As used in this part:

1. (1) The “Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care (BAS)” means the first valid and reliable instrument for measuring and improving the overall quality of business and professional practices in family childcare settings in ten (10) areas:

   1. (A) Qualifications and Professional Development;
   2. (B) Income and Benefits;
   3. (C) Work Environment;
   4. (D) Fiscal Management;
   5. (E) Recordkeeping;
   6. (F) Risk Management;
   7. (G) Provider-Family Communication;
   8. (H) Family Support and Engagement;
   9. (I) Marketing and Community Relations; and
   10. (J) Provider as Employer;
2. (2) “Continuous quality improvement (CQI)” means a plan of action that not only outlines goals and action steps but includes time frames and persons responsible for specific actions;
3. (3) “Director” means the person who meets MLR as director and is on-site a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the operational day;

4. (4)

   1. (A) “Environment Rating Scale (ERS)” means the tools used to measure elements of classroom quality.

   2. (B) These include the:

      1. (i) Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale;
      2. (ii) Infant-Toddler Rating Scale;
      3. (iii) Family Child Care Rating Scale; and
      4. (iv) School-Age Care Rating Scale;
5. (5) “Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale (FCCERS)” means a rating scale designed to assess family childcare programs conducted in a provider’s home;
6. (6) “Minimum licensing requirements (MLR)” means the minimum health and safety requirements to legally operate;

7. (7) “Office of Early Childhood” means the state agency responsible to ensure children and families have access to high-quality child care through:

   1. (A) Licensing;
   2. (B) Training; and
   3. (C) Funding;
8. (8) “Professional Development Registry (PDR)” means an online registry where early childhood educators can register for professional development opportunities and obtain resources to enhance their knowledge and skills;

9. (9)

   1. (A) “Program Administration Scale (PAS)” means a program used to gather information that measures the quality of administrative, management, and leadership practices of an early childhood program.

   2. (B) The PAS helps a program dig deeper into the following aspects of program administration:

      1. (i) Human resources development;
      2. (ii) Personnel cost and allocation;
      3. (iii) Center operations;
      4. (iv) Child assessment;
      5. (v) Fiscal management;
      6. (vi) Program planning and evaluation;
      7. (vii) Family partnerships;
      8. (viii) Marketing and public relations;
      9. (ix) Technology; and
      10. (x) Staff qualifications;
10. (10) “Program Quality Assessment (PQA)” means a system to evaluate the quality of children’s programs and identify staff training needs;
11. (11) “School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale (SACERS)” means a rating scale designed to assess before and after school groups;
12. (12) “Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System (TQRIS)” means a systemic approach to assess, improve, and communicate the level of quality in early and school-age care and education programs; and
13. (13) “Youth Program Quality Intervention (YPQI)” means a shared learning experience with peers moving together through a cycle of continuous quality improvement throughout the year.