The Baby Steps Project is a quality improvement initiative. The project provides child care centers with financial assistance and an incentive to work toward increasing and maintaining quality for an extended time. Licensed and license-exempt, full-time child care centers with infant and/or toddler rooms dedicated exclusively to children under the age of 2 years are eligible to participate in the program.
Participating centers receive small grants for materials, equipment, and staff training time. In return, center directors and some staff must complete Infant/Toddler Endorsement training. In addition, the centers must meet quality improvement goals and raise their score on the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale - Revised (ITERS-R).