Ratings for child care programs

The role of state government in rating child care programs was touted by some and questioned by others at a Jan. 29 hearing of the House Early Childhood Finance and Policy Division.

HF40, sponsored by Rep. Sandra Peterson (DFL-New Hope), and HF246, sponsored by Rep. Nora Slawik (DFL-Maplewood), would expand and fund efforts to improve child care quality. Both bills were held over for possible inclusion in an omnibus early childhood finance bill.

HF40 would create a statewide child care quality rating modeled after Parent Aware, a system that is currently in the pilot stages in the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Wayzata, and Blue Earth and Nicollet counties.

Lisa Thompson, president of Child Care Providers Together, a union of family caregivers, said her peers have mixed feelings about quality ratings. Thompson, who has 15 years of experience running a licensed in-home child care program, said the ratings “could be the best thing that ever happened to family child care and the children and families we serve,” but should not be “one size fits all.”

Parent Aware rates care settings on a four-star scale. Thompson suggested the ratings may be biased toward larger centers which may have more expansive facilities or lower adult-to-child ratios. Accredited Head Start programs and centers automatically rate four stars.

HF246 would “allocate an additional $250,000 per year above the amount allocated in fiscal year 2009 in federal child care and development funds for Parent Aware star rating tool activities.” Thompson said it would help providers make technical improvements to boost their rating.

Opponents of a public rating system said it would unfairly drive the market. “When you expand regulations you raise the cost of doing business,” said Tom Prichard, president of the Minnesota Family Council. He also believes “the standard drives the system” and would reduce choice and options.

Peterson reiterated the rating system would remain voluntary for parents and for providers.

A companion to HF40, SF72, sponsored by Sen. Tarryl Clark (DFL-St. Cloud), awaits action by the Senate Education Committee. There is no companion to HF246.