Better Beginnings is Arkansas’s quality rating improvement system for licensed child care and education facilities. During the Better Beginnings rating process, our facility was assessed in five areas, including: Business Practices, Staff Qualifications and Training, Appropriate Classroom Setting, Educational Learning Environment, and Child Health and Development. All child care facilities in Arkansas are licensed by the Department of Human Services. Minimum licensing requirements primarily address health and safety issues. Better Beginnings, however, looks beyond minimum standards, evaluating the elements of high quality child care and early education experiences. Better Beginnings’ curriculum is based on the early learning and development guidelines: math, science and literacy. Some of the things you may expect as a result of our decision to meet the higher standards for Better Beginnings include: Increased qualifications and training for staff and administrators, a review and evaluation of administrative procedures, an assessment of classroom quality, and daily activities that address all areas of children’s development.