What makes a high quality inclusive program?
Incorporating inclusion into quality rating systems is no easy task.
by Heidi Hollingsworth
As of September 2008, 14 states have fully implemented quality rating and improvement systems for their child care programs. According to the National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center, each addresses five common components: standards, accountability measures, program and practitioner outreach and support, financing incentives, and parent/consumer education efforts. Unfortunately, most do not focus on inclusion—meaning that when programs are evaluated under these systems, the quality (or lack thereof) of how they provide inclusive services for young children with disabilities is not measured.
If we are going to increase the availability of high quality inclusive child care programs, then we must incorporate inclusion into quality rating and improvement systems. That’s no easy task. As last week’s blog discussed, we are just now beginning to finalize a shared definition of inclusion. Using this definition as the foundation, we must next (and immediately) come to consensus on what makes a high quality inclusive program.
NPDCI has begun thinking about this topic. Very soon NPDCI will be releasing a new paper, Why Program Quality Matters for Early Childhood Inclusion, discussing high quality inclusion and the need to make this discussion part of professional development activities.
quality and inclusion