In early 2016, Jessica Stamper started searching for child care around the end of her first trimester. The Pittsburgh resident had heard from friends that finding safe, quality care for her first baby would not be easy.
Some programs Stamper considered had high fees to just reserve a spot on their waitlists. And overall, she said, she struggled to find an affordable place that she liked and was near her home.
“There were certainly ones that we probably could have gotten into right away, but I wasn't comfortable, or I felt their programming wasn’t what I was looking for,” said Stamper of her options.
Child care comes in many forms, and families can struggle to find the right fit for their needs and means. Location, cost, curriculum, operating hours, and quality are just a few of the factors parents must weigh, often while juggling jobs or caretaking.
When Stamper was on the hunt, she made use of Pennsylvania’s Keystone STARS program, which rates the quality of providers based on factors like professional development for staff, and the educational curricula for and general learning environment for kids. As providers meet certain standards, they can earn as many as four stars. Any program with three or four stars is considered high quality.
In the early 2000s, high-quality child care in the state wasn't as common, according to a 2002 report from a task force created under then-Gov. Mark Schweiker to study the issue.
Keystone STARS helped change that, said Diane Barber, executive director of the Pennsylvania Child Care Association, a nonprofit that represents providers. She credited the rating system with giving programs clear guidelines for improvement.
Both center-based and home-based programs that care for four or more unrelated children must be certified by the state to operate in Pennsylvania. Having a license automatically results in the minimum one-star rating, which indicates the provider meets basic health and safety requirements. There are 3,104 providers with one star in Pennsylvania, 1,047 with two stars, 285 with three stars, and 1,733 with four stars, according to the Department of Human Services.
Pennsylvania’s online database of child care providers is searchable by location and type of care, and lists star ratings. But the star system is not foolproof. Barber explained that some top-notch providers in Pennsylvania find it’s not worth their time and energy to file the paperwork for a higher rating.
Other designations also can indicate high-caliber care. For instance, Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and Head Start classrooms, which serve low-income families, are good choices, says Emily Neff, director of public policy at Trying Together. The Pittsburgh-based nonprofit advocates for young children and caregivers, and offers a tipsheet on how to find, choose, and pay for high-quality child care.
Neff and Barber both said another signal of quality is accreditation through organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
But before deciding on a specific program, the experts strongly advised parents to visit first and see for themselves whether a facility appears organized and smells clean, and to observe how workers engage with the children.
“Do I hear laughter? Do I hear kind voices?” Barber said she would note during a tour.
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—Sarah Boden, for Spotlight PA
