There are many ways to improve your child care program’s quality. Currently, in Wisconsin a valuable tool for improving quality is to actively engage in YoungStar, Wisconsin’s child care quality rating and improvement system. YoungStar recognizes quality in early care and education programs and provides support and resources, such as technical assistance and micro-grants. Participation in YoungStar is available to all early learning settings including family child care, group centers, school-age programs (before/after school) and school-age day camps. To families looking for child care, YoungStar participation is represented by a 5-star rating scale.

In order to receive reimbursements through Wisconsin’s child care subsidy program, Wisconsin Shares, a program must complete and submit a YoungStar Contract. Early care and education programs work with technical consultants to engage in efforts to promote their quality and proceed with a process that determines their star rating on a scale from one to five. A program’s annual rating is based upon indicators that are related to four primary areas of quality:

• Education and Training Qualifications
• Learning Environment and Curriculum
• Professional and Business Practices
• Health and Wellness