The Cook County YMCA Childcare Center has once again received a four-star rating from the Minnesota-based organization Parent Aware, the highest a facility can receive. According to the Parent Aware website, their mission is to offer tools and resources for parents/guardians to “find quality child care and early education”, and to guide facilities to improve their practices so “children can benefit from care and education that will prepare them for school and life.”

To qualify for any rating between one star and four stars, a facility/organization has to follow certain best practices and other criteria set in place by Parent Aware. Not all facilities or organizations qualify for any type of Parent Aware accreditation. 

In addition to meeting certain criteria, staff at these facilities participate in additional training, education, and professional development opportunities above what is needed for standard licensure. 

On top of all that, facilities/organizations must reapply for certification after a certain amount of time - which was the case for the Cook County location.

According to Duluth YMCA District Vice President Emily Marshall, the Cook County YMCA Childcare Center has been Parent Aware rated since 2016 and was renewing its certification. In 2018, they applied for a 2-star rating due to a change in licensure (they went from a small childcare operation to a center), which they received, and then worked toward a 4-star rating in 2020. 

In order to once again obtain a four-star rating, Marshall told Boreal Community Media that the “Biggest step was to get all of our current lead teachers trained in all of the required coursework, because we have had a transition with a few of the teachers on our team since the last time we were certified.”

In addition, the Cook County location worked to determine goals for each classroom and the center as a whole, as well as completing a new quality assessment. 

According to Marshall, these are the goals the center is working towards:

• Increase art opportunities for toddlers by having art materials accessible at all times.

• Acquire more culturally diverse toys, books, pictures, and music to add to classrooms.

• Increase opportunities to advance literacy learning by at least 2 intentional strategies each week

• Increase access to music and musical instruments from many cultures.

• Increase access to toys and play accessories that depict people that are representative of various cultural and ethnic groups other than their own.

• Increase math opportunities and try to get all toddlers to a level 2 by the end of the next assessment period. Try to get all toddlers to a level 3 by the time they transition to the preschool room.

• Increase Parent Nutrition Education by one per quarter.

The benefits for an organization to be Parent Aware rated, specifically at 4-stars, are numerous for the kids and families that attend.

One major benefit is that a 4-star rating opens up a scholarship for income-eligible families for up to $15,000 (a brand new change, up from $12,000), which provides access to high-quality childcare programs for more kids in a particular area. 

Marshall shared that “Scholarship eligibility is determined by risk factors and income. In January of 2024, the scholarship is now available to infants and toddlers (even if they don't have a sibling in the program) - a very recent change."