Kids Like Me, A QUALITY RATED CENTER

Parents and families need an independent, trustworthy resource to help them find high-quality child care, preschool, and Pre-K programs. That’s where Georgia’s Quality Rated comes in. Quality Rated has an online tool that helps families find child care in their area that have been evaluated by credentialed early childhood experts and deemed high-quality. Families can have peace of mind knowing that any participating child care program is committed to providing children an environment and experience that is best for their development.

Quality Rated is Georgia’s system to determine, improve, and communicate the quality of programs that provide child care. Similar to rating systems for restaurants and hotels, Quality Rated assigns one, two or three stars to early education and school-age care programs that meet or exceed the minimum state requirements. By participating in Georgia’s voluntary Quality Rated program, programs make a commitment to work continuously to improve the quality of care they provide to children and families.   Quality Rated gives parents and families greater confidence in their child care choice because independent, credentialed experts in early education have assessed whether programs follow best practices, such as:  

• Employing qualified and well-trained teachers 
• Providing a safe, healthy and caring environment 
• Implementing individualized instruction 
• Offering a curriculum that prepares children for kindergarten
• A focus on both active learning and social-emotional development 
• Engaging families 
• Providing a low teacher-student ratio

Licensed child care facilities follow state licensing rules to ensure children are in a safe and healthy environment.  Licensed child care programs in Georgia:  

• Receive a minimum of two unannounced inspections from the state of Georgia to ensure the program is following health and safety guidelines 
• Are required to comply with state health and safety guidelines for child care  
• Have child care program staff who are trained in CPR and First Aid, and have someone on premises with this training whenever children are present 
• All child care program employees in a licensed facility must have a satisfactory criminal background check 
• Routine cleaning and sanitation of indoor and outdoor play areas and equipment 
• Prohibit smoking on premises during hours of operation 
• Teachers and directors must have a minimum of 10 hours of professional child care and child development training a year