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Pennsylvania
Statistics on children, youth and families in Pennsylvania from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children
High-Quality Child Care - Percent of child care capacity meeting high-quality standards in Pennsylvania
High-Quality Child Care - Percent of child care capacity meeting high-quality standards
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Why This Indicator Matters
Nearly 500,000 children under age 5 need child care so their parents can reliably participate in the workforce and financially support their families. Child care provides not only peace of mind to working parents but an opportunity for young children to develop, grow and learn. Research indicates that access to high-quality child care increases the likelihood that children enter school ready to succeed and their parents remain employed.
Pennsylvania’s child care system should strive to meet the comprehensive needs of children and working parents, yet 61 percent of the state’s regulated child care capacity fails to meet high-quality standards.
Want to learn more about child care in your community? Go to PPC's Child Care Map to find information about the need for child care and the opportunity children, including those who are eligible for Child Care Works, have in your county, state House or state Senate district. You can also learn more about local providers and print local fact sheets.
Definition and Source
PROVIDER
Definition
High-quality is defined as those regulated child care providers with Keystone STAR 3 or 4 designation or certified by a Pennsylvania state government-recognized accreditation. The deciding PA state government agency is the Office of Child Development and Early Learning within the Departments of Education and Human Services.
Child care providers serving only school-age children were removed from the analysis.
Data Source
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children's analysis of data provided by the PA Departments of Education and Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Association for Family Child Care and Montessori Accreditation.
Notes
NA = Not Available.
Last Updated
April 2023