Early this morning, parents, activists, and early learning advocates from across the state were in Olympia to testify in favor of HB 2569, also known as QRIS, at the House Early Learning & Human Services Committee. The passage of QRIS is would mean implementing a voluntary quality rating and improvement system for child care centers and early learning programs. Those childcare centers which choose not to participate would not be included in the rating system. The funding would be provided from Washington’s successful application to the Race to the Top: Early Learning Challenge.
Sarah Francis, the founder of MomsRising, spoke on her and other MomsRising member’s difficulties finding affordable high quality care. She cited a story from a member named Leah who wrote, “Quality childcare is difficult to find in Washington state, and affordable quality care is nonexistent.”
April Terry, mother of three, former childcare provider, and our LEV’s early learning organizer, also testified in favor of the bill. In her testimony, she recalled the hardships she went through trying to find childcare for her three children:
“As low income parent, not only was it struggle to find childcare but a high quality one where my children were not only nurtured and safe and provided with an excellent curriculum was even harder.”
She also noted the struggles that many parents continue to go through: “Many parents in today’s economy don’t have the luxury to investigate and interview centers on quality.”
Terry said she support the rating system because “QRIS would stabilize our state’s professional early learning workforce by providing incentives, support and compensation for improving quality of care.”
“QRIS gives parents another tool when deciding where their precious cargo will spend the majority of their time,” she added.
Terry ended her testimony with this question:
“With half of our children ages 9 to 24 months are in childcare or some form of early learning, shouldn’t it be of the highest quality and be easy to find?”
Children’s Alliance has prepared a full QRIS brief which can be accessed here.
Full testimony can be watched below.
