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The Initiative
Success By 6 is committed to this goal:
A self-sustaining system of developmentally appropriate, high-quality childcare is developed for all children begining in target areas of Orange County through systematic quality improvement, community support, and parent education.
To reach this goal, we aim to
- Measure and improve childcare quality through a Star-Quality Rating System based on proven nationwide standards and National Association for Education of Young Children Accreditation;
- Strengthening the childcare infrastructure through business training and resource development;
- Increase the quantity of quality childcare programs in Orange County;
- Improve access to NAEYC Accredited programs for low-income working families; and
- Advocate for and increase community awareness of the importance of quality early childhood education.
Current Success By 6 projects:
- Star-Quality Rating System Project
The Success By 6 Star-Quality Rating System is the first system in Orange County that incrementally rates childcare centers for quality. Using the well-established measures - the Early Childhood Enviromental Rating Scale and NAEYC Accreditation - the Star-Quality Rating System assigns a star-rating of 1 to 5 with NAEYC Accreditation being the highest or 5th star. Any center may apply to be rated and to be a Success By 6 Star-Quality Center. NAEYC Accredited centers will automatically receive the Success By 6 5-Star Quality Center rating. Centers meeting certain requirements, include serving low-income working families, may be eligible to receive direct support and additional resources to raise their Star-Quality Rating.
NAEYC Accreditation Support Project
In 1999, Success By 6 began an Accreditation Support Project to assist childcare centers in targeted low-income areas of Orange County to reach the highest quality standard of NAEYC Accreditation. During a six-year period, 25 centers made significant quality improvements, and among those, 17 centers reached Accreditation. Success By 6 remains committed to assisting these 17 centers to sustain Accreditation and also partners with the Orange County Association for the Education of Young Children to promote Accreditation through information sharing, resource development and training.
This family early literacy projects assists children and their families to establish the habit of daily reading from a very young age. Partnering with childcare centers, the program provides sturdy book bags and age-appropriate award-winning books for children to take home weekly and educates parents on how to read with their children every day. Raising A Reader also links children and families to their local public libraries and children are also given their own book bags to take to their library to borrow books.
- Local Investment In Child Care Project (LINCC)
The LINCC Project frames childcare as a critical component in local economic development and also aims to build the business acumen of childcare owners/operators as well as to increase economic supports to the childcare industry. LINCC Project
- Orange County Child Care Connections Collaborative
Lead by Success By 6's LINCC Project, this collaborative has created a central clearinghouse of information, resources, training, support and advocacy for anyone interested in establishing a childcare program in Orange County.
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