Distributed by:

LOCAL INVESTMENT COMMISSION

3100 BROADWAY, SUITE 226

KANSAS CITY, MO  64111

(816)889-5050

www.kclinc.org

8/13/98







Community Standards 

for Quality Early Childhood Care and Education



Executive Summary







Quality early childhood care and education is an 

important part of a healthy community:



* laying the foundation for young childrenās 

development,

 

* giving  parents the peace of mind to be more 

productive in their jobs, 

 

* creating thousands of jobs in the Kansas 

City metropolitan area in the field of early 

childhood care and education, 

 

* preparing  young minds to enter school 

ready to learn,

 

* serving as a proven strategy to prevent 

higher social costs for communities down 

the line. 

 

Many of our young children today spend all or 

part of their day in the care of an early care  and 

education provider. Therefore, it is imperative 

that we work to ensure that all children receive 

the care and nurturing they need to succeed in 

life.



The challenge issued by these standards is to 

raise the level of quality care in the community to 

a new height while assuring that new and existing 

programs complement, reinforce, and strengthen 

one another. Building on the base of existing 

quality programs in the metro area, the 

Community Standards for Quality Early 

Childhood Care and Education are designed   to 

define a goal of quality for services for children 

from birth through age eight. These standards 

cannot replace existing formalized accreditation 

of programs, but are meant to act as a stepping 

stone towards the ultimate goal  of accreditation. 



In March of 1997 the Local Investment 

Commission (LINC) and the Metropolitan 

Council on Child Care (MCCC) convened a 

committee of volunteers to draft quality 

standards for the greater Kansas City 

community. 



The committee completed a working draft in May 

1997. This document was then circulated to a 

broader community .audience through a series of 

mailings and public forums. Participants in these 

forums included parents, providers, state agency 

personnel, and other policy makers. 



This completed document represents a 

culmination of efforts to gather input from the 

greater Kansas City metropolitan area. As such, 

it reflects area citizensā feelings and aspirations 

about what constitutes quality in early care and 

education programs in our communities. 



Although this document is completed, MCCC 

and LINC recognize that it can continue to 

evolve with future editions. We therefore 

encourage others to continue to submit feedback 

to improve upon the work presented here. 



Because the Kansas City metropolitan area is a 

bi-state community encompassing the counties of 

Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte in Kansas; 

and Cass, Clay, Jackson, Platte and Ray counties 

in Missouri; the standards described herein 

reflect the licensing requirements of both Kansas 

and Missouri. 



PURPOSE 



Three primary purposes of this document are to:



1. encourage all early care and education 

programs to voluntarily use these standards 

to improve quality as they move toward the 

goal of accreditation;

 

 

2. establish a higher benchmark of quality for 

early care and education services throughout 

the community;

 

 

3. develop a community definition of quality 

early care and education services for 

consumer education. 



GUIDING PRINCIPLES 



* Families are respected and recognized as the 

first and most important teachers and key 

decision makers for their children. 

 

* Learning for all children occurs within the 

context of their families and communities;  

therefore, learning experiences must be 

integrated and should encompass the 

emotional, social, physical and cognitive 

development of the child.

 

* Early childhood care and education is an 

essential component in the provision of family 

services aimed at guiding the physical, 

emotional, intellectual and social development 

of young children.



* Comprehensive early childhood programs 

coordinate parent education, family support 

programs, child care, health and social 

services with the early childhood education.

 

* By virtue of the natural development of 

young children, all environments for young 

children are educational and can provide 

opportunities for learning. 

 

* Every child and family is unique; therefore, 

programs will respond to individual 

differences, interests and needs within the 

context of a core curriculum that promotes 

developmentally appropriate practices.

 

* Partnerships, successful coordination, and 

integration of services are necessary to make 

early childhood experiences the foundation 

for lifelong learning.



ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS 



The fundamental components that ensure 

consistent quality across all programs and 

settings are represented in the Community 

Standards and this executive summary as 

Essential Elements of Quality. Each of the 





following 12 essential elements is accompanied 

by a rationale statement and a set of standards 

that reflect what is recognized by the early 

childhood field and the community as appropriate 

and adequate for the operation of a high quality 

child care program.



Family Involvement

Rationale: Family involvement improves the 

program for the child and enhances parenting 

skills.  When families are engaged in their 

childrenās care and education programs, children 

are more likely to be successful in later school 

experiences.  

  Standard 1: Families are encouraged to be 

involved partners in the program. 

  Standard 2: Families receive support, 

information, and assistance from the program 

in finding services to meet family needs and 

goals.

  Standard 3: The program establishes regular 

and consistent ways of communicating with 

families.



Director/Teacher/Caregiver Behavior

Rationale: Director/teacher/caregiver behavior 

that supports and maintains positive 

communication contributes to a nurturing 

environment for learning and development of all 

children and significantly influences child 

behavior and development.

  Standard 1: The program environment 

promotes warm, positive and respectful 

interactions among directors, 

teacher/caregivers and children.

  Standard 2: The program environment 

promotes positive and respectful interactions 

among directors, teacher/caregivers and 

families.



Effective Program Administration and 

Business Practices

Rationale: Programs that follow responsible and 

ethical business practices are more likely to 

provide stable, consistent and good quality care 

and education for children and families. Staff and 

families benefit from well-planned, well-

communicated administrative policies



  Standard 1: The program complies with all 

applicable federal, state and local standards, 

laws and codes.

  Standard 2: Program policies for staff and 

families are clearly communicated.

  Standard 3: The program follows generally 

accepted administrative, accounting and 

business practices.

  Standard 4: The program assures a pleasant, 

professional working climate for all staff.

  Standard 5: The program has an internal 

evaluation at least annually.

