‘Bonus’ points for good child care

Not quite three years ago, Gov. Nathan Deal and the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) launched a program called Quality Rated. It’s a public evaluation system designed to help parents search for the best child care available in their respective areas.

DECAL describes the program as comparable to ratings for hotels and restaurants: It assigns up to three “stars” to child care facilities that achieve levels of quality beyond those basic health and safety standards required for state licensing.

As of Wednesday, 954 programs in the state, or approximately 19 percent of licensed Georgia child care facilities, were recognized by DECAL as Quality Rated, with more than 1,600 others following steps to qualify for the ratings.

The state announced last weekend, with an official kickoff at the Atlanta Baby & Child Expo at the historic Fox Theater, that it is stepping up the program with a public awareness campaign. Television and radio PSAs and online ads will target families looking for child care.

As working parents of young children know, the search for services to take care of their children during the day is one of the most important, difficult and often stressful parental responsibilities they face. Anything that makes an intelligent and informed choice easier is a genuine public service.

There are two general categories of licensed child care in Georgia: Family Child Care Learning Homes, which operate in private residences and care for 3 but no more than 6 children, and Child Care Learning Centers, which care for 7 or more children under age 18.

Licensed child care facilities in Georgia, aside from standard health and safety requirements and criminal background checks for all workers, must have CPR- and First Aid-trained staff on hand whenever children are present. All teachers and directors must have at least 10 hours of professional continuing education in child care and development every year.

The Quality Rated program involves voluntary participation by licensed child care businesses, and parents can look for Quality Rated and other licensed child care programs in their area with an online “search tool” at www.decal.ga.gov.

More information, including details about costs and financial child care assistance for eligible families, is available at the above DECAL website and at www.qualityrated.org.

This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 5:51 PM with the headline "‘Bonus’ points for good child care."