Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (WCCF) has just released a new publication, Infant and Toddler Care and Education in Milwaukee 2012.
The YoungStar quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) is being rolled out, bringing greater focus to the quality of services for children from low-income families supported by Wisconsin Shares child care subsidies. The Herzfeld Foundation funded WCCF to analyze infant/toddler care and education in Milwaukee, investigating the extent to which these children are being served by high-quality programs, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
This Milwaukee report examines infant and toddler services in three sections:
A. Early Head Start in Milwaukee: A description of two programs with high standards serving infants and toddlers.
B. Milwaukee Children in YoungStar-Rated Child Care: An analysis of Milwaukee infants and toddlers in child care settings participating in the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program and a breakout of YoungStar quality ratings.
C. Interviews: Results from discussions with high-quality infant and toddler programs.
Key findings include:
- As of September 2012, 69.5% of child care programs serving infants and toddlers were rated 2 stars, with 30.5% rated 3 to 5 stars.
- We estimate that less than 3% of eligible infants and toddlers are being served by Early Head Start, with an estimated 13,419 children eligible, and only 344 children served.
- Due to the high cost of infant-toddler care, the challenge to develop and sustain high quality child care services is substantial.
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