You can now download your certificate directly from risingstarsforme.org. If you have Director of Record (DoRA) or DoRA Assistant access, you can log in to risingstarsforme.org and select “My Profile” on the home page.

Once in your profile, select “Download Certificate” from the left-hand menu and your current certificate will download for you:

Note: If you have completed a new application, your new certificate will not be available for download until the application has been reviewed and certified by the Office of Child and Family Services. Please allow 5-10 business days for your application to be certified. 

As always, please reach out to risingstarsforme@maine.edu with questions.

Programs are asked to update both enrollment and opening information to provide important data for different purposes. The chart below helps explain the differences. All links are available to access below the chart.

• Rising Stars for ME Website
• Child Care Choices
• Child Care Plan for Maine
• ECE Enrollment Data Collection Program Webinar
• Updating Openings on Child Care Choices

As always, please reach out to risingstarsforme@maine.edu with questions.

All licensed programs must update their Rising Stars for ME application at least every two years at the time of licensing renewal. For programs rated at Star 3 and above – or for those working toward Star 3 – keeping an updated E-Portfolio with the required evidence for each requirement in Rising Stars for ME will facilitate the application process so you have the necessary documents on hand. 

To assist programs in assembling their E-Portfolios, we have created E-Portfolio Guides for Facilities and Family Child Care Programs. These guides outline all required evidence for each Star rating within each Standard and provide helpful related resources and links. You can find the E-Portfolio Guides at the links below: 

• E-Portfolio Outline for Facilities 

• E-Portfolio Outline for Family Child Care 

As always, please reach out to risingstarsforme@maine.edu with questions. 

Because family child care programs are not required to have staff, the Rising Stars for ME Staffing and Professional Development requirements (Standard 3) addressing Career Lattice Levels do not include requirements for staff. Only the Program Owner must achieve specific Levels on the Career Lattice in order to move up to a higher Star rating. 

However, family child care programs with staff have opportunities to include them in continuous quality improvement activities. Read all the Family Child Care Standards here. For example: 

• 2.3.3 – The program writes a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Plan based upon the results from and Family Survey and the Rising Stars for ME Inclusive Practices Checklist. Family child care programs can include staff feedback in the CQI plan. 

• 2.3.4 – Programs with staff hold staff meetings at least quarterly that include discussions regarding the CQI plan. 

• 3.4.2 – The Program Owner and any staff create an individual annual Professional Development Plan addressing their training and education goals. 

• 4.3.1 – All staff have a written job description defining job responsibilities. 

• 4.3.3 – Programs with staff provide monthly opportunities for individual supervision. Staff do not have to participate in individual supervision each month but must be offered the opportunity. 

• 4.3.4 – All staff are evaluated at least annually by a supervisor to refine their skills through feedback and guidance. 

As always, reach out to risingstarsforme@maine.edu with questions. 

In Standard 2: Program Evaluation, at Stars 3, 4, and 5 a program is required to complete all or parts of the Rising Stars for ME Inclusive Practices Checklist as part of the program’s overall Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Plan. 

At first glance, this document can seem overwhelming – it’s new, it covers a wide range of topics, and it’s thirty-five pages! Before you dive in (or run away from) the Checklist, remember the following: 

• The Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS) created a short overview video of the Checklist to help you get started.

• The newly revised MRTQ PDN training Inclusive Child Care uses the Checklist as part of the training content to give you a head start on completing it for your program. There are still openings available for the trainings starting in September and October. Check the Training Calendar for info. 

The most important thing to remember is that your answers on the Checklist and the content of your goals DO NOT count toward your rating with Rising Stars for ME. The Rising Stars for ME Standards ask only that your program uses the tool yearly (the Prerequisites and two categories at Star 3 and the full Checklist at Stars 4 and 5) and includes a summary of the results in your CQI Plan. How you approach setting and working toward your goals is up to you! 

As always, reach out to risingstarsforme@maine.edu with questions. 

This is thinking ahead! It’s important to know that there is not a renewal process with Rising Stars for ME; programs must REAPPLY at the time of their license renewal or any time there is an anticipated rating change. 

Your Rising Stars for ME expiration date will align with your license expiration date in most cases. To check your expiration date, you can check your Rising Stars for ME certificate or log in to risingstarsforme.org and view your most recent submitted application. 

Programs can work on their Rising Stars for ME application and E-Portfolio at any time, but it’s important to note that unless your license expiration date is upcoming within 60 days, your expiration date will not change. 

For example, if your program’s Rising Stars for ME and license expiration dates are 1/1/25 and you complete a new Rising Stars for ME application on 9/1/24, your Rising Stars for ME expiration date WILL REMAIN 1/1/25. Your program will still need to submit a reapplication no more than 60 days before 1/1/25 to receive an updated Rising Stars for ME certificate. 

As always, reach out to risingstarsforme@maine.edu with questions. 

[risingstarsforme.org]