Just a rant...I’ve participated in QRS for 13 years (since it was implemented in my state) and worked my way up to 4 stars. There was a lot of paperwork and jumping through hoops but it was attainable without being overwhelming. I felt that the categories and way of scoring were fair and provided a great way of scoring so that experience and education of the provider both received points. Providers didn’t need a degree in ECE to obtain higher scores and could instead earn points on experience and in other ways. The grants for participation were also a factor as they provided decently for the amount of extra work being QRS rated would cause providers. Most parents don’t care either way but it was a way for me personally to feel more professional.

It’s time for me to renew this summer and I’m looking at the new requirements and can’t imagine that any provider would choose to participate in the new rating scale. Especially a provider with a degree in ECE since even with that degree a provider would have to participate in a ton of additional trainings on subjects that were more thouroughly covered in college courses.. Im at the tail end of my BS in ECE and will be finishing classes this summer. I’ve been a provider for for around 20 years total. 100% inspections and a solid and successful business.. However, the requirements take very little of that in to consideration. The amount of paperwork and hoops to jump through increased 10 fold and yet the grant for participation remained the same. The list of things a provider needs to do looks daunting and would add so many hours of paperwork/training/parent involvement activities I would be surprised if centers participate much less home providers. In addition, most of the things they are requireing are not things my clients would want to participate in. If I were to reapply I’d probably only get 1 or 2 stars because the requirements for 3-5 stars are just way too much work (with little to no actual benefit for children, families or the provider).

I’m just so frustrated. I know that QRS has never been a factor in why a parent chose me, I know this will not make or break my business. I don’t get to charge more due to my QRS rating because most parents don’t even know what it is and if they did it wouldn’t be reason enough to pay more. However, I feel like I’ve worked so hard to obtain something I looked at like a “promotion” in a job where career advancement is basically non-existent only to be told that I’m now getting a demotion.

I know, it’s all in my head but I’m still upset. Why make participation in a program harder when the program already has low participation rates?

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