Understanding How Changes to Keystone STARS Ratings Will Affect Gaps in the Supply of High-Quality Child Care

Since 2014, Reinvestment Fund has conducted an annual analysis of the gap between the supply of and demand for high-quality child care in Philadelphia. In June of 2017 Pennsylvania’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), Keystone STARS, initiated changes to the standards for childcare providers across the state. Changes to the Keystone STARS system include changes to the length of each center’s designation, the pathways to designation, and the criteria required to meet standards at the different levels of quality.

Keystone STARS ratings serve as the primary indicator of center quality in the Reinvestment Fund childcare analysis. Changes to the number of or types of programs achieving a three or four-STAR rating will impact the estimated supply of high-quality child care identified in the Reinvestment Fund analysis.

This white paper presents an overview of the changes to the Keystone STARS rating system that may impact the childcare gap analysis, and models how these changes could impact the estimated gap in supply and demand for high-quality child care.