November 25, 2014

As the country quickly builds its efforts to enhance quality in early education and care classrooms, states are implementing Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to recognize and improve the quality of programs. QRIS also provides technical support and increased financial benefits for participating programs to attain higher levels of quality. Developed initially as a voluntary system for providers in many states, participation in a QRIS is increasingly becoming a requirement for family child care and centers to receive state or federal funds. QRIS policy has been embedded in federal initiatives such as Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge and the Preschool Development and Expansion grants, mandating states to improve the quality of early education and care. Most important, QRIS is intended to provide consumers (parents) with a mechanism to differentiate quality of programs to determine which programs may provide better services for their children.

Source: Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes

Available at: http://ceelo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ceelo_fast_fact_qris_inclusion.pdf