Many young children spend a significant amount of time in early care and education programs, due to family needs for child care in order to work or a family’s desire for learning experiences for their children.  Research tells us that children between birth and five who participate in high quality early care and education programs begin school with the skills they need to be ready to succeed.  Key indicators of high quality include:

• Standards for children and programs
• Highly skilled teachers and caregivers
• Small group sizes and high adult-child ratios
• Warm, responsive adult-child interactions
• Age-appropriate curricula and stimulating learning materials in a safe physical environment

All Arizona’s children deserve the opportunity to have high quality experiences. First Things First will promote quality by initiating a voluntary, quality improvement and rating system for Arizona’s early care and education programs serving children birth to five, including child care centers, home-based child care, public and private preschools, and Head Start programs. Participating programs will receive support, assistance and recognition for improving quality and meeting high quality standards. Parents seeking early care and education for their children will have access to information about quality, so they can make informed decisions. Local communities will be able to build on and adapt the system to meet the needs of their own families and children. Finally, outcomes will be measured to determine the effectiveness of the quality improvement and rating system.