatory system in the nation to incorporate quality measurement into the licensing process, creating a Quality Rating System. This system was a 2004 finalist in the Innovations in American Government competition from the Ford Foundation and the JFK School of Government at Harvard University. Peggy was also instrumental in the launch and implementation of the Smart Start Early Childhood initiative in North Carolina, the nation’s first comprehensive, statewide early childhood initiative, winner of the 1998 Innovations in American Government award. She also helped to create a child care subsidy system that made North Carolina successful in implementing welfare reform as well as supporting economic development. Peggy has worked with government agencies and other organizations to create early care and education systems, quality rating systems, and child care subsidy systems that incorporate policies of accountability and performance management. She is a frequent speaker and consultant on the subject of Quality Rating and Improvement Systems and has worked with states to develop their own system. Peggy was the recipient of the 2005 James and Carolyn Hunt Early Childhood Award and the 2006 North Carolina Champion for Children Award. In 2006, she was appointed as an early childhood representative on the North Carolina Lottery Oversight Committee which helps to fund the prekindergarten program.