Tuesdays have been declared "Tuesdays for Tots" in New York state as part of the "Quality for Kids Campaign," a project of the Early Care and Learning Council. According to campaign organizers, "leveraging the collective power and knowledge of New York state's CCR&R (Child Care Resource and Referral) network and its partners will engage policymakers and create awareness around the need for quality child care." The Chautauqua Child Care Council, CCR&R for Chautauqua County and a program of Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc., has signed onto the campaign to help spread the word that quality early care matters.
Research has shown that 75 percent of a child's brain growth and 85 percent of his or her intellect, personality, and social skills will develop before the child's fifth birthday. Recognizing the significance of these statistics, various programs and agencies throughout New York state have started initiatives dedicated to improving the quality of early care and learning programs. QUALITYstarsNY is one such initiative and is intended to help exemplary programs receive the recognition they deserve and to encourage other programs to strive for quality improvement.
QualitystarsNY would also help parents choose quality care for their children by assigning a number of "stars" to child care sites, much like a hotel or restaurant might be assigned a number of stars or diamonds, in accordance with the standard of services they provide. These child care sites include registered and licensed family/group family child care providers, child care centers, and school-aged programs. The number of stars attached to each site would give parents an indication of the standard of care and education they can expect their child to receive in a particular program.
The Chautauqua Child Care Council offers a number of services to child care professionals and parents as well as businesses. As part of Tuesdays for Tots, the Council invites parents, providers, policy makers and all concerned community members to submit questions and comments to the Council's email address at Childcare@chautopp.org. Those individuals who do not have access to the internet are encouraged to contact the Council at 1-800-4 Childcare (1-800-424-4532.) Questions and answers or comments will be posted at the discretion of the Council each week on the council's website at chautopp.com and may also be shared with policy makers.
