(1) All primary child care providers must comply with licensing and registration requirements as specified in ARM 37.95.620(2)(a), (b), (c) and (3)(d).

(2) In addition to the requirements set out in section 7-1 of the Child Care Manual, to participate in the Best Beginnings Star Quality Tiered Reimbursement Program a primary child care provider must do the following to ensure quality:

(a) provide direct care and education services for an individual child for the majority of the time the child is in care;

(b) assess and provide care and education services for each child based on the child's strengths, interests and needs;

(c) assess and incorporate elements of each family's culture, goals and aspirations for the child into each child's individual care and education program; and

(d) work, on a regular basis, with the families and other child care program staff in planning for the child.

(3) A licensed or registered child care provider who has attained a one or two star rating, as defined in section 7-1 of the Child Care Manual, will lose eligibility to participate in the Best Beginnings Star Quality Tiered Reimbursement program if the provider has been disqualified from participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) for cause.