OCFS Child Care Deserts Grants
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
- Need support to address challenges related to meeting licensing requirements
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!
Information Sessions for Child Care Deserts Grant Awardees and Applicants
For Providers Awarded a Child Care Deserts Grant for New Programs (RFA 1) or Applying for a Child Care Deserts Grant for New Programs (RFA 2)
We’re hosting Information Sessions for those who have been awarded or applied for a child care deserts grant. Join us to learn more more about the requirement that grant awardees participate in the Start with Stars Initiative (RFA 1) or QUALITYstarsNY (RFA2) and the ways it will benefit your program!
FAQs for RFA 1
- All
- Applying for Start with Stars
- CC Deserts Grant
- General Information
- Start with Stars Participation
- Transitioning into QUALITYstarsNY
QUALITYstarsNY is New York State’s voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement System for early childhood programs. QUALITYstarsNY is designed to empower programs to enhance the quality of early childhood education for New York’s children and families. Programs participating in QUALITYstarsNY are rated on a 5-Star scale every three years and are supported with a full complement of resources to improve their quality and increase their Star Rating. The core focus of QUALITYstarsNY is to help early childhood programs in all regulated settings engage in continuous quality improvement to 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.
Yes, recipients of the OCFS Child Care Deserts Grant are expected to participate in Start with Stars within 30 days of receiving their license for the new program.
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.
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.
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.
Your program will continue to partner with your QI Specialist throughout your participation in QUALITYstarsNY through regular on-site meetings and ongoing communication. Once you transition to QUALITYstarsNY, you will complete the rating process to earn your first Star Rating. Working with your QI Specialist, you will use the QUALITYstarsNY Program Standards to identify opportunities for improvement and continue to develop your Quality Improvement Plan, with access to a range of resources to achieve your quality improvement goals. Approximately every 3 years, you will complete the re-rating process to reflect on your progress and celebrate the ways you are enhancing and sustaining quality.
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
- And more!