Choosing the right child care for your child can be a difficult process. You know your child better than anyone and you know how you would like your child to receive care. As the child's parent you are the most valuable person in this process.

While cost and convenience are important matters in selecting care, you will want to think of what is best for your child's age, personality, abilities, and interests. Think about your beliefs and attitudes in such areas as discipline, education, safety, nutrition, and training. You will want the caregiver to respect your family values. Most of all, you want a caregiver who truly likes you and your child.

Three ways to learn about choosing Quality Child Care:

Quality Child Care Resources
Child Care Resource and Referral
Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS)

The following information sheets and online resources can help parents understand and choose quality child care.

Information sheets and pamphlets to download:

• Five Steps to Choosing Safe and Healthy Child Care (): A quick reference guide of key things to look for when choosing child care
• Give your Child Something That Will Last a Lifetime (): Step-by-step process for choosing high quality child care, including a detailed checklist of questions to use when evaluating child care
• Child Care Checklist for Parents (): A resource that includes a description of different options for child care, questions to use when conducting a telephone interview with child care providers, and a rating system to use when visiting child care facilities

Online Videos:

• “Look Check Ask” videos offer tips for choosing child care, by different ages:
  • Birth to 3 – English - Spanish
  • Age 3-5 –English - Spanish
  • School Age –English - Spanish
• Child Care Aware Videos: Videos on the Child Care Aware website with information about caregiver training and education, adult and child ratios, adult interaction with children, health and safety, among other important issues in child care
• Child Care Information Websites: A list of links for organizations and agencies that provide child care and early education resources that parents can use.

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Your local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) office can provide you with a child care referral. For more information, visit our CCR&R page.

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IdahoSTARS provides a rating system for child care programs. This rating system helps parents choose the child care program that's right for their family.

The Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) is a voluntary system that uses a 5 STAR rating structure similar to ratings for hotels, movies and restaurants. The QRIS is designed to give parents a tool that helps in finding quality child care programs. The QRIS is also designed to help child care facilities in Idaho increase the quality of care through improvement in program practice.

The QRIS includes a built-in system for improvement in each of eight Quality Standards. In this way, the QRIS credits facilities for the quality practices already in place while providing a roadmap to increased quality. Child care centers and homes that choose to participate in the QRIS conduct a self-study, create an improvement plan, and work to implement their plan over time. It may take as long as 18 months to complete the process and receive a STAR rating. During the process, facilities make improvements, request grants for needed improvements, receive a final environment assessment, and earn a one-to five-star rating.

Participating facilities are in the midst of the rating process, which takes up to 18 months. They complete a self-study, create an improvement plan, and implement the plan before requesting a rating. These facilities are working on improvements to benefit children and families - ask them where they are in the process!

STAR Rated facilities have completed all the steps and have earned a STAR rating. Check out the rating, STAR Rating Summary, and STAR Rating Report next to each rated facility. The Summary gives an overview of the rating. The Report shows every quality indicator in the QRIS and those that have been verified in the facility.

The list of STAR Rated and participating child care facilities are available on each Regional CCR&R page. Click your region on the map to learn about the QRIS Participating and Rated facilities near you.