全球智库信息集成服务系统

From January to October 2014, There Was a Net Gain of 23 Providers in Delaware Stars

• The overall participation rate among licensed family child care (FCC) providers and centers increased from 36 to 39 percent, with centers reaching a 73-percent participation rate.
• More providers moved to higher rating tiers, with 45 percent of providers at the top two tiers (Star 4 or Star 5). Among children enrolled in Delaware Stars providers, 62 percent were in Star 4 or Star 5 programs.
• About one in three Delaware Stars providers were participating in Stars Plus, which provides more-intensive supports for quality improvement.
• Programs transition most rapidly out of Starting with Stars to Star 2 and from Star 3 to Star 4.

Delaware Stars Programs Received an Average of $27,000 per Program in Combined Incentives

• Financial incentives totaling $15.3 million were paid to providers or staff between October 2013 and September 2014, with the largest component for tiered reimbursement to providers serving children with Purchase of Care child care subsidies.
• The highest share of providers participating in a financial incentive during the year was for Quality Improvement Grants (55 percent of programs).
• Centers received, on average, about $45,000 in financial incentives, compared with approximately $3,000 for small FCCs and $8,000 for large FCCs.
• Participation in financial incentives and the amount received did vary significantly by provider type, but these figures not vary significantly by county of location.

Delaware Stars Providers Received the Expected Amount of Technical Assistance

• On average, during the 2013–2014, year Delaware Stars providers received 27 onsite visits, averaging 103 minutes in duration and totaling 41 annual hours.
• Visits and annual hours were lower for Starting with Stars programs, as expected. The number of visits and annual hours peaked at the Star 3 level.
• Technical assistance was slightly higher for centers than FCCs. As intended, visits and annual hours were considerably higher for Stars Plus programs.

Delaware was awarded a Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge grant in December 2011, which provided funding to the state to increase access to and improve the quality of early learning programs for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. As part of the grant, Delaware is required to evaluate its quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) — Delaware Stars for Early Success — and the RAND Corporation was selected as the evaluator to validate the Delaware Stars QRIS. This report, from the second year of the evaluation, addresses program participation and quality ratings, financial incentives, and technical assistance.

Evaluation of Delaware Stars for Early Success: Year 2 Report aims to determine whether Delaware Stars providers are advancing in the rating system and whether additional providers serving infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children are joining the QRIS. The authors updated the analyses of Delaware Stars participation based on administrative data as of October 2014, which is nine months after the snapshot presented in the Year 1 report. There is a slight gain in the overall provider participation rate (from 36 to 39 percent), but no change in the share of children in Delaware Stars programs. The administrative data demonstrate that Delaware Stars programs were advancing through the rating system as intended. The authors also include new analyses of Delaware Stars programs' use of financial incentives and the amount of in-person technical assistance delivered to participating providers. Overall, the report points to the need for, and potential gain from, improving the Delaware Stars administrative data system.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Participation in Delaware Stars and Rating Results

• Chapter Three

  Financial Incentives in Delaware Stars

• Chapter Four

  Technical Assistance in Delaware Stars

• Chapter Five

  Conclusions and Recommendations

• Appendix A

  Additional Documentation for Delaware Stars

• Appendix B

  Tables from the Year 1 Report

• Appendix C

  Additional Documentation for Chapter Three and Chapter Four Analyses