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About us

Our Story

The North Carolina Star Rated License was established in 1999 to better define the quality of child care in the state and to assist parents in choosing child care. The North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) awards the Star Rated License to child care centers, family child care homes, and school-age programs based upon total points earned in two areas: (1) Program Standards and (2) Staff Education Standards. Program Standards points are awarded as child care programs meet basic licensing, enhanced standards, and ratio requirements. It is in this area that Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-R, ITERS-R, FCCERS-R, & SACERS-U) assessments are used. Child care programs with higher rating scale scores can earn more Program Standards points.

Our Mission

NCRLAP's mission is to help increase child care quality by assessing environments in child care centers, public schools, after-school programs, and family child care homes for the North Carolina Star Rated License. To improve children's experiences, we focus on conducting assessments that are reliable and valid. Therefore NCRLAP maintains high standards for initial and ongoing staff training on the assessment tools and strives for excellence in communication of results. These practices allow early childhood professionals to better understand positive child care practices, as defined by the assessment tools.

Racial Equity Position Statement

For far too long, racial injustices and discrimination have existed within our society. Racism is unjust and will not be tolerated by our organization. In response to a long-standing history of systemic and institutional inequities, we have begun the process of understanding the manifestations of systemic racism in our work and commit to actions that promote equity in the Early Child Care and Education community.

We believe these actions are a foundation for a vibrant organization in which people of diverse perspectives and backgrounds create, access, and share relationships and resources equitably.


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