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327 | P a g e FFY 2025–2027 CCDF State Plan

Most recently, the Lead Agency, in consultation with an external expert committee, reviewed ERS data to plan and develop a Quality Nutrition and Physical Activity Endorsement to improve quality in this area. The endorsement development is underway and will be piloted in late 2024 and into 2025. Feedback from the pilot participants will be incorporated into Quality Rated. Externally, the Lead Agency has recently collaborated with state and national partners, including the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS), Child Trends, and the Urban Institute, to conduct a comprehensive review of all aspects of the current Quality Rated system. This effort began in 2022, with extensive data gathering taking place in 2023 and analysis and final reports produced in 2024. Through this process, providers and families helped identify areas for quality improvement that will be incorporated into revisions of the system. Data gathering methods included: surveys of licensed child care programs, including family child care providers, child care centers, and school-age only providers; multiple targeted focus group sessions held virtually and in- person with child care providers (both participating and not participating in Quality Rated), families (including those requiring care during non-traditional hours), regional technical assistance providers, Quality Rated staff, and other concerned advocates and stakeholder groups; and virtual and in-person targeted data walks to discuss outcomes from the surveys and focus groups and seek feedback at a deeper level into the results of the initial findings. Two statewide stakeholder convenings were held in March 2024 to present findings and propose recommended revisions to the system, followed by a public webinar and comment period in May 2024. Urban Institute reports were published in 2024 and are available at: https://www.urban.org/projects/partnering-georgia- department-early-care-and-learning-strengthen-georgias-early-care-and; the most recent of these was published in August 2024. The Lead Agency has several additional mechanisms for identifying quality improvement needs in specific topic areas. These include: - Exploring the incorporation of school-age care in center-based child care programs for Quality Rated. The purpose of this exploratory evaluation with research partners at the Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network was to gain a better understanding of the levels of quality in the state’s school-age classrooms within center- based child care programs and to develop initiatives to better support and incorporate school-age classrooms into the revision of Quality Rated. - Evaluating the Quality Rated Language and Literacy Endorsement (QRLLE). The Lead Agency has awarded QRLLEs to 23 center-based programs and nine family homes. The Lead Agency is partnering with the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to evaluate the degree to which the QRLLE helps programs improve their language and literacy practices. Researchers are observing classrooms in QRLLE and non-QRLLE programs using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) Toddler, CLASS Pre-K, and the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO). Results of the evaluation are expected in fall 2024 and will include recommendations on next steps for the QRLLE. - Providers going through the Quality Rated rating process receive a survey after their ERS observation to collect feedback about their experience with the observation process. Provider feedback helps identify needed improvements to the observation process. - The Lead Agency’s research team is developing a research agenda to direct agency research activities moving forward. This will include research questions and regular data