The Bureau of Child Care Services’ (BCSS) mission is to maximize parental child care options by providing access to a variety of affordable, high-quality early care and afterschool programs. One of the strategies in the Bureau’s Strategic Plan is to convene a workgroup with providers as part of its commitment to increase the number of high-quality child care programs in Guam.  BCCS with the support from its partners from the State Capacity Building Network, held its first Provider Workgroup Session at the Sinajana Mayors Office on July 19, 2023. 

Providers who participated in the meeting offered a range of experience, from those who have been in the childcare industry for almost 40 years, to some providers who are operating newly licensed facilities. Each child care center had different cultural values, teaching styles, and practices thatoffered valuable perspectives towards our topic of discussion. A total of eight (8) providers were in attendance for this workgroup meeting, having one representative from the following licensed child care centers: Adventures in Learning; Precious One’s; Tiny Blessings; Kids & Co. Corporation; World of Wonder STEM Academy; World of Wonder Childcare & Learning; ABC Children’s Center Guam; and Lots of Learning.

The initial workgroup session allowed providers to explore issues and ideas that contributes to the definition of quality. Providers also recognized the importance of a culturally responsive framework in identifying, improving, and communicating the level of quality in early childcare programs. Topics of discussion for this workgroup focused on exploring ideas, key issues, and perceptions of high-quality child care in Guam.  The first session was limited to two and a half hours in the format of a roundtable forum. The providers were first introduced to the concept and need for quality child care systems in Guam. The discussion forum provided an opportunity for each provider to share their thoughts and perspective on each question that was asked. Each provider was afforded an opportunity to respond and share practices in response to the following questions:

• What does quality mean to you? 
• From the viewpoint of the families you serve, how might they define quality?