I do appreciate the review of the standards and the efforts to make things uniform and consistent.  There still are differences between what is being presented and the Subsidy Standards.  It would make sense to me that regardless of whether you are a Subsidy Vendor or not, that one set of standards is appropriate.  Even if it required state standards to require more, at least there would not be a discrepancy between the two.  I feel like this is an unnecessary stumbling block for centers.  While I know and understand that licensing is to be regulatory in nature for the health and safety of children, it would be nice to feel like we are essentially on the same team.  We are all here for the children.  We shouldn't feel on high alert during inspections and worry a simple mistake in a process or a piece of paperwork that could be fixed simply by educating us will end up as a violation for all to see, worded in ways that make it sound terrible and gives a platform for those that look to do damage to us to have something to use.  Social media, Google reviews, etc are battles that we have to face from families that are upset over following policies and they use these things to their advantage.  It is obvious when centers are working hard to follow the rules set forth by the state.  It is also obvious when they are not and I think there should be more of an education and teamwork initiative from licensing inspectors with centers that are going above and beyond.  

While I love the emphasis the VDOE is putting on the learning aspects of what we do and finally putting recognition in the foundation these early learning environments make, we do need help in training our staff.  Ways to make education feasible for our staff.  To enter the public school system there are many opportunities to help teachers get licensed and finish their degrees and it would be nice to see these same things in our field.  Not to mention the benefits.  Most centers are not able to afford retirement benefits and health insurance and it would be extremely helpful if there were programs available to employees of licensed centers.

Another financial burden is in maintenance of our buildings and outside play areas.  We used a covid grant to purchase an outdoor play system for our center.  We are having a terrible time keeping the surfacing at 6 inches through the use zones and we cannot afford a surface that would not require constant raking.  The suggestion from licensing was to have parents help us rake...they don't always read their newsletters much less physical work and then she reminded me that we aren't required to have anything on the playground for them to play on...that is a sad stance. 

In general I would like to see more uniformity between licensing and subsidy standards and I would like to see assistance in making these standards be achievable so that we can better focus on what we are here to do and that is educate and care for our early learners. That assistance comes from a teamwork approach with our licensing offices and through financial means to meet the basic needs of our employees (who could go to the public school systems) and keeping our buildings and play areas safe.