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We Strengthen Early Education to Support Children

Quality Counts California (QCC) is a statewide effort to support young children and their families by strengthening California’s early learning and care system.

To do this, QCC:

  • Supports a statewide system of locally implemented Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRISs)
  • Educates families about the importance of quality early learning and helps them identify quality early learning and care environments (i.e., family child care home or child care center)
  • Provides access to tools and resources for quality partners like QRIS administrators, coaches, trainers, and higher education faculty

QCC focuses on quality early learning experiences because those experiences build the foundation for skills children need in school, work, and life. (Reference: Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child).

Early Childhood Education Matters: Merced County Preschools Earn Top Marks

Early Childhood Education Matters: Merced County Preschools Earn Top Marks

Because of how the brain develops between zero and five, it’s like the window of opportunity. The sooner that you receive intervention, the better. We like to say in our program, when children attend preschool, we’re putting them on the road to success.

QCC Collaboration and Funding

Where Quality Counts California Originated From

A graphic shows three boxes all with arrows pointing up to a fourth box at the top that is labeled “Quality Counts California.”
The box at the top shows the Quality Counts California logo: the words “Quality Counts California” and a picture of five young children, standing in a line and holding hands, with a bright sun shining behind them. The first box at the bottom shows the First 5 California logo: a picture of a hand and the words “First 5 California.” The box says, “IMPACT (Improve and Maximize Programs so All Children Thrive).” The second box at the bottom shows the shape of a California map with the words “QRIS” in a circle on top. There are 5 circles with “QRIS” labeled across the shape of a California map. The third box at the bottom shows a picture of the seal of the Department of Education for the state of California. It says, “Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Block Grants.” The second box at the top shows a picture of the seal of the Department of Education for the United States of America. It says, “Federal Race to the Top—Early Learning Challenge.”

QCC is a collaboration between First 5 California and the California Department of Education, Early Learning and Care Division.

Collaborative state and local efforts to improve the quality of early learning and care programs for California’s children have been underway for many years.

2011:

California secured a federal Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge grant, which provided funding to develop a statewide, locally driven QRIS.

2015:

Federal grant funding expired, so leaders from across California took the initiative to consolidate these efforts into QCC, with funding from the California Department of Education’s QRIS Block Grants and First 5 California’s IMPACT (Improve and Maximize Programs so All Children Thrive) initiative.

Today:

California’s QRIS Block Grant and First 5 investments provide QCC the opportunity to serve a full spectrum of early learning programs, expand the reach of the QRIS, and effectively increase early education quality throughout the state.

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