Quality child care can include many different features, however researchers have identified certain quality indicators of a child care program that directly affect the care that children receive. Among them: teachers with the appropriate training, qualifications and skills to work effectively with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. These programs also emphasize low adult to child ratios, fostering more individual attention in nurturing the emotional, social, language, and cognitive development of every child. It is also important to have learning environments that are clean, safe, well-organized, and engaging to provide children with motivation and courage to explore and learn. The QRIS provides information on these various indicators of quality within early care and education programs.

San Diego’s comprehensive Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) reaches a variety of program types, including center-based preschools and infant/toddler programs as well as family child care homes. This is the result of San Diego County’s long history of working toward continually improving quality in early care and education programs. With community input, the county has been guided and funded in such improvements, starting initially in 2006 through First 5 San Diego’s Preschool for All program, and then later through the Quality Preschool Initiative, and more recently through California Department of Education Quality Grants and locally funded private/non-profit quality grants. These efforts have focused on improving school achievement by providing children, especially in their critical first 5 years of life, with the kinds of early education experiences they need to do well in school and beyond.

Just how important is early childhood education? It is one of the best, most long-lasting investments that we can make for our children. Current research shows That high-quality early childhood programs can deliver a 13% per year return on investment. This is because children who attend a high quality preschool program get a better start in life and have better outcomes in education, health, social behaviors, and employment*. Ninety percent of a child’s brain develops by age 5, and early experiences build the foundation for life-long learning. Early education and care ensures that foundation is strong, but quality makes all the difference.

*Heckman, James. “Research Summary: The Lifecycle Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program.” The Heckman Equation. (2016)