The QCC County Program Profile provides county data from the Common Data File (CDF) and the Annual Progress Report (APR). For counties that are a part of a consortium, the QCC County Program Profile provides a combined view of the CDF and APR. Both qualitative and quantitative data are presented to provide a local view of early learning and care climate.

“The Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) is a grant-funded approach to assess, improve and communicate the level of quality care in early care and education programs in Yolo County. The YCOE QRIS goal is to support children 0–5 and their families to engage in the early learning process to ensure all children enter school with the skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessary to be successful in life. The Yolo County QRIS helps to guide and improve the quality of care and education by measuring current levels of quality against the research-backed standards of:

• The California Preschool Learning Foundations
• The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)
• The Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (ECERS)
• The Desired Results Developmental Profile for Preschool (DRDP)

The tiered ratings are determined by:

• Child observations
• Developmental and health screenings
• Teacher-child interactions
• Teacher-child ratios and group size
• Classroom environments
• Teacher and administrator qualifications

• First 5 CA
• First 5 Yolo
• CDE
• YCOE
• City of West Sacramento Measure E

• First 5 CA
• First 5 Yolo
• California Department of Education
• Yolo County Office of Education
• City of West Sacramento
• Children’s Therapy Center (Help Me Grow)
• Yolo Libraries
• Yolo County Children’s Alliance
• Children’s Home Society
• Local Childcare Planning Council
• Los Rios and Woodland Community Colleges

Provide information at a kick-off meeting in September, word of mouth from other sites participating, LPC events for FFN providers, Head Start and CSPP families. New sites also joined as we did distribution of emergency supplies, and participated in health and safety, and self-care workshops.

Professional development, academic education, coaching, support groups, site visits (until COVID and SIP Order), online training, coaching, and meetings

In the 2019/20 fiscal year, our consortium offered incentives to all sites who participated in rating activities, including up to $500 in materials and supplies tied to an ERS being done, and consultation with the coach and site staff to determine the best way to utilize those incentives. We also allowed all sites who had participated for at least one year to apply for mini grants of up to $4,000 to enhance their environment and awarded 24 sites a mini grant this year. Additionally, we supplied our early learning professionals who participated in Professional Development with a stipend of $20/hour for attending workshops, individual training events, academic advancement in Child Development, or Early Childhood Education courses, and for activities completed in Coaching Companion cycles, with a cap of $600 for any combination of above activities. After the COVID Emergency began, and fewer sites were able to participate in being fully rated due to the inability to do ERS and CLASS assessments, we focused the materials and supplies incentives on sites who had remained open and providing materials to assist with the mitigation of the spread of COVID-19. As mentioned previously, we also were able to award a one-time incentive of $1,000 to each site remaining open throughout the COVID emergency. Our CSPP and Head Start staff were all required to close after the Shelter in Place order, but they continued with the same incentive and stipend plan as they had previously. They received an incentive of $500 for participating in rating and receiving a Tier 4, but $600 for those receiving a Tier 5 on their QRIS Rating Matrix score. They also were required to do 21 hours of Professional Development in order to receive $600 or complete at least six academic units to receive $800. For the 2020/21 year, there is still no firm plan in place for stipends associated with professional development as we await the Master Plan.

Throughout the pandemic, Maria, a Family Child Care operator, has participated in preventative health practices training and received informational written materials, essential supplies (disinfectants, soap, face coverings, hand sanitizer, etc), and incentive funding for programs that remained open. Because of these professional development and funding opportunities, Maria was able to purchase additional furniture for her FCCH program; rearrange her indoor physical environment, allowing for greater social distancing; create individual storage areas with essential supplies for each enrolled child; and enhance her child/family welcome area outdoors with COVID-prevention written materials through posting and distributing information to families. The result is that the families with children in her care feel safe and secure dropping off their children to her, and Maria feels her family is able to remain safe and healthy too. She is a regular participant in our weekly drop-in group through Zoom, where she shares ideas and discusses needs with others in the same situation. Maria says she has felt supported and listened to during this extremely difficult time, and that has made a huge difference.