  Standard 6: The program promotes ongoing 

professional staff development.



Program Structure

Rationale: Low staff-child ratios are 

recommended to maintain proper health and 

safety precautions in child care settings and to 

increase quality time and positive interactions 

between caregivers and children.  Continuity of 

caregiver child relationships is also a critical 

element in the social and emotional health of 

children.

  Standard 1: The number of children in a 

group and the number of children per adult 

are low.

  Standard 2: Programs and families work 

together to ensure smooth transitions between 

programs and teacher/caregivers.



Health Safety/Compliance

Rationale: Policies and procedures for promoting 

health and safety lessen the risk of physical 

disease, nutritional problems and mental illness 

among children, staff, and families.

  Standard 1: Teacher/caregivers, families and 

children use measures to protect and promote 

good health.

  Standard 2: Healthful eating habits are 

encouraged through the provision of 

nutritious foods eaten in a pleasant social 

atmosphere.

  Standard 3: The program promotes good 

mental health and physical health in children, 

staff and families.







Physical Environment

Rationale: The physical environment of a quality 

program supports health, safety and learning for 

all participants.

  Standard 1: The physical environment 

includes an adequate amount of space for 

childrenās indoor and outdoor activities, quiet 

time/nap time, for adult planning and 

management activities and adult privacy.

  Standard 2: The physical environment is 

planned to minimize unsafe conditions for 

children and staff.



Curriculum Program for Child 

Development and Learning

Rationale: Programs that respond to the natural 

curiosity of young children reaffirm a sense of 

self. Curriculum should promote positive 

attitudes toward learning, the importance of 

physical activity and cooperation, and help build  

language and problem solving skills.

  Standard 1: The program is based on a 

written mission statement and goals.

  Standard 2: The program uses formal written 

curriculum that is developed with input from 

staff and parents, is tailored to meet the 

needs of the program, and is based on 

developmentally appropriate practice.

  Standard 3: Program is based on individual 

interests, needs and strengths of each child..

  Standard 4: The program is planned to 

support the social, emotional, physical and 

intellectual development of children.

  Standard 5: Assessments of childrenās 

development and learning are used to plan an 

appropriate learning program, to facilitate 

optimal development of each child and to 

communicate with families.



Diversity

Rationale: Practices that are responsive to and 

respectful of individual differences promote 

acceptance of each person, positive self-esteem, 

and strong cultural identity. 

  Standard: Staff respect differences in each 

childās background and experience, and 

commit to practices that build on the childās 

culture, language, strengths and interests.



Inclusion Practices

Rationale: Inclusion is based on the belief that 

young children with special needs are more 

similar to than different from their peers and that 

all young children benefit from learning together 

as members of a diverse community. Children 

with special needs are more likely to develop 

positive social skills when integrated with their 

typical peers. Addressing the needs  of children 

with disabilities through specialized staff training 

and environmental accommo-dations promotes 

the healthy social, physical and mental 

development of children.

  Standard: Children with disabilities and 

developmental delays are integrated with 

typically developing, same-age peers.



Professional Staff Development

Rationale: Education and training of 

teacher/caregivers is a critical factor in quality 

care.  Professional staff value their career choices 

and show dignity and respect for themselves and 

others, participate in educational opportunities to 

advance their knowledge and skills, belong to 

professional associations to improve the quality 

of their services, follow ethical standards, 

advocate for children and families and are 

compensated fairly for their services.

  Standard: Teacher/caregivers are qualified 

by education, training and experience to give 

quality care and education to children.



Working Conditions and Compensation

Rationale: Working conditions are linked to 

professional satisfaction and turn-over rates.  

Satisfied teachers/caregivers tend to remain on 

the job and provide more stability and 

appropriate programming for children. 

  Standard: Teacher/caregiverās compensation 

and benefits are reflective of professional 

development and comparable to other 

professional positions with similar 

qualifications and responsibilities.



Collaboration

Rationale: Quality services for young children 

and their families are best ensured by working 

collaboratively with a broad-based group of 

partners toward common goals. 

  Standard: The comprehensive needs of young 

children and their families are met through 

ongoing relationships and collaboration in the 

community involving families, programs and 

individuals whose work relates to or may 

affect the development of young children.



MCCC and LINC would like to acknowledge the 

hard work and determination of all of those 

involved in the development of this document. 

Over 800 individuals throughout the community 

have had an opportunity to review and comment 

on these standards during the year-long input 

process. If you would like a complete copy of the 

Community Standards please contact either Kyle 

Matchell at MCCC, 816/474-4240 or Candace 

Cheatum at LINC, 816/889-5050.



This executive summary and the Community 

Standards for Quality Early Childhood Care and 

Education are based on the: Developmentally 

Appropriate Practice, Birth - 8 and Accreditation 

Criteria and Procedures of the National Academy of 

Early Childhood Programs from the National 

Association for the Education of Young Children 

(NAEYC) and the accreditation criteria from the 

National Association for Family Child Care. 



Portions of the licensing rules and regulations for   

the states of Kansas and Missouri were used to in  

the development of this document. Special thanks    

to the Kansas Department of Education, for Kansas 

Quality Standards for Early Childhood, the United 

Way of Pittsburgh/Allegheny County for Early 

Childhood Initiative: Standards, the Oregon Forging 

the Link Project sponsored by the Danforth 

Foundation for Essential Elements of Programs for 

Children and the West Virginia Governorās Cabinet  

on Children and Families for West Virginia Essential 

Elements of Quality for Early Care and Education 

Programs, all of which contributed to the 

development of this document





                 

Mid-America Regional Council

Metropolitan Council on Child Care

United Way

Local Investment Commission