Early Achievers is Washington state’s Quality Recognition and Improvement System (QRIS) that provides a framework for observable quality and support for early care and education programs statewide. Through Early Achievers, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) ensures that:
- Children have access to high-quality early learning experiences that help them develop the skills they need to be successful in school and beyond.
- Families can find high-quality early care and education programs that fit their needs using evidence-based information about facility quality.
- Early care and education professionals have access to the resources and supports they need to provide quality care that supports each child’s learning and development.
Early Achievers uses a rating system to track growth in quality improvement of participating early care and education providers. At Levels I and 2, providers are “participating in quality improvement” through training and activities. Facilities that are rated Levels 3 to 5 have achieved a “quality level of excellence.”
This dashboard displays aggregated DCYF Early Achievers data, including counts of participating providers and provider ratings, to demonstrate statewide progress of the Early Achievers quality recognition initiative. The data is updated monthly and provides a ‘snapshot’ of Early Achievers participant data as of the indicated date.
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.