Parents and child advocates have new information for improving the care and learning of Georgia children under five years old.

On March 26, Bright from the Start, Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning, released two studies on the quality of child care and Georgia Pre-K. Among the results of the study of licensed child care centers was the disappointing news that two-thirds of centers are delivering “poor” quality child care to infants and toddlers and only five percent are rated “high” in quality.

Pre-K programs outside of lottery funded programs were 35% “poor” quality and 60% “medium.”  PreK programs funded by the Georgia Lottery fared better with most centers being rated “medium” quality.  Classrooms generally were rated higher for emotional support and classroom environment than for instructional support.

To read the executive summaries and full reports, visit DECAL’s website at http://www.decal.ga.gov/BftS/ResearchStudyOfQuality.aspx.