QUALITY MATTERS … A STRONG START for Kids (QUALITY MATTERS) is Santa Clara County’s local quality rating and improvement system committed to giving early educators access to information, resources, and opportunities to provide the best care to children and families in Santa Clara County.
FIRST 5 Santa Clara County and Santa Clara County Office of Education serve as the co-lead organizations for QUALITY MATTERS, an initiative of Quality Counts California. Prop 10 funds are used for a variety of programs and initiatives that support Santa Clara County’s mixed-delivery early learning and care system including building partnerships with the public libraries, family resource centers, and parks and recreational programs. FIRST 5 Staff actively participate in the coordination and alignment of local, regional, and state Quality Counts California efforts.
As the convening organization for quality improvement efforts in Santa Clara County, QUALITY MATTERS defines and measures quality, supports providers through training and professional development opportunities, clearly and simply educates families about quality, and catalyzes the entire community to prioritize investments in early education and health.
QUALITY MATTERS initiative has a vision that all children in Santa Clara County are engaged in high quality early learning programs. QUALITY MATTERS brings Santa Clara County partners together around quality early learning, inspiring early educators, strengthening families, and uniting the community around the critical goal of ensuring high quality early learning and health outcomes for all children birth through age 8 so that they can achieve success in the future.
Learn more on the QUALITY MATTERS website.
Funding Partners:
- Quality Counts California
- California Department of Education
- FIRST 5 California
- FIRST 5 Association of California
- Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Participating Partners:
- Family childcare home providers and educators
- Center-based providers and educators
- Family, friends, and neighbors
- Family Resource Centers
Implementation Partners:
- Local Early Education Planning Council (LPC)
- Inclusion Collaborative
- Kids Connections Network (Behavioral Health Services Department)
- Strong Start of Santa Clara County
- Healthier Kids Foundation
- County of Santa Clara Public Health Department
- San Jose Public Library
- Franklin McKinley Children’s Initiative
