The Minnesota Department of Human Services, the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation, the Minnesota Education Department, the Minnesota Child Care Resource and Referral Network, Child Trends and Wilder Research have begun a three-year pilot of a quality rating system, Parent Aware, that will focus on five locations in St. Paul, north Minneapolis, Wayzata, and Blue Earth and Nicollet counties. The designers of the voluntary system have recognized that gains in classroom quality are often difficult to achieve and impossible to sustain unless the provider is supported in tackling basic management and business issues.  As a result, the State has funded First Children’s Finance to provide business and management training and consulting services to the voluntary participants in the Quality Rating System.  FCF’s staff will assist the participating centers and has contracted with Tom Copeland of Redleaf National Institute, to assist the participating family child care homes.