As New York State’s Quality Rating and Improvement System for early childhood programs, QUALITYstarsNY has the unique opportunity to work with different organizations in communities across the state. In this ongoing series, we will highlight some of our local partners and the work we collaborate on to improve and sustain high-quality care and early learning in New York.
One of our strongest partners in the Central New York is the Early Childhood Alliance of Onondaga (ECA). Launched in 2015 with the primary goal of bringing community leaders, early childhood stakeholders, and families together to build a cohesive support system to combat early childhood issues, ECA of Onondaga has launched several programs and initiatives to help strengthen the early childhood system. Their initiatives include reproductive well-being, early literacy & brain development, and parent & family engagement.
“I am incredibly grateful to the team at ECA because I have been able to meet so many more community members, as well as reach programs through word of mouth … We have built a relationship where we are included thruought the community”
Chrissy Miles, Quality Improvement SpecialistQUALITYstarsNY’s collaboration with the ECA of Onondaga started with Quality Improvement Specialist Chrissy Miles. Chrissy was a former employee of local Child Care Resource Center (CCRC) Child Care Solutions. ECA worked closely with Child Care Solutions, and as an employee, Chrissy was able to develop a connection with the team. When Chrissy joined QUALITYstarsNY, she brought her connection with her.
This collaboration has been a boon for both QUALITYstarsNY and ECA of Onondaga. Chrissy, along with fellow Central New York Specialists Tracey Heatley and Abby Jenney, meet with ECA and other community members quarterly in a Child Care and Early Learning workgroup. This workgroup brings many local agencies together, connecting resources and services to support programs they work with. Some topics discussed include Universal Pre-K funding, child care subsidies, and supporting enrollment of Child Care Desert Grant programs.
Help Me Grow Onondaga is one of the projects QUALITYstarsNY has been partnering with in tandem with ECA. This initiative establishes methods to monitor child development by providing families with information and fun activities to help their children thrive. It also has the goal of improving the ability of families and caregivers/educators to work together with health providers to build a strong foundation for their children and the future of New York’s communities. QUALITYstarsNY supports this project by assisting with implementing Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ), one of the developmental screening tools we look for in the Child Observation and Assessment (COA) sub-category in our Standards.
ECA of Onondaga is also supporting the Child Care Quality Improvement Project (CCQI). The CCQI team provides intensive support to a small number of programs for two years at a time, aiming to develop a robust curriculum and observation and assessment protocols. Our Specialists met with ECA to go over the project’s goals and to see where they align with our Quality Standards. This led to the two teams working closely together, aligning the project’s goals to our Standards and making sure all programs are receiving a consistent message from both organizations, as many programs involved in the CCQI have transitioned into participating in QUALITYstarsNY. By working with ECA, CCQI, and QUALITYstarsNY in tandem, programs receive more training, resources, and professional development opportunities than they would from just one of these agencies, and this allows us to expand our reach to new programs in the area.
By sharing the vision that all families in their community deserve access to high-quality early care and education, partnering with ECA has allowed Chrissy and the other Specialists in Central New York not only to enroll new programs but to give their programs an all-encompassing level of support. This partnership has been impactful for our team, both personally and professionally. “I am incredibly grateful to the team at ECA because I have been able to meet so many more community members, as well as reach programs through word of mouth,” says Chrissy. “Another goal I am working on is the partnership with WISE Women’s Business Center, which occurred because of the meetings with ECA. We (ECA, QUALITYstarsNY, and CCQI) are meeting monthly to see how they can help our family providers learn more about running a small business. We have built a relationship where we are included throughout the community”
