The Annie E. Casey Foundation
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Pennsylvania

Statistics on children, youth and families in Pennsylvania from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children

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Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children

Change Indicator

High-Quality Child Care - Percent of child care capacity meeting high-quality standards in Pennsylvania

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Why This Indicator Matters

High-quality child care is crucial for fostering early childhood development, preparing children for school, and enabling parents to remain employed.[1] As defined by Pennsylvania’s Keystone STARS system, high-quality child care meets rigorous criteria for staff education, developmentally appropriate curricula, continuous quality improvement, child assessment practices, and active family engagement.[2] These standards exist to ensure children are being cared for in enriched learning environments that set a strong foundation for lifelong success. In fact, research shows that high quality early care and education is linked with advanced cognitive skills, improved social and behavioral development, kindergarten readiness, sustained academic achievement, higher high school graduation rates, lower involvement with the criminal justice system, better health outcomes, and higher lifetime earnings.[3]

 Although the proportion of child care providers designated as high-quality has been steadily increasing overtime in Pennsylvania, the majority of providers still fail to meet such standards. This suggests that more targeted investments and reforms are necessary to bridge the gap between supply and demand for high-quality care.[4] Addressing the shortage of high-quality child care options should be a top priority for policymakers to ensure the child care system meets the needs of both children and working parents.

[1] Heckman, J. J. (2011). The Economics of Inequality: The Value of Early Childhood Education. American Educator, 35(1), 31. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ920516.pdf

[2] Office of Child Development and Early Learning. (2023). Keystone STARS Program Manual. Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Human Services. https://www.pakeys.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-Keystone-STARS-Program-Manual-8.28.2023.pdf

[3] Schoch, A.D., Gerson, C.S., Halle, T., & Bredeson, M. (2023). Children’s Learning and Development Benefits from High-Quality Early Care and Education: A Summary of the Evidence. OPRE Report #2023-226. Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/%232023-226%20Benefits%20from%20ECE%20Highlight%20508.pdf

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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

PPC creates interactive maps with statistics by county, legislative district, and school district. Please go to https://www.papartnerships.org/resources-publications/mapping-tools/ for links to the maps and fact sheets.

Notes

NA = Not Available.

Last Updated

May 2024