Franklin County Child Care Providers to Meet Star-Rating Standards

As highlighted in a recent Columbus Dispatch article, Franklin County Department of Jobs and Family Services (FCDJFS) will spend more than $750,000 this year to train childcare providers in low-income communities through the Step Up to Quality (SUTQ) star rating system. This free training will allow providers to meet new state standards and maintain public funding.

By July 1, 2020, all publicly funded child care (PFCC) programs in Ohio must participate in the SUTQ rating system or they will lose their funding. Only one in four PFCC Franklin County providers currently meet those standards. If this mandate were put in place today, more than 22,000 children in the county  – and a total of 115,000 state wide – could lose their child care services.

Early childhood education has a direct impact on a child’s success in school and life, affecting their path into the workforce and out of poverty.

Advocacy & Communication Solutions (ACS) is a long-time client of FCDJFS, most recently leading the development of a public awareness campaign to help child care providers connect to the training; and to educate parents on the importance of quality care. Based on ACS-led research, two commercials were developed and can be viewed here and here.