All licensed and registered facilities must follow the state minimum standards. Some caregivers strive to offer a higher quality of care that is above the state minimum standards:
National Accreditation is a process through which child care programs voluntarily meet specific standards that are above the state’s minimum to receive endorsement from a professional agency. Some organizations that have awarded national accreditation to child care providers in our area are:
- National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
- National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs (NAC)
- National Accreditation for Child Care Programs (NECPA)
- National Association of Family Child Care (NAFCC)
- Council on Accreditation for School-age programs (COA)
Texas Rising Star (TRS) Providers voluntarily meet requirements that exceed the state’s minimum licensing standards for health and safety, group size, child/staff ratios, caregiver training, and age-appropriate curricula and activities for child care facilities.
TRS providers are denoted as two, three or four-star providers. Four-star providers met the highest level of quality criteria established by the Texas Workforce Commission at the time of TRS certification
Texas School Ready (TSR)
TSR is a comprehensive preschool teacher training program combining a research-based, state-adopted curriculum with ongoing professional development and progress monitoring tools. The goal of this program is to help children be better prepared for school.