OCFS Child Care Deserts Grants
The NYS Office of Children and Families Services (OCFS) is offering two grant opportunities to help providers open and expand early childhood programs in New York’s child care deserts.
The RFA 1 grant is designed to support providers with opening a new early childhood program in a child care desert area. Providers awarded a Child Care Deserts Grant for New Programs are expected to participate in QUALITYstarsNY’s Start with Stars initiative once their new program is licensed. This will allow these new programs in child care deserts to access QUALITYstarsNY’s support and services to help them create a foundation for success right from the start.
Please note: If you are awarded a RFA 1 grant, you have 30 days from your award date to apply for QUALITYstarsNY/Start with Stars. Get started with the application now.
This grant opportunity is for child care programs that are licensed/permitted/registered before January 28, 2022 who are seeking to expand capacity under their existing license. The application window is now closed. Providers awarded a Child Care Deserts Grant for Existing Providers are required to participate in QUALITYstarsNY once awarded the grant.
Unlike RFA 1, these grantees will participate in QUALITYstarsNY rather than Start with Stars, unless they meet the general eligibility criteria for Start with Stars. These programs would be eligible to participate in Start with Stars if they are either:
- A new program first licensed within the last year
- Have new program leadership
If the program does not meet these criteria, they will participate in QUALITYstarsNY. This will give RFA 2 grant awardees access to QUALITYstarsNY’s comprehensive services and resources to support the growth of their existing child care desert program!
FAQs
- All
- General Information
- CC Deserts Grant
- Start with Stars Participation
- Applying for QUALITYstarsNY / Start with Stars
- QUALITYstarsNY Participation
QUALITYstarsNY is New York State’s Quality Rating and Improvement System for early childhood programs. QUALITYstarsNY is designed to provide the support programs need to enhance the quality of early childhood education for New York’s children and families. Programs participating in QUALITYstarsNY earn a rating of 1-5 Stars every three years and receive access to a range of resources to improve and sustain quality. The core focus of QUALITYstarsNY is to help early childhood programs in all regulated settings engage in continuous quality improvement so they can best serve young children and their families.
Start with Stars is a QUALITYstarsNY initiative designed, in part, to support newly licensed early childhood programs. Programs participating in Start with Stars have access to individualized support to help them create a foundation for success right from the start.
The duration of participation in Start with Stars is short-term (6 months) while QUALITYstarsNY participation is ongoing. In Start with Stars, programs meet more frequently with their Quality Improvement Specialist. Start with Stars programs are not rated until they transition into QUALITYstarsNY, after which they have access to the full range of QUALITYstarsNY resources.
RFA 1 grant awardees are required to participate in Start with Stars whereas RFA 2 grantees may participate if they meet one of the Start with Stars eligibility criteria.
Yes, all Child Care Deserts Grant Awardees must participate in QUALITYstarsNY or its Start with Stars Initiative.
RFA 1 grant awardees are expected to participate in Start with Stars. They must start the application process for QUALITYstarsNY/Start with Stars within 30 days of their grant award date.
RFA 2 grant awardees are expected to participate in QUALITYstarsNY unless they meet the general eligibility criteria for Start with Stars. These programs would be eligible to participate in Start with Stars if they are either:
- A new program first licensed within the last year
- Have new program leadership
- Need support to address challenges related to meeting licensing requirements
If the program does not meet these criteria, they will participate in QUALITYstarsNY.
No, grant awardees are expected to participate in Start with Stars before joining QUALITYstarsNY. After six months of building capacity to engage in continuous quality improvement, programs will transition into QUALITYstarsNY to continue their quality improvement journey.
We encourage Child Care Deserts Grant awardees to attend one of our general QUALITYstarsNY Information Sessions to learn more about QUALITYstarsNY and what to expect as a participant. Information Sessions are hosted virtually and offered in both English and Spanish. Click the link in the section above to visit our Information Session page to register to join us for an upcoming session.
The Aspire Registry is New York’s statewide data platform designed to support the early childhood and school age workforce. It aids in improving the quality of early childhood education by helping individuals find and track high-quality professional development. The online system allows teachers, assistant teachers, after-school professionals, directors, and trainers to track their education, professional development, training, and career goals and find post-professional development opportunities. Both QUALITYstarsNY and The Aspire Registry are coordinated by the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute.
QUALITYstarsNY and Start with Stars participants have the added benefit of becoming members of The Aspire Registry. The qualifications and experience that staff enter into Aspire and verify with supporting documentation is used to earn points for certain Standards in the QUALITYstarsNY rating process.
Continuous quality improvement is the core focus of QUALITYstarsNY and the support we provide to early childhood programs. When your program joins, you will be partnered with a dedicated Quality Improvement Specialist (QI Specialist) with expertise in early childhood education and program administration, who will advise and support you throughout your participation. You will meet regularly with your QI Specialist through on-site meetings and maintain ongoing communications.
All QUALITYstarsNY participants are on a path to excellence and earn a Star Rating of 1-5 Stars. Once you complete the rating process, you will partner with your QI Specialist to identify opportunities for improvement using the research-based QUALITYstarsNY Standards as a roadmap for your continuous quality improvement journey. You’ll set the goals you want to achieve for your program and have access to a range of resources and support to achieve your goals. With access to ongoing support and resources, programs at all Star levels enhance and sustain their quality over time. Approximately every 3 years, you will complete the re-rating process to reflect on and celebrate your program’s progress!
Programs participating in QUALITYstarsNY receive:
- Ongoing support from their Quality Improvement Specialist
- Data-driven assessment through the rating process to inform quality improvement planning
- Professional development opportunities and scholarships for staff
- Access to high quality classroom materials and furnishings to enhance your program’s learning environment
- And more!
Child Care Deserts Grant programs are expected to participate throughout the duration of the grant term. However, they are welcome to continue to participate in QUALITYstarsNY once the grant term ends. In general, programs may participate for as long as they choose to be a part of QUALITYstarsNY and access the benefits of participation.
If you are already participating and awarded and RFA 2 grant, QUALITYstarsNY will assess where your program is in the participation process using the Participation Benchmarks Guidelines and you will be informed by your Quality Improvement Specialist where you are in the Benchmark Timeline. If you continue to meet your deadlines as reflected in the QUALITYstarsNY data systems, either for the rating process or your Quality Improvement Plan, you will be on track to meet your QUALITYstarsNY Participation Benchmarks for the OCFS grant requirements.
As a Start with Stars participant, your program will be paired with a Quality Improvement Specialist (QI Specialist) with expertise in the field of early childhood education. Your QI Specialist will provide individualized support to help your new program establish a strong foundation, rooted in best practices in early childhood education. After six months, your program will transition into QUALITYstarsNY. After earning their QUALITYstarsNY Star Rating, your program will have access to the full range of QUALITYstarsNY’s support and resources to enhance and sustain your program quality.
As a Start with Stars participant, you are expected to meet every 2-4 weeks with your QI Specialist on-site at your program and regularly communicate with them via email and/or phone between meetings. Partner with your QI Specialist to complete foundational tasks that will build your program’s capacity to engage in continuous quality improvement.
Your program will participate in Start with Stars for six months, after which you’ll transition into QUALITYstarsNY.
Yes, programs must participate in QUALITYstarsNY for the duration of their grant term after completing 6 months in Start with Stars.