QRIS Block Grants
Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Block Grants
Quality Counts California (QCC) Local Consortia and Partnership Grants
The California Department of Education (CDE) and First 5 California (F5CA) invite local qualifying agencies to apply for Quality Counts California (QCC) Local Consortia and Partnership grants. This unified RFA comes at a particularly exciting time for Early Learning and Care (ELC) in California, with historic new leadership, investment, and a comprehensive vision for an early childhood system from the Governor’s office.
The three-year total grant budget for this unified RFA is approximately $266.85 million to be distributed across local consortia representing all 58 counties; for CDE funding, the annual amounts are dependent on the annual budget act as well as amounts of federal Child Care and Development Block Grant, and will be updated each July following the budget execution. In addition, this RFA also incorporates new federal funds from the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Renewal (PDG-R) through the California Health and Human Services (CHHS) Agency designed to support local QCC implementation under a single QCC plan.
QCC Local Consortia and Partnership Grants RFA
California State Preschool Program (CSPP) Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Block Grant
Starting in 2014–15, Senate Bill 858 (Chapter 32, Statutes of 2014) authorizes $50 million of Proposition 98 funds for Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Block Grant for the support of local early learning QRIS that increase the number of low-income children in high-quality state preschool programs that prepare those children for success in school and life.
California Education Code Section 8203.1 (b)(1) states:
For purposes of this section, “early learning quality rating and improvement system” or “QRIS” is defined as a locally determined system for continuous quality improvement based on a tiered rating structure with progressively higher quality standards for each tier that provides supports and incentives for programs, teachers, and administrators to reach higher levels of quality, monitors and evaluates the impacts on child outcomes, and disseminates information to parents and the public about program quality.
CSPP QRIS Block Grant Request for Applications (RFA)
- FY 2017–18 CSPP QRIS Block Grant RFA
- FY 2018–19 CSPP QRIS Block Grant RFA
- FY 2019–20 CSPP QRIS Block Grant RFA
- FY 2020–21 CSPP QRIS Block Grant RFA
- FY 2021–22 CSPP QRIS Block Grant
- FY 2022–23 CSPP QRIS Block Grant
California Migrant Child Care and Development Program (CMIG) QRIS Block Grant (Transferred to California Department of Social Services [CDSS] July 1, 2021)
- CMIG QRIS FY 2017-18 Block Grant
- CMIG QRIS FY 2018-19 Block Grant
- CMIG QRIS FY 2019-20 Block Grant
Quality Counts California QRIS Block Grant (Transferred to CDSS July 1, 2021)
Starting in 2018–19, the California Department of Education (CDE) released the Quality Counts California QRIS Block Grant. The CDE envisions that a local QRIS consortium or Tribal region will use the Quality Counts California (QCC) QRIS Block Grant funding to support local Early Learning and Care (ELC) programs serving children birth to five and to increase the number of low-income children in high-quality early learning settings. The priority of the funds are for ELC settings serving children with high needs with first priority for infants and toddler programs and providers. For the first time, this block grant has been expanded to also allow participation of non-California State Preschool Program (CSPP) settings serving preschoolers, especially those with high needs. The goal is to increase quality across the continuum of ELC settings ranging from family, friend and neighbor (FFN) to licensed family homes and centers. While a rating is not applicable for all settings, at a minimum, ELC settings and providers can participate in the quality improvement system (QIS) portion of QCC. As settings become more ready, the goal is to have more ELC settings in the QRIS, as applicable.
Starting July 1, 2020, these funds are incorporated into the QCC Local Consortia and Partnership Grant.
- FY 2018–19 QCC QRIS Block Grant RFA
- FY 2019–20 QCC QRIS Block Grant RFA
Infant/Toddler (I/T) QRIS Block Grant
In 2017–18, funds in the amount of $10.3 million in federal Child Care and Development Funds had been appropriated for the purpose of QRIS consortia to provide training, technical assistance, and resources to help infant and toddler child care providers meet a higher tier of quality as determined by their local QRIS rating matrix. The California Department of Education (CDE) envisioned that a local consortium will use the Infant/Toddler QRIS Block Grant to support local early learning programs and increase the number of low-income infants and toddlers in high quality early learning programs. This application provided a means to continue the work initiated by the provisions of Senate Bill 97 (Chapter 11, Statutes of 2015) of the 2015–16 Annual Budget Act, Section 77, Budget Item 6100-194-0001, Schedule (12), Provision 17 which is Appendix B3. In 2018–19, this grant was redesigned and became the Quality Counts California QRIS Block Grant.
