Oklahoma launched the first Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) in 1998 to assess, improve, and communicate the quality of early childhood education settings. Over the past ten years, seventeen other states have implemented their own QRIS based on Oklahoma's model. The goal of QRIS is to improve early childhood program quality and help parents identify high-quality options. It includes setting standards, assessing programs, providing support to early educators, and educating parents. Children's Trust Funds can help strengthen families by partnering with early childhood stakeholders to embed protective factors from the Strengthening Families framework into QRIS standards and programming.

1. Oklahoma launched the first Quality Rating and Improvement
System (QRIS) in 1998. At that time, the term QRS (Quality Rating
System) was the term used to describe these systems, constructed to
“assess, improve and communicate about the level of quality in early
care and education settings,” according to Anne Mitchell in her
QRIS toolkit, Stair Steps to Quality. Recently, the ‘I’ has been added
to create the term QRIS, the ‘I’ standing for Improvement. The
addition of the ‘I’ has helped to shift the focus away from merely
rating early care and education programs – expanding the idea of
quality to include continuous quality improvement. It also helps
redefine the term “quality” to include such things as serving families
in a culturally competent manner, including supports that will allow
families, in partnership with early care and education professionals,
to facilitate their child’s optimum development and school readiness.
During the past ten years,
seventeen other states have
joined Oklahoma in fully
implementing QRIS. All but
five of the remaining states are
drafting standards, piloting or
considering how to implement
QRIS. If you are interested in
learning more about how this
applies to your state, see the
reference materials in this
document and contact your
State Child Care Administrator for additional information specific to
your state.
Share What You Know.
Research by NAEYC revealed that
early childhood educators feel a
strong sense of responsibility to
help prevent child abuse and
neglect, but want to know more
about effective strategies.
The Right Tools Are
Always Helpful.
The Strengthening Families
Protective Factor (SF/PF)
Framework is a strong support for
quality in early care settings.
Primary
Prevention
A KeyA Key
In High Quality Early Care
and Education Settings
Important ways Children’s Trust Funds
Can be engaged in states’ Quality Rating and
Improvement Systems (QRIS)
Getting Started
What is QRIS?
IngredientIngredient

2. The Alliance’s
Early Childhood Initiative
(ECI)
2
Stories from Three ECI States:
Embedding the Strengthening Families Protective Factor
(SF/PF) Framework Into QRIS
Working Together.
One
Goal.
A System of Systems
QRIS is a composite system that unifies multiple
sectors of the early childhood education system. Some
of the sub-systems represented in states’ QRIS are:
• Child Care Licensing
• Professional Development System
• Early Care and Education Providers – Centers
and Family Child Care
• Child Care Resource & Referral
• Early Childhood Mental Health
• Departments of Education
• Higher Education
All of these must agree upon how the basic elements
of QRIS should be structured and implemented.
Building the five protective factors (parental
resilience, social connections, concrete support in
times of need, knowledge of parenting and child
development and social and emotional development of
children) is a priority for each of these systems.
Basic Elements of QRIS
Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect Before it Ever
Occurs by Strengthening Families.
There are five elements that are common to almost all
states’ QRIS:
1. Standards – at least two levels of quality above
state’s basic licensing requirements – may align
with early learning guidelines.
2. Accountability – Monitoring and assessment of
standards
3. Support to ECE Practitioners – technical
assistance, training and other supports to help
practitioners along the pathway to quality.
4. Financing – tiered reimbursements, grants and
other support tied to quality.
5. Parent Education – actually, educating
parents to be savvy consumers of high quality
early care and education as they see how it will
benefit their most precious resource – their
children.
Each of these elements can serve as a “door” by which
Children’s Trust Funds may seek to enter QRIS. By
partnering with early childhood stakeholders to embed the five
protective factors into QRIS, Children’s Trust Funds have the
opportunity to systemically strengthen families.
Early Care and Education Professionals Children’s Trust Funds

3. Children’s Trust Funds Early Care and Education Professionals
3
Together,
with the right tools. . .
We can
strengthen
families.
“Quality Early Care and
Education programs are the
foundation for a child abuse
and neglect prevention
agenda.”
--- Sharon L. Kagan
Evidence points to the
reality that quality early
care and education programs
strengthen children and
families and ultimately
reduce child abuse and
neglect.
Children’s Trust Funds
have valuable
experience implementing
effective community-based
family strengthening
strategies.
The Strengthening
Families Protective
Factor Framework is a tool
that Children’s Trust Funds
can offer as a resource to
help unite the multiple
sectors of the early
childhood field necessary to
build and sustain Quality
Rating and Improvement
Systems (QRIS).
Why should
Children’s Trust
Funds become
involved with
QRIS?
1
2
3
Strengthening Families Protective Factor Framework

4. The Alliance’s
Early Childhood Initiative
(ECI)
4
Stories from Three ECI States:
Embedding the Strengthening Families Protective Factor
(SF/PF) Framework Into QRIS
The vibrant network of the ECI
Learning Community . . .
represents partnerships between
CTFs and early childhood
stakeholders in 27 states. Each
member of the Learning
Community is committed to:
♦ Transformational systemic
change to benefit children and
families
♦ Attainment and strengthening
of the five protective factors among
all families and communities
♦ A future where all children live
in safe, stable and nurturing
families and communities.
The ECI Theory of Change
maps out a plan to accomplish the
goals stated above. A key strategy
will be to explore ways in which
states can embed the Strengthening
Families Protective Factor
Framework
into their states’ Quality Rating and
Improvement Systems (QRIS). See
www.ctfalliance.org for more
information.
Collaboration
Requires
Concentration

