Finding top-rated child care centers could be daunting for parents.
State Representative Cory Mason (D-Racine) believes a quality-ranking system, such as the newly proposed YoungStar, would help parents looking for a reliable child care provider. Mason testifies at a public hearing this week, though, about the difficulty in deciphering between certified or licensed facilities.
Says people who talks to has no idea which of the two is a higher quality program, licensed or certified. He confesses even he doesn’t know the difference.
YoungStar would rank providers on a five-star scale. Mason is concerned about the redundancies in the proposed program and the three levels of government trying to certify, license or rate the centers. He suggests, while contemplating a better rating system, just pick one.
The new ratings would also be used to help determine the amount of funding providers receive under the Wisconsin Shares program, in hopes of reducing fraud. YoungStar is expected to cost about $10 million to launch. The proposal goes to the Joint Finance Committee for approval.
Jackie Johnson report 1:42
