Michigan’s Quality Recognition and Improvement System: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Participation, Quality Attainment, and Advancement

• In Event: QRIS Under Review: Cross-State Lessons for a More Effective System

Abstract

Quality Ratings and Improvement Systems are state-administered frameworks that assess and support quality in early care and education programs. In 2023, Michigan implemented a redesigned “second generation” Quality Recognition and Improvement System (QRIS) that is compulsory for all licensed child care programs, although programs choose the degree of system participation and advancement. The redesigned QRIS emphasizes continuous improvement, validated self-reflection, and classroom observation over rigid point systems (Cannon et al., 2017), with an explicit goal of increasing participation and advancement particularly for home-based child care programs (HBCCs), which have lagged behind center-based programs. This study examines differences between center and HBCCs in (1) participation and advancement within the redesigned QRIS; and (2) provider mindsets, motivations, and conceptions of quality as related to engagement with the redesigned QRIS.  

A mixed-methods design, using quantitative analyses of administrative data, assessed trends in provider participation, quality-level attainment, and advancement. Interrupted time series (ITS) analyses tested changes in active participation rates and mean QRIS quality ratings by provider type before and after implementation. We supplemented these analyses with provider survey and in-depth provider interviews conducted across four project years, which explored motivations, perceptions, and experiences of QRIS participating and non-participating programs as well as provider conception of child care quality, and their alignment with and decision-making around QRIS engagement.  

By combining longitudinal ITS analyses of administrative data with in-depth primary data inquiry, this evaluation provides cutting-edge evidence on how significant QRIS redesign unfolds, and programs respond across different care settings and provider types. The work extends knowledge of QRIS implementation and highlights factors that shape provider participation and feasibility of scaling continuous improvement approaches.  

While overall participation increased modestly across programs following implementation, gaps in participation and advancement between centers and HBCCs exist. ITS analyses showed rising active participation post implementation, with centers maintaining higher participation rates than HBCCs. Mean quality ratings for centers declined during the implementation gap but rebounded. HBCCs demonstrated gradual gains in average quality ratings yet continued to lag behind centers. Prior QRIS participation and attainment remained the strongest predictors of current engagement. Qualitative findings reveal strong continuity in providers’ motivations and understanding of QRIS across the redesign, higher engagement among centers, and evidence of hurdles unique to HBCCs, suggesting that home-based providers’ beliefs about child care quality may not fully align with the state’s underlying conception of quality.

Results imply a need for further investigation to better understand how different providers’ attitudes, dispositions, and beliefs may contribute to variation in QRIS engagement. Aligning state and providers’ conceptions of quality and recognizing provider realities may enhance buy-in and commitment.  States should invest in differentiated supports such as targeted training and streamlined administrative processes for HBCCs. Policymakers should examine whether Child Development and Care (CDC) scholarship requirements or administrative processes unintentionally discourage program advancement or shift focus from quality improvement to compliance for HBCCs. Michigan’s experience offers valuable lessons for other states pursuing QRIS redesigns centered on continuous improvement and relational quality-building.

Author

• Neda Senehi, Public Policy Associates
  Presenting Author