|
Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. has given his stamp of approval to the recently revised rules and regulations for child day-care facilities. The new rules and regulations which are scheduled to be implemented throughout the territory on April 1, 2011, were recently revised by the Department of Human Services. In approving the first revisions to the regulations in three decades, the governor said that we “understand that the success of our children starts with a quality educational experience at the earliest point and that is our motivation for the investment and attention to early childhood education and the providers."
De Jongh said Tuesday that with growing national health and safety standards and research on early learning development in children, DHS raised the minimum standards for child care facilities. “Comprehensive revisions will permit childcare providers to have more accountability of how childcare facilities are administered. Some revisions to the regulations include having an educational background conducive to childcare for providers offering services to children from birth to 14 years old.”
Compliance with new standards for the physical layout of a facility to foster an optimal learning environment is also included in the revised document. Current childcare providers will have a three-year time limit to comply with the new regulations. However, DHS Commissioner Chris Finch noted that the department will offer fiscal assistance via grants for providers needing assistance in changing the structure of their facility and complying with the new educational requirements. After 30 years, the rules and regulations were revised. “The new rules and regulations were made available for public review and comment in December 2009 and public hearings were held in January 2010 to address concerns,” Finch said, adding, that there are 90 child day-care facilities on St. Thomas-St. John and 49 on St. Croix.
To further assist childcare providers with improving their quality of service, the department recently hosted the second of several meetings to discuss the next steps in developing an Early Childcare Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS). “A QRIS is a tool designed to assess and improve the level of quality in early and school age care and education programs. It is an asset-based system that serves as a blueprint on how childcare providers can build on their strengths. Childcare providers who volunteer to participate in the QRIS will improve their professional development,” Finch added.
The system also serves to empower parents to select quality early care and education for their children. During today’s meeting, participants including childcare providers, representatives from the Department of Education, Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC), and parents discussed the basics of QRIS and how best to develop indicators of quality.
|
