|
SB 161 - This act requires the Departments of Social Services and Health and Senior Services, in collaboration with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, to develop by July 1, 2008, a quality rating system for child care facilities and early childhood programs operating in this state. The licensing of such facilities shall be the baseline, while the highest rating is accreditation. The departments shall utilize the model from the existing Missouri quality rating system pilots developed by the University of Missouri Center for Family Policy and Research to establish the system. The system will allow consumers and parents to evaluate and select high quality early childhood programs and creates a system of accountability for policymakers and those who fund early childhood programs. By July 1, 2011, one hundred percent of all the child care facilities and early childhood programs shall be rated using the quality rating system established under this act. When fifty percent of all such facilities have been so rated, the Coordinating Board of Early Childhood shall have developed a plan for a tiered system of reimbursement for child care subsidies based on the quality rating system established under this act. The plan shall be submitted to the General Assembly with recommendations for implementation of the reimbursement system. The Early Childhood Program Quality Improvement Grant Fund is established and shall consist of all gifts, donations, transfers, moneys appropriated by the general assembly, and bequests to the fund. Money in the fund shall be used to provide grants directly to child care or early childhood providers seeking assistance for quality improvements to undergo evaluation under the quality rating system established under this act or to community-based organizations assisting providers with such improvements. The Departments of Social Services and Health and Senior Services shall be responsible for promoting and distributing materials to educate the public and providers about the quality rating system established under this act. By January 1, 2009, the ratings of the quality rating system shall be posted on the Internet in a format easily understood and accessible by the public. This act shall sunset in six years. ADRIANE CROUSE
|