Group Wants To Rate Early Childhood Providers

Group Wants To Rate Early Childhood Providers
Posted Tuesday, February 19, 2008 ; 05:31 PM
Updated Tuesday, February 19, 2008 ; 07:32 PM

Goal is to improve early childhood education with the help of providers, parents and civic leaders.

Story by Kimberly Beary

CHARLESTON -- West Virginia Kids Count Fund announced Tuesday the establishment of a new, community-based effort to improve the education of 64,000 children under the age of 6.

Parents often choose a day care provider based upon reputation. The West Virginia Kids Count Fund wants to provide parents with facts as to which providers offer high quality early childhood development.

"This is going to take a while," said Margie Hale, executive director of the West Virginia Kids Count Fund. "This is not an investment that can pay off immediately."

Hale said nine percent of the state's early childhood development programs are nationally accredited. To improve that number and to define a high quality program, Kids First Communities are being established in seven West Virginia cities. They are: Charleston, Morgantown, Beckley, Martinsburg, Parkersburg, Wheeling and Huntington.Kids First Communities are being spear headed by different existing groups in those seven cities.

Funded by $35,000 childcare providers, parents and civic leaders will come together in each community. Together they'll tackle problems, develop a quality measurement tool and learn why an early investment benefits everyone.

"We have less people in prisons. We have higher literacy rates," said Michele Baranaskas, of Charleston's Kids First Community. "And we have more people pursuing higher education. Once we work with children at a very young age, we can raise them to their highest potential."

After a year, the groups will go to the state Capitol and ask for financial backing. One of their arguments comes from Marshall University where a study found for every dollar spent on high quality early childhood programs, the state receives more than $5 back in high performing adults and juveniles with less problems.

The first meeting of the Kids First communities start in March. Invitations to join the groups have yet to go out.

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