Regulated Child Care - Centers By Keystone STARS Participation Level (2021–2025)

Definition

A child care center is a facility in which seven or more children unrelated to the operator receive child care services.

The percents of 'Providers Not in STARS' and 'Providers in STARS' are proportions of the regulated providers in that county.

The percents of the various STAR levels are proportions of the total providers in STARS within that county.

For more information regarding Pennsylvania's Child Care regulations, please visit here.

Data Source

Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning

Notes

Pennsylvania’s Rising STARS initiative was launched to promote greater access for at-risk children to higher quality child care and better prepare them to succeed in school. Start with STARS is not recognized as a level of quality and was eliminated July 1, 2012.

Pennsylvania’s quality rating and improvement system, Keystone STARS, went through a revisioning process which started in February 2016 after 14 years of implementation. One of the outcomes of this evaluation is that all providers who are required to have a Department of Human Services certificate of compliance to operate a child care center, group care home, or a family care home as of July 1, 2017 are automatically enrolled in Keystone STARS upon receiving their certificate of compliance.

Last Updated

2026-01