What Ohio's Step Up To Quality ratings mean
Ohio rates child care programs Bronze, Silver or Gold, replacing 1 to 5 stars in July 2024. See what each level requires, how it ties to PFCC and how to check.
Published · 7 min read
Quick answer
- Step Up To Quality (SUTQ) is Ohio's rating system for licensed child care and early learning programs. Since July 7, 2024, programs are rated Bronze, Silver or Gold instead of 1 to 5 stars.
- Each level builds on the one below. Bronze requires a curriculum, developmental screenings for most younger children and yearly training. Silver adds formal child assessments and a state classroom observation. Gold adds more lead teachers with associate degrees and lower ratios in 40% of classrooms.
- A licensed center generally needs a rating to accept publicly funded child care (PFCC), and Ohio pays rated programs 10% (Bronze), 15% (Silver) or 25% (Gold) above its base rate.
- You can check any program's rating, license and inspection results for free on Ohio Child Care Search. A rating is a useful signal, but it doesn't replace a visit.
What are the Step Up To Quality ratings?
Step Up To Quality now has three levels, Bronze, Silver and Gold, under OAC 5180:2-17-01, which took effect July 7, 2024. Ohio law places the program in the Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY). Ratings are based on four areas: learning and development, administration and leadership, staff quality and professional development, and family and community partnerships.
Ohio started SUTQ in 2006 as a three-star system, according to a 2024 DCY and ODJFS rule memo, and expanded it to five stars for all early learning programs in 2013. When the new levels began, existing ratings converted automatically, as a DCY presentation from August 2024 shows.
| Old rating | New rating |
|---|---|
| 1 or 2 stars | Bronze |
| 3 stars | Silver |
| 4 or 5 stars | Gold |
DCY calls Silver and Gold programs highly rated. Programs that held a rating before the switch had a transition year, and since July 1, 2025 they have been reviewed on the new standards.
What does a program need for Bronze, Silver or Gold?
Each level includes everything below it, so a Gold program also meets every Bronze and Silver standard. This table puts the standards in Appendix A to OAC 5180:2-17-01 into plain language for child care centers.
| Area | Bronze | Silver adds | Gold adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | A research-based curriculum aligned with Ohio's Early Learning and Development Standards and the Science of Reading, with lesson plans; school-age activities aligned with Ohio's K-12 standards | A formal assessment of each child twice a year, shared with families | Activities planned from assessment results |
| Screening | A developmental screening within 60 days of enrollment and every year, shared with families within 30 days (school-age children and children with a current IEP or IFSP are exempt) | Referrals within 60 days when a screening finds a need | Follow-up with families within 30 days of a referral |
| Teacher-child interaction | A yearly self-assessment for each group | Meeting the Ohio Classroom Observation Tool standards when DCY staff observe | The same observation standard |
| Teacher education | Half of lead teachers hold a CDA or Ohio career pathways level 2, or one holds an associate degree or level 3 | An on-site administrator with an associate degree or equivalent, and 25% of lead teachers with an associate degree or level 3 | 50% of lead teachers with an associate degree or level 3 |
| Training | 10 hours of approved training a year for administrators and teachers | 12 hours a year for administrators | 15 hours a year for administrators |
| Families | A check of each family's needs within 30 days of enrollment and every year | Referrals within 30 days for families with needs | Two family workshops or events a year, plus follow-up on referrals |
| Improvement plan | A yearly plan with two program goals | A goal based on staff and family input | A goal on community partnerships |
| Ratios | Ohio's licensing ratios | Ohio's licensing ratios | Lower ratios and group sizes in 40% of classrooms |
The Gold ratio targets are listed by age in Ohio daycare ratios and group sizes, explained. Family child care homes can be rated too, and they are exempt from the Gold ratio standard.
By law, a rating can't consider whether staff hold a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree (ORC 5104.29). That is why the education standards focus on associate degrees and Ohio credentials.
How do ratings connect to publicly funded child care?
A licensed program generally must be rated to accept publicly funded child care (PFCC) under ORC 5104.31. The law makes exceptions for:
- Programs that run only in summer (up to 15 consecutive weeks), only during school breaks, or only on weekday evenings and weekends
- Programs with a provisional license, the first license a new program receives
- Programs where PFCC children fill less than 25% of licensed capacity
- Type A and licensed Type B family child care homes
- Programs whose rating was removed in the past 12 months, or that face a revocation action
Ratings also change what the state pays. Since November 2, 2025, OAC 5180:6-1-10 has added 10% to the PFCC base rate for Bronze programs, 15% for Silver and 25% for Gold. An accredited program gets 10% more, or its rating bonus if that is higher.
Silver and Gold also open the door to Ohio's state-funded preschool. Only programs rated Silver or Gold can join the Early Childhood Education grant, also called the Ohio Preschool Program. They must keep that rating to stay in it (OAC 5180:6-2-02).
