Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 148 - OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES › Chapter 31 - QUALITY RATING AND IMPROVEMENT SYSTEM RULES: RISING STARS FOR ME › Section 148-31-1 - PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Purpose
Maine's Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), Rising
				  Stars for ME, is a rating system designed to:
Increase awareness of the basic Standards of Early Care
					 and Education;
										Recognize and support Early Care and Education Programs
					 (Program) providing care above and beyond those Standards; and
										Educate the community about the benefits of higher
					 quality care.
Rising Stars for ME is funded by the Child Care and
				  Development Fund (CCDF) Block Grant Program and administered by Maine's
				  Department of Health and Human Service's Office of Child and Family Services
				  (OCFS). Rising Stars for ME's purpose is to recognize Programs that provide
				  quality care, encourage Program Owners to increase their level of quality, and
				  provide parents with identifiable Standards of quality.
This rule relates to the participation of any Program with
				  Rising Stars for ME, whether or not the Program is licensed by OCFS. Many
				  Programs are required to be licensed by the State of Maine. This is not a
				  licensing rule. This rule:
Outlines procedures for Programs' enrollment with
					 Rising Stars for ME;
										Establishes Standards and Requirements for each Star
					 Rating by Program type;
										Explains how a Program can attain a Star
					 Rating;
										Explains how a Program can maintain its Star Rating or
					 advance to the next Star Rating; and
										Explains how to appeal their Star Rating.
B.
Definitions
For purposes of this rule, the following terms have the
				  following meanings:
1.
Abuse or
				neglect
means a threat to a Child's health or welfare by physical,
				mental, or emotional injury or impairment, sexual abuse or exploitation,
				deprivation of essential needs or lack of protection from these, by a person
				responsible for the Child.
2.
Accreditation
means the process that validates a Program employs
				quality environments, processes, and procedures in delivering programming that
				conforms to national standards.
3.
Administrative Hearing
means a proceeding pursuant to the
				Administrative Hearings regulations, 10-144 C.M.R. ch. 1. Refer to:
https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/10/144/144c001.docx
.
4.
Adult
means a person at least
				eighteen (18) years old and over.
5.
Building Block Approach
means
				all the Standards in each Star Rating must be met by the Program to advance to
				the next Star Rating.
6.
Career Lattice
means Maine's Professional Development Network's
				Career Lattice which awards levels of achievements to persons based on training
				and employment history or earned credentials. Refer to:
https://mrtq.org/registry/
.
7.
Child and Youth Assessment
means an ongoing process that includes observation of a child and/or youth that
				provides information about development over time.
8.
Child or Children
means a
				person or persons under the age of thirteen (13).
9.
Child Care and Development Fund
				(CCDF)
means the federally funded, State-administered Program that
				provides assistance to low-income families who need child care due to work,
				work-related training and/or attending school. Includes CCDF Mandatory, CCDF
				Discretionary, CCDF Matching, TANF Transfer Funds, and State funds used for
				State match and maintenance of effort.
10.
Child Care Facility
means a
				facility licensed as a Child Care Facility (including child care centers,
				nursery schools, small child care facilities, and other Programs) by the
				Department.
11.
Child Care
				Facility Handbook
means the document that includes policies, procedures,
				guidelines, guidance, or persons employed with a Program.
12.
Child Care Staff Member
means a person:
a. Not related to all Children
				for whom child care services are provided;
b. Employed by a Program for compensation
				(including independent contractors); and, either/or
c. Whose activities involve the care or
				supervision of Children;
d. Who
				otherwise has unsupervised access to Children who are cared for, or supervised
				by, a Program.
13.
Child Care Subsidy Program (CCSP)
means a Department Program that
				helps eligible families pay for child care so parents can work, go to school,
				or participate in a job training program. CCSP is also available for eligible
				families where the adult(s) are retired and are the legal guardian of a
				child.
14.
Child Care Subsidy
				Program License-Exempt Provider Agreement
means the agreement between a
				Child Care Provider and the Department that outlines the conditions under which
				the Child Care Provider may receive a Child Care Subsidy Payment from the
				Department.
15.
Child
				Development Associate (CDA) Credential
means the national Early Care and
				Education credential administered by the Council for Professional
				Recognition.
16.
Children's
				Licensing and Investigation Services (CLIS)
means a team within the
				Department that licenses and oversees all Child Care Facilities and Family
				Child Care Providers in Maine, as well as Children's residential facilities,
				child placing agencies, and emergency shelters and homeless shelters for
				youth.
17.
Child with Special
				Needs
means a Child who:
a. Is up to
				thirteen (13) years of age who has been determined and documented by a
				qualified professional to be a "Child with a disability" as defined in section
				602 of the
Individuals with
				Disabilities Education Act
(20 U.S.C. §
												1401) ;
b. Is eligible for early intervention
				services under Part C of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education
				Act
(20 U.S.C.
				§§
												1431, et seq.); is eligible for
				services under section
				504 of the
Rehabilitation Act
				of 1973
(29 U.S.C.
				§
												701) ;
c. Meets the definition of disabled under the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(ADA) (42 U.S.C. §
												12102) ; or
d. Is considered at-risk for health and/or
				developmental problems as a result of established biological risk factors,
				and/or as a result of identified environmental risk factors including, but not
				limited to, homelessness, abuse and/or neglect, lead poisoning, and prenatal
				drug or alcohol exposure.
18.
Conditional
License means a
				license issued by the Department to a Family Child Care Provider or Child Care
				Facility for a term not to exceed twelve (12) months, which specifies when and
				what corrections the licensee must complete to achieve compliance. A
				conditional license may be issued by the Department, in accordance with 22
				M.R.S. §
										7802.
19.
Continuous Quality Improvement
				(CQI) Plan
means the support provided to Programs to attain, maintain,
				or advance to a specific Star Rating.
20.
Council on Accreditation
				(COA)
means the international, independent, nonprofit, human service
				accrediting organization.
21.
Department
means the Maine Department of Health and Human
				Services.
22.
Department-approved
means consent by the Child Care Development
				Fund (CCDF) State Child Care Administrator or his/her designee.
23.
Director
means a person with
				primary responsibility for administering a Program and ultimate supervisory
				authority over any Child Care Staff Members. A Director may or may not be a
				Program Owner.
24.
Early Care
				and Education
means the care, education, protection, supervision, and
				guidance of Children from birth through school age.
25.
Early Care and Education Program
				(Program)
means any type of child care programming, such as by a Family
				Child Care Provider, License-Exempt Child Care Provider, Child Care Facility,
				Recreational Program, or Head Start.
26.
Early Care and Education Program
				Improvement Plan
means a Department-approved written strategic approach
				to ensure all Standards will be met by a Program to retain a specific Star
				Rating.
27.
Family Child Care
				Provider
means a person licensed as a Family Child Care Provider by the
				Department.
28.
Family
				Survey
means a series of questions distributed annually to, and
				completed by, families to gather input on the Program's strengths and
				opportunities for improvement.
29.
Head Start
means the federal Program promoting school readiness of
				Children ages birth to five (5) from low-income families by enhancing their
				cognitive, social, and emotional development.
30.
Infant
means a Child six (6)
				weeks of age through twelve (12) months of age.
31.
Infant and Toddler Maine Early
				Learning and Development Standards (IT MELDS)
means the Infant and
				Toddler Maine Early Learning and Development Standards, a document first
				published in 2006 as "Supporting Maine's Infants & Toddlers: Guidelines for
				Learning and Development" and revised from time to time by Maine's Professional
				Development Network and OCFS. IT MELDS is available from the Department on
				request or can be accessed online at
https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/support-for-families/child-care/qris
.
32.
Informal Review
means a
				review of all necessary documentation by the Department to determine if the
				Program Star Rating is accurate.
33.
License
means written
				permission by the Department, whether initial, renewal, temporary or
				conditional, that authorizes a person to be a Family Child Care Provider or
				operate a Child Care Facility. For purposes of this rule, license has the same
				meaning as the certification referred to in 22 MRS §
										8301- A.
34.
License-Exempt Child Care
				Provider
means:
a. A Maine
				resident;
b. Eighteen (18) years of
				age or older;
c. Who provides child
				care services, but is not required to be licensed under Maine law.
35.
Licensing
				Violations
means serious violations of the licensing rule for the
				Program that pose serious risk to Children.
36.
Maine's Early Learning and
				Development Standards (MELDS)
means Maine's Early Learning and
				Development Standards, a guide for state and local early childhood educators'
				efforts to improve practice and programs for young children from the age of
				three until kindergarten entrance, jointly published by the Department and the
				Maine Department of Education in March 2015. MELDS is available from the
				Department on request, or online at
https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/support-for-families/child-care/qris
.
37.
Maine's Professional Development
				Network (PDN) Registry
means an on-line portal that uses a member's
				work, education, and training histories, along with any professional
				credentials, to assign a level on the appropriate Career Lattice.
38.
National Association for Family
				Child Care (NAFCC)
means the national professional association dedicated
				to promoting quality child care by strengthening the profession of Family Child
				Care.
39.
National
				Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
means the
				national professional association dedicated to improving the well-being of all
				young Children, focusing on the quality of educational and developmental
				services for all Children from birth through age eight (8).
40.
Office of Child and Family Services
				(OCFS)
means the office within the Department that administers Rising
				Stars for ME.
41.
Out-of-School-Time (OST)
means a supervised Program that Children
				regularly attend when school is not in session. An Out of School Time Program
				may be one of the following: a licensed as a Family Child Care Provider, or
				Child Care Facility, a License-Exempt Child Care Provider, or a Recreational
				Program.
42.
Portfolio
means documentation demonstrating that Standards at each Star Rating are or
				have been met.
43.
Program
means an Early Care and Education Program.
44.
Program Owner
means a person
				with any ownership interest in a Program or whose name appears on any license
				issued by the Department for the Program.
45.
Quality Rating and Improvement
				System (QRIS)
means the system that utilizes Standards to evaluate and
				document the quality of Programs.
46.
Recreational Program
means a
				Program not licensed as a Family Child Care Provider or Child Care Facility
				because it is (1) a residential or overnight summer camp established solely for
				recreational and educational purposes, licensed in accordance with 10-144 CMR
				Chapter 208,
Rules Relating to Youth Camps, Primitive, and Trip
				Camping
, or (2) a Program offering relevant instruction to Children
				for the purpose of teaching a singular skill such as karate, dance or
				basketball.
47.
Relative
				Child Care Provider
means a License-Exempt Child Care Provider who:
a. Provides child care services to no more
				than two (2) of their grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews,
				or siblings;
b. Is eighteen (18)
				years of age or older;
c. Resides
				in Maine; and
d. Does not live with
				the relative Children for whom they care.
48.
Requirement
means activities
				and/or education a Program must conduct, provide, or receive in each Rising
				Stars for ME Standard to attain, maintain, or advance to the next Star
				Rating.
49.
Restricted
				Rating
means a licensed Program that falls below a Star 1 (one) Rating
				due to having a Conditional License. The Restricted Rating is for the duration
				of the Conditional License.
50.
Rising Stars for ME
means Maine's QRIS, which assigns Programs a
				Rating of Star 1 (one) through 5 (five) Stars.
51.
Rising Stars for ME Inclusive
				Practices Checklist
means a document that expands on Rising Stars for ME
				QRIS with explicit indicators that focus on evidence-informed practices that
				support the inclusion of Children with special needs and/or
				disabilities.
52.
Standard
means a level of achievement identified as necessary in
				Maine's Rising Stars for ME Quality Rating and Improvement System.
53.
Star Rating
means a
				Program's Rating of Star 1 (one) through 5 (five) Stars, assigned by the
				Department based on satisfaction of the Requirements for its Program type for
				that Star Rating as provided in this rule.
54.
Self-assessment
means the
				process of self-reflection to refine practices toward Program improvement and
				the provision of high-quality care.
55.
Site Visit
means a formal
				in-person visit by the Department to a Program to review and assess the quality
				of child care being provided as well as compliance with Department rules and
				policies for providing such care.
56.
State Child Care
				Administrator
means the person in the Department responsible for
				administering the CCDF grant.
57.
Technical Assistance
means the provision of targeted and
				customized supports by a professional with subject matter and adult learning
				knowledge and skills to develop or strengthen processes, knowledge,
				application, or implementation of services by recipient.
58.
Toddler
means a Child
				thirteen (13) through thirty-six (36) months of age.
59.
Volunteer
means a person who
				helps or provides services without compensation in a Program.
60.
Youth
means a person who has
				reached their thirteenth (13) birthday, but who has not yet reached their
				eighteenth (18) birthday.