Pinellas 5-Star Quality Improvement System (QIS)
Introduction

Improving the quality of early childhood education experiences is a long-term commitment that requires a deep understanding of the many elements that affect program quality. However, the first step is to raise expectations through the establishment of clear standards for programs and practitioners. 

Licensing requirements are standards designed to protect the basic health and safety of children.  Quality standards that are part of the Pinellas QIS exceed this minimum and reflect best practices.

Through its partnership with the Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas County, Inc. (ELCP) and the JWB Children’s Services Council of Pinellas County (JWB), Coordinated Child Care (CCC) has implemented the 5-Star QIS to assist child care providers in improving their services. 

The Pinellas 5-Star QIS was established to improve the quality of Pinellas' early childhood education programs, to provide parents with an easy-to-use tool to identify and select quality child care programs, and to provide financial incentives and assistance to programs to maintain and/or improve the quality of the services they deliver. Participation in Pinellas 5-Star is voluntary and open to all school readiness providers.

Participating providers must meet the quality standards established by the ELCP and the JWB to receive improvement incentives. The program's activities are evaluated by trained observers using the Environment Rating Scale (ERS) which measures program quality in an objective manner. The ERS is a research-based, valid, and internationally used tool, developed at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  

The areas that are assessed include:

• Space and Furnishings
• Personal Care Routines
• Listening and Talking
• Activities
• Interaction
• Program Structure

Other factors that are reviewed are:

• Child care licensing compliance history
• Ratios/group size
• Teacher credentials
• Accreditation

This system not only recognizes the quality care providers, but helps to identify ones that can most benefit from the 5-Star programs technical assistance and training.