To see whether your family qualifies for help paying, read how to get help paying for childcare in Ohio.
How do I look up a program's rating?
- Go to Ohio Child Care Search, the state's official search run by DCY.
- Enter a county, city or ZIP code, and pick a program type such as Licensed Child Care Center.
- Use the Step Up To Quality filter. It lists programs at the level you choose or higher, so choosing Silver shows Silver and Gold programs.
- Open a program to see its licensing status, rating and inspection results. The site also offers a map that includes rated and unrated programs.
The same search can filter for programs that accept PFCC or the Child Care Choice Voucher, and for accreditations such as NAEYC.
What does a rating tell you, and what doesn't it?
A rating tells you a program has shown DCY that it meets a defined set of standards, checked through a desk review and on-site visits (OAC 5180:2-17-03). Keep these limits in mind:
- It may reflect a review from a few years ago. Ratings don't expire. Bronze programs get a full on-site review every other year, and Silver and Gold programs every three years.
- Licensing inspections are more frequent. Centers are inspected at least once each state fiscal year, with at least one unannounced visit, and those reports appear on the same state search (OAC 5180:2-12-03).
- Gold doesn't cover every room. The lower Gold ratios apply to 40% of classrooms, so ask about the room your child would join.
- Serious problems can cost a rating. A serious risk licensing finding can lead DCY to lower or remove a rating. A program with 24 or more moderate or serious risk points in the past 12 months can't register for one (OAC 5180:2-17-02).
- No rating doesn't mean low quality. Ohio requires ratings mainly from programs that take public funding, so an unrated program may simply not take part. Check its inspection reports and any accreditation instead.
- It doesn't measure fit. A rating says nothing about price, hours, openings or how your child gets along with the teachers. Use our tour checklist for those.
Most All Around Children centers hold a Gold rating, and you can confirm any center's current rating on the state search.
Common questions
Do Step Up To Quality ratings expire?
No. A rating stays in effect from its start date until it changes. The state rechecks it with a full on-site visit every other year for Bronze programs and every three years for Silver and Gold.
Can a program lose its rating?
Yes. DCY may lower or remove a rating after a serious risk licensing finding. A program whose license is suspended, in the revocation process or under active enforcement can't register for a rating at all.
Are family child care homes rated?
Licensed Type A and Type B homes can earn Bronze, Silver or Gold under the same standards, except that the Gold ratio requirement doesn't apply to them. Homes can also accept PFCC without a rating.
What does highly rated mean?
DCY uses the term for Silver and Gold programs. Silver or Gold is also the level a program needs to offer Ohio's state-funded preschool grant.
Is a Gold program always the best choice?
A Gold rating doesn't automatically make a program the best fit for your child. It shows the program met the most standards when it was reviewed, so you should still read recent inspection reports, visit the classroom your child would join and weigh cost, hours and location.
Sources
- Rule 5180:2-17-01, Step Up To Quality (SUTQ): program definitions and standards, Ohio Administrative Code (codes.ohio.gov). Checked November 3, 2026.
- Appendix A to Rule 5180:2-17-01 (filed as 5101:2-17-01), Step Up To Quality program standards, Ohio Administrative Code (codes.ohio.gov). Checked November 3, 2026.
- Rule 5180:2-17-02, Step Up To Quality (SUTQ): eligibility for registration, Ohio Administrative Code (codes.ohio.gov). Checked November 3, 2026.
- Rule 5180:2-17-03, Step Up To Quality (SUTQ): desk reviews, on-site verification visits and bronze, silver, or gold rating awards, Ohio Administrative Code (codes.ohio.gov). Checked November 3, 2026.
- Section 5104.29, Step up to quality program, Ohio Revised Code (codes.ohio.gov). Checked November 3, 2026.
- Section 5104.31, Eligible providers of services for publicly funded child care, Ohio Revised Code (codes.ohio.gov). Checked November 3, 2026.
- Child Care Clearance Memo: Five Year Review and New Rating Model for the Step Up To Quality Rating and Improvement System, Ohio Department of Children and Youth and Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Checked November 3, 2026.
- Introducing the Revised SUTQ System (webinar slides, August 2, 2024), Ohio Department of Children and Youth. Checked November 3, 2026.
- Rule 5180:6-1-10, Payment rates and procedures for programs who provide publicly funded child care services, Ohio Administrative Code (codes.ohio.gov). Checked November 3, 2026.
- Rule 5180:6-2-02, Program eligibility and ongoing requirements for the early childhood education grant also known as the Ohio preschool program, Ohio Administrative Code (codes.ohio.gov). Checked November 3, 2026.
- Rule 5180:2-12-03, Compliance inspection and complaint investigation of a licensed child care center, Ohio Administrative Code (codes.ohio.gov). Checked November 3, 2026.
- Ohio Child Care Search, Ohio Department of Children and Youth. Checked November 3, 2026.