Your state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) can potentially provide several pathways to growth, ranging from care improvement to direct marketing of participation in the program. However, many child care providers may not know that participation in these programs can potentially lead to direct referrals, with the state facilitating requests from local families and funneling them to provider-participants. In 2024, over 1.4 million direct referrals for care were placed through state-level QRIS programs. For child care providers with consistent vacancies, this can be a way to fill slots and add revenue to the bottom line.

With this in mind, Playground evaluated the latest data from Child Care Aware of America to understand how prevalent direct referrals from QRIS programs are for child care providers in each state, so they can understand the potential growth lever in participating and weigh the pros and cons of participation. 

Looking for simple ways to streamline your operations and fill enrollment slots? Book a free demo with Playground to learn about more direct options.

Key Findings

• QRIS program referrals show oversaturated demand for care in four states. Referrals vastly exceed the number of available licensed child care spots in North Dakota especially, where referral requests exceed available spots across centers and homes by 185%. Requests for enrollment referrals exceeded capacity in Maryland by 39%; in Alaska by 35%; and in Nebraska by 32%. 

• Direct referrals are not a main benefit of QRIS participation in these states. Relative to the number of licensed enrollment spots throughout the state, Tennessee, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Arkansas see less than 0.5% of their licensed capacity matched by QRIS referral requests. Still, QRIS ratings and participation may be used in a provider’s own marketing to improve their reputation among prospective families.

• These states have the highest-rated home care providers. Of home-based providers participating in the statewide QRIS program, those in Tennessee most frequently earn the highest rating at 85.1%. In North Carolina, 71.3% of home-based providers participating in QRIS earn the highest rating, followed by Oklahoma at 50.0%. 

• Most center-based providers earn the highest QRIS rating in these states. Of states with available data, Minnesota centers have the most QRIS participants earning the highest rating available at 89.8%, followed by Tennessee at 82.9%. Colorado (67.3%) and New Mexico (59.7%) centers also have the highest frequency of high QRIS ratings.

QRIS Referrals and Participation by State

Thirty-seven states with available data are ranked based on the rate of enrollment referrals requested through the QRIS program relative to the number of total licensed capacity across centers and homes in the state. 

