West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 78 - Human Services › Title 78 - LEGISLATIVE RULE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES BUREAU FOR SOCIAL SERVICES › Series 78-22 - Child Care Quality Rating And Improvement System › Section 78-22-3 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
3.1. Accreditation.
				-- The process by which a credentialing authority endorses or approves the
				childcare methods and programs of a child care agency. The Department does not
				approve or endorse a credentialing authority's standards or methods of
				evaluation.
3.2. Apprenticeship for
				Child Development Specialist (ACDS) Credential. -- A registered apprenticeship
				program that is based on a professional partnership between child care
				providers and their employers. It is a teaching program where apprentices
				"learn by doing." A blending of classroom work and on-the-job training provides
				professional growth for providers. It also enhances the quality of care that
				their employers offer to the community.
3.3. Approved professional development. -- A
				comprehensive, sustained, and intensive approach to improving effectiveness in
				a specific area of study delivered by or sponsored by an approved trainer or
				training conference as defined by the Secretary.
3.4. Assessment Process. -- The process by
				which a reliable evaluator conducts an on-site observation of activities in a
				classroom resulting in the assignment of a score utilizing the appropriate
				Environment Rating Scale or other tool(s) selected by the Secretary.
3.5. Certificate of Registration. --
				Voluntary registration of a program that is exempt from childcare licensing
				issued by the Department of Health and Human Resources.
3.6. Child Care Center. -- A facility
				maintained by the state or any county or municipality thereof, or any agency or
				facility operated by an individual, firm, corporation, association or
				organization, public or private, for the care of thirteen (13) or more children
				for child care services in any setting, if the facility is open for more than
				30 days per year per child.
3.7.
				Child Care Resource and Referral Agency (CCR&R). -- A local nonprofit
				organization involved in supporting child care services. In West Virginia, at a
				minimum, the resource and referral agencies manage the subsidy program, link
				parents with child care options, provide consumer information, offer technical
				assistance and training to providers, and inform parents of other resources in
				their community.
3.8. Conference.
				-- A meeting of individuals or representatives of various bodies for the
				purpose of discussing or acting on topics of childcare interest.
3.9. Core Knowledge Area. -- The set of
				observable skills and knowledge that represent common standards of satisfactory
				practice in the early childhood field in the state of West Virginia.
3.10. Council on Accreditation (COA). -- An
				independent, not-for-profit child and family service accrediting organization
				founded in 1977 by the Child Welfare League of America and Family Service
				America. COA currently accredits 38 different services areas and over 60 types
				of programs, including childcare.
3.11. Evaluation Criteria. -- Child care
				settings that voluntarily apply for a higher star rating shall be evaluated to
				determine if the setting meets the additional quality standards established for
				each type of care at each of three additional levels of quality.
3.12. Environmental Rating Scales. -- A
				series of childcare program assessment instruments (scales). A measurement tool
				used by an assessor during an on-site observation of a childcare classroom to
				evaluate and provide a score to a childcare program.
3.13. Family Child Care Facility. -- Any
				facility which is used to provide nonresidential child care services for
				compensation for seven to twelve children, including children who are living in
				the household, who are under six years of age. No more than four of the total
				number of children may be under twenty-four months of age. A facility may be in
				a provider's residence or a separate building.
3.14. Family Child Care Home. -- A facility
				which is used to provide nonresidential child care services for compensation in
				a provider's residence. The provider may care for four to six children, at one
				time including children who are living in the household, who are under six
				years of age. No more than two of the total number of children may be under
				twenty-four months of age.
3.15.
				License. -- The grant of official permission to a facility to engage in an
				activity which would otherwise be prohibited.
3.16. National Association for the Education
				of Young Children (NAEYC). -- A nonprofit organization of early childhood
				professionals and others who are dedicated to improving the quality of early
				childhood education. More than 100,000 members strong, the association
				comprises a network of more than 400 affiliated local, state, and regional
				organizations, which share the belief that children's high-quality experiences
				at home and in child care, schools, and after-school programs lay the
				foundation for school readiness, academic success, and adult
				achievement.
3.17. National
				Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC). -- An organization that sponsors the
				only nationally recognized accreditation system, designed specifically for
				family child care providers. This system was designed by hundreds of providers,
				parents, and early care and education experts in an effort to create a quality
				indicator for family child care programs across the country.
3.18. Out-Of-School-Time Program. -- A child
				care service which offers activities to children before and after school, on
				school holidays, when school is closed due to emergencies, and on school
				calendar days set aside for teacher activities.
3.19. Substitute Staff. -- An individual who
				is present at the center to maintain the staff: child ratio when a qualified
				staff member is absent.
3.20. Third
				Party Evaluator. -- A formal evaluation conducted by a party with no vested
				interest in the outcome of the research.
3.21. Tiered Reimbursement. -- A system of
				increased payment rates for children in the subsidy program for child care
				programs that demonstrate they provide higher quality care.
3.22. Wage Incentives. -- Financial
				incentives to be provided to programs and staff within the programs.
3.23. West Virginia State Training and
				Registry System (WV STARS). -- A statewide program that tracks education and
				training information for the early care and education workforce in West
				Virginia.