Early Achievers is Washington state’s Quality Recognition and Improvement System (QRIS). The system provides a framework for quality and support for early care and education programs. Through Early Achievers, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) ensures that:
- Children have access to high-quality early learning experiences.
- Families can find high-quality early care and education programs.
- Early care and education professionals have access to the resources and supports to provide quality care.
Early Achievers use a rating system to track quality of providers. At Levels I and 2, providers are “participating in quality improvement”. This means that they are working on training. Facilities that are rated Levels 3 to 5 have a “quality level of excellence.” This means they have reached a high level of quality.
This dashboard shows data, including number of participating providers and provider ratings. The point-in-time data is updated monthly.
For an annual overview see the DCYF OIAA Early Start Act Supplemental Measures.
Footnotes
Existing Subsidy Sites: Provider Sites receiving WCCC subsidy payments before 7/1/2015 with no payment gaps of 12 months or more from 7/30/2016, onward.
New Subsidy Sites: Sites receiving their first WCCC subsidy payments after 7/1/2016, or those with a payment gap of 12 months and new subsidy payments from 7/1/2016, onward.
Existing ECEAP Sites: Provider Sites with contracted ECEAP Slots as of 7/1/2015 following the Early Start Act (ESA) Legislation.
New ECEAP Sites: Provider Sites with contracted ECEAP contract after 7/1/2015 following ESA legislation.
New ECEAP Provider + Licensed: Active licensed/certified provider that has an ECEAP contract after 7/1/2015 following ESA.
Not State Funding: Early learning sites not receiving WCCC subsidy or ECEAP funds who volunteer to join the Early Achievers Program.
At Quality: Subsidy Providers are 'At Quality' if they achieve a quality rating level of 3 or more. ECEAP providers are 'At Quality' if they achieve a quality rating level of 4 or more. Providers that do not receive state funding do not have quality rating requirements. When calculating ‘At Quality’ Rate, this dashboard removes providers who do not have rating requirements and those who are waiting for their initial rating.
Participation: Participation measures the number of providers active in the Early Achievers program compared to the total number of Providers submitted to the MERIT system.
Data Source: DCYF, “MERIT Early Achievers Private Pay Monitoring Report,” from MERIT.
Data File: Early Achievers Summary Data
Questions? For questions about the data or this dashboard please email oiaa@dcyf.wa.gov.