5. Children’s Trust Funds Early Care and Education Professionals
5
Idaho
Enthusiastic support from child care providers
and a disdain for regulations by state policy
makers form the backdrop for efforts to
increase quality for early care and education
settings in Idaho. Yet, since 2003 a unique
relationship between the Idaho Association for
the Education of Young Children (Idaho
AEYC) and the University of Idaho
(IdahoSTARS state training and registry
system) was the basis for a collaboration that
eventually included Idaho’s Children’s Trust
Fund. Although quality efforts initially
focused on voluntary training and education
scholarships, mentoring, and environment
assessment, by 2006 a broader focus began to
include the use of the Strengthening Families
approach as an integral component of Idaho’s
Child Care Quality Rating and Improvement
System (QRIS) and accounts for 20% of the
quality standards. QRIS is currently in the
design phase and being implemented through
a statewide pilot program in over 20 cities.
The pilot includes 52 centers and family-based
programs, serving nearly 3,000 children and
their families. Idaho has been successful at
incorporating major components of the
Strengthening Families approach (including
the self-assessment) into the QRIS standards.
They have created a curriculum around the
SF/PF Framework that will soon be expanded
to programs outside of the QRIS pilot,
utilizing the “support to ECE practitioners”
door into their QRIS. The most recent work
being undertaken by the ECI team is to
implement the Community Café and reach out
to parents to cultivate their “leadership voice”
in order to raise an awareness of the
importance of quality child care and create a
greater demand for higher quality and a
strong statewide voluntary QRIS.
3 Resources:
To learn more about the National Alliance of
Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds’ Early
Childhood Initiative work with Strengthening
Families Through QRIS, see:
www.ctfalliance.org/qris
To download a copy of the Strengthening
Families Self-Assessment, Guidebook for Early
Childhood Programs and other materials, see:
www.strengtheningfamilies.net
The federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the “Stimulus
Package,” offers some opportunities to implement
early childhood policy and systems change. To
learn more about how this could possibly benefit
implementation of QRIS, see:
www.buildinitiative.org
The National Child Care Information Center has
recently updated information about states who
are fully implementing QRIS, with links to
states’ QRIS websites:
http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/qrs-defsystems.html
Advancing Child Abuse and Neglect Protective
Factors: The Role of the Early Care and
Education Infrastructure by Sharon L. Kagan
gives a justification of why high quality early
childhood programs are a logical foundation for a
child abuse and neglect prevention agenda:
http://www.cssp.org/uploadFiles/Kagan.pdf
For further information,
contact:
Martha Reeder, Program Manager
Early Childhood Initiative
National Alliance of Children’s Trust and
Prevention Funds
marthareeder@gmail.com

6. [Recipient]
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
Address Line 3
Address Line 4
Children’s Trust and Preventions Funds across the United States have
embraced the Strengthening Families Protective Factor (SF/PF)
Framework as a way to build strong families and communities and to
support the optimal development of the very youngest and most
vulnerable children.
Early Care and Education Systems have recognized the need for higher
quality early care and education settings, and have pursued the
development of Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) as a
way to meet this need.
High quality early care and education settings that reach out to parents
in significant and meaningful partnerships may be one of the best ways to
prevent child abuse and neglect. As QRIS are being built and revised, the
critical opportunity exists to strengthen families and prevent child abuse
before it ever occurs.
Strengthening Families
Through QRIS
Primary Prevention: A Key Ingredient in High Quality Early Care and Education
National Alliance of
Children’s Trust and
Prevention Funds
5712 30th Avenue NE
Seattle WA 98105
Phone (206) 526-1221
Fax (206) 526-0220
info@ctfalliance.org
www.ctfalliance.org
Safe and Healthy Children
Strong and Stable Families
Thriving and Prosperous
Communities

7. [Recipient]
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
Address Line 3
Address Line 4
Children’s Trust and Preventions Funds across the United States have
embraced the Strengthening Families Protective Factor (SF/PF)
Framework as a way to build strong families and communities and to
support the optimal development of the very youngest and most
vulnerable children.
Early Care and Education Systems have recognized the need for higher
quality early care and education settings, and have pursued the
development of Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) as a
way to meet this need.
High quality early care and education settings that reach out to parents
in significant and meaningful partnerships may be one of the best ways to
prevent child abuse and neglect. As QRIS are being built and revised, the
critical opportunity exists to strengthen families and prevent child abuse
before it ever occurs.
Strengthening Families
Through QRIS
Primary Prevention: A Key Ingredient in High Quality Early Care and Education
National Alliance of
Children’s Trust and
Prevention Funds
5712 30th Avenue NE
Seattle WA 98105
Phone (206) 526-1221
Fax (206) 526-0220
info@ctfalliance.org
www.ctfalliance.org
Safe and Healthy Children
Strong and Stable Families
Thriving and Prosperous
Communities