Parents get help in choosing child care

When Christy Moore began searching for child care for her infant daughter, she felt confused and "completely stressed." She scrutinized websites listing the names and addresses of hundreds of day care providers, but they offered few clues about their quality.

The Woodbury mother was thrilled to learn that Minnesota has launched a pilot project to rate child care providers according to the quality of care and educational opportunities offered.

It's an important new tool for the parents of the roughly 230,000 children dropped off at licensed day care providers in the state, said Moore and others at a news conference held Wednesday to announce the program.

"Just because a day care has a license doesn't mean it offers the educational and nurturing environment that I was looking for," Moore said. "The star rating system will help parents feel good about all the things not covered by licensing."

Called Parent Aware, the program gives participating child care facilities a rating of zero to four stars, depending on staff training, teaching materials, parent involvement and other factors.

Licensed child care facilities have volunteered to be part of the program; more than 200 have enrolled to date.

In addition, Parent Aware operates a website, www. parentawareratings.org, that allows parents to check out programs in their area.

The pilot project rating system currently includes licensed day care providers in St. Paul, north Minneapolis and Wayzata, as well as Blue Earth and Nicollet counties, said Duane Benson, executive director of the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation in St. Paul, the chief financial backer of the three-year project.

Benson said the goal is to improve the quality of child care in participating areas, in particular for youngsters at risk of performing poorly in school.

The rating system is a collaboration between the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation, the state Department of Human Services and the Minnesota Child Care Resource and Referral Network based in St. Paul.

In launching the system, Minnesota joins more than 30 states experimenting with ways to rate day care facilities, said Karen Fogolin, associate director of the Minnesota Child Care Resource and Referral Network.

"Research tells us that a child's brain develops most rapidly in the preschool years," she said. "These early life experiences are critical. We need to pay attention to the quality of the programs these children are participating in."

Nearly 90 percent of parents interviewed in a 2004 survey by the Wilder Research Center said they would find a rating system helpful as they searched for child care. Moore said selecting a day care provider was one of the most important decisions she's made as a parent.

"You have this baby and you're going to give it to someone to take care of all day," she said. "And you hear about these shaken babies and other stories. It's scary."

Day care facilities benefit from the program, as well, said DeSarae LeGrand, whose north Minneapolis day care was awarded a four-star rating after she worked with the program to satisfy its standards.

LeGrand said she heard about the program last year through a mailing and a phone call from organizers. The opportunity to improve the quality of her day care caught her interest, so she went to an orientation session and signed up.

Soon after, a staff member from the University of Minnesota Center for Early Education and Development visited her home to assess the day care. Special attention was paid to the training that LeGrand and her assistants had, the teaching materials on hand, parent-provider relationships and the overall environment.

With the help of a mentor and some financial assistance, LeGrand was able purchase additional curriculum, art materials, some tables for the children to work on and other items to transform her day care into an early learning center. She and her staff received more training, as well.

"It definitely took us to a different level," LeGrand said.

Organizers said they hope that the rating system raises parents' awareness, too. Most parents are good at seeing the obvious, such as overall environment. But many don't know how to evaluate things such as curriculum and teacher training, said Chuck Johnson, an assistant commissioner at the state Department of Human Services.

"This is critical information for parents," he said.

Jean Hopfensperger • 651-298-1553