JTHS Infant Childcare Center receives Gold Circle of Quality Designation

The Joliet Township Infant Childcare Center has retained the Gold Circle of Quality designation from ExceleRate Illinois, the state’s quality rating and improvement system. The award provides increased funding through the state childcare assistance program, and was accomplished through satisfying rigorous standards for environmental quality and professional growth.

In order to achieve this designation, JTHS Infant Childcare Center professionals had to maintain rigorous professional development and/or college coursework. They reapplied for individual credentials on their own time and at their own expense. Demonstration of continuous quality improvement in their classroom practices must occur every year in order to meet standards, as well as 100 percent compliance with state licensing standards.

ExceleRate Illinois is administered through the Illinois Network of Childcare Resource and Referral Agencies under joint direction of the Governor’s office of Early Childhood Development, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Illinois State Board of Education. Achieving this designation demonstrates the JTHS Infant Childcare Center’s commitment to providing quality care to Illinois’ children. ExceleRate Illinois unifies the state’s early learning programs under a common set of standards across multiple delivery settings and supports programs that integrate and sustain best practices.

To maintain this designation, the JTHS Infant Childcare Center will participate in an observation process conducted by National Louis University in 2020. This rigorous observation process takes place every three years and includes unannounced classroom observation and one-on one interviews with the Infant Childcare Center Director regarding administrative practices and policies.

The mission of the JTHS infant Childcare Center is to engage, support and maintain attendance of young parents during high school completion, strengthen their parenting skills and knowledge of resources, support the healthy development and exploration of young children in a safe environment, and be a passionate model of best practices in the early childhood community.