1. North Dakota

   • Child care referral requests through QRIS: 111,205

   • Referrals relative to capacity: 285.08%

   • Licensed center capacity: 30,405

   • Licensed home care capacity: 8,604

   • Total licensed spaces available: 39,009

2. Maryland

   • Child care referral requests through QRIS: 267,907

   • Referrals relative to capacity: 139.29%

   • Licensed center capacity: 160,363

   • Licensed home care capacity: 31,969

   • Total licensed spaces available: 192,332

3. Alaska

   • Child care referral requests through QRIS: 21,740

   • Referrals relative to capacity: 134.96%

   • Licensed center capacity: 14,300

   • Licensed home care capacity: 1,808

   • Total licensed spaces available: 16,108

4. Nebraska

   • Child care referral requests through QRIS: 120,360

   • Referrals relative to capacity: 131.98%

   • Licensed center capacity: 74,321

   • Licensed home care capacity: 16,875

   • Total licensed spaces available: 91,196

5. Connecticut

   • Child care referral requests through QRIS: 80,678

   • Referrals relative to capacity: 66.76%

   • Licensed center capacity: 105,008

   • Licensed home care capacity: 15,838

   • Total licensed spaces available: 120,846

6. Hawaii

   • Child care referral requests through QRIS: 14,765

   • Referrals relative to capacity: 64.34%

   • Licensed center capacity: 21,514

   • Licensed home care capacity: 1,433

   • Total licensed spaces available: 22,947

7. Michigan

   • Child care referral requests through QRIS: 197,120

   • Referrals relative to capacity: 50.43%

   • Licensed center capacity: 360,012

   • Licensed home care capacity: 30,886

   • Total licensed spaces available: 390,898

8. California

   • Child care referral requests through QRIS: 413,690

   • Referrals relative to capacity: 35.50%

   • Licensed center capacity: 837,339

   • Licensed home care capacity: 327,972

   • Total licensed spaces available: 1,165,311

9. Nevada

   • Child care referral requests through QRIS: 9,925

   • Referrals relative to capacity: 19.53%

   • Licensed center capacity: 49,391

   • Licensed home care capacity: 1,422

   • Total licensed spaces available: 50,813

10. New Mexico

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 10,974

• Referrals relative to capacity: 16.96%

• Licensed center capacity: 62,317

• Licensed home care capacity: 2,377

• Total licensed spaces available: 64,694

11. Kansas

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 14,216

• Referrals relative to capacity: 15.76%

• Licensed center capacity: 60,162

• Licensed home care capacity: 30,052

• Total licensed spaces available: 90,214

12. Virginia

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 17,105

• Referrals relative to capacity: 8.55%

• Licensed center capacity: 185,500

• Licensed home care capacity: 14,667

• Total licensed spaces available: 200,167

13. Iowa

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 13,431

• Referrals relative to capacity: 8.32%

• Licensed center capacity: 140,826

• Licensed home care capacity: 20,640

• Total licensed spaces available: 161,466

14. Washington

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 14,434

• Referrals relative to capacity: 8.11%

• Licensed center capacity: 142,179

• Licensed home care capacity: 35,881

• Total licensed spaces available: 178,060

15. Montana

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 1,564

• Referrals relative to capacity: 6.98%

• Licensed center capacity: 16,070

• Licensed home care capacity: 6,350

• Total licensed spaces available: 22,420

16. North Carolina

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 22,430

• Referrals relative to capacity: 6.92%

• Licensed center capacity: 315,329

• Licensed home care capacity: 8,626

• Total licensed spaces available: 323,955

17. New York

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 29,745

• Referrals relative to capacity: 6.23%

• Licensed center capacity: 327,372

• Licensed home care capacity: 150,278

• Total licensed spaces available: 477,650

18. Indiana

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 6,958

• Referrals relative to capacity: 6.08%

• Licensed center capacity: 86,637

• Licensed home care capacity: 27,891

• Total licensed spaces available: 114,528

19. Delaware

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 2,790

• Referrals relative to capacity: 5.15%

• Licensed center capacity: 50,458

• Licensed home care capacity: 3,746

• Total licensed spaces available: 54,204

20. Vermont

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 1,556

• Referrals relative to capacity: 4.67%

• Licensed center capacity: 29,150

• Licensed home care capacity: 4,196

• Total licensed spaces available: 33,346

21. Illinois

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 8,538

• Referrals relative to capacity: 3.50%

• Licensed center capacity: 200,122

• Licensed home care capacity: 43,859

• Total licensed spaces available: 243,981

22. Massachusetts

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 8,296

• Referrals relative to capacity: 3.40%

• Licensed center capacity: 199,430

• Licensed home care capacity: 44,569

• Total licensed spaces available: 243,999

23. Oklahoma

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 3,447

• Referrals relative to capacity: 3.15%

• Licensed center capacity: 98,101

• Licensed home care capacity: 11,433

• Total licensed spaces available: 109,534

24. South Dakota

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 1,005

• Referrals relative to capacity: 3.02%

• Licensed center capacity: 29,345

• Licensed home care capacity: 3,985

• Total licensed spaces available: 33,330

25. Wisconsin

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 4,044

• Referrals relative to capacity: 2.59%

• Licensed center capacity: 143,668

• Licensed home care capacity: 12,274

• Total licensed spaces available: 155,942

26. Georgia

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 9,870

• Referrals relative to capacity: 2.53%

• Licensed center capacity: 383,406

• Licensed home care capacity: 6,666

• Total licensed spaces available: 390,072

27. New Hampshire

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 573

• Referrals relative to capacity: 1.49%

• Licensed center capacity: 37,318