Most states offer daycare search engines through their licensing or Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) sites. Learn more about licensing and QRIS daycare search engines to see if these tools might be a good approach for your family to find child care.
There are many different ways that families go about doing a daycare search for their kids. Good old-fashioned word-of-mouth is still one of the most common ways. Parents will often supplement what they’re hearing word-of-mouth with internet to find daycare programs near where they live and work.
There are a couple of different types of websites with information about child care programs. The two most common are state licensing sites and state Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) sites. In this section, we talk about these different sites, how you can find them in your state, and how you can use the information to narrow down your options of the best child care program for your family.
Daycare licensing websites
Child care licensing is a way to ensure that programs that care for children are doing so in a safe way. Licensing is typically the most basic level of quality that a child care, daycare or preschool program needs to meet so that it can care for children.
Child care licensing is managed at the state level. Different states have different licensing standards. Some states have strict standards, other states loose standards.
Since child care licensing is managed at the state level each state has different standards they focus on. However, many state’s licensing standards include common elements. These common elements can include:
Hygiene practices
Food safety
Safe sleep practices
Safe environment and equipment
Staff training
Supervision of children
Teacher/child ratios
States monitor child care programs to make sure they are keeping up with licensing standards. Programs that are not up to standards during an inspection might receive a violation. Many violations are not serious. Programs can work to address these violations following their inspection. Serious violations may lead the program to be closed.
Many states provide a website daycare search engine tool that allows parents to view the inspections and violations for child care programs. Parents can use this information when assessing the quality of programs as they decide which one is best for this family.
Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS)
QRIS stands for Quality Rating and Improvement System. Many states have started QRISs within the last decade. QRISs provide parents with more in-depth information than licensing about the quality of child care programs, daycares, and preschools in their state. Most states with a QRIS allow parents to use it as a daycare search engine.
Most QRIS go beyond the requirements in the child care licensing system. Some even encourage programs to improve the quality of their care by offering financial awards for high quality. Programs that work to meet the higher standards in the QRIS also typically awarded a higher rating that is made available to the public. Many programs use their QRIS rating to attract families to their program.
The information QRISs provide about child care programs may include things like how the program rates in helping children with academic achievement and how supportive the staff are of children’s emotional needs. It may also provide information about engagement with parents, curriculum used, and hours of operation. Many QRIS also have a component that focuses on improvement teacher training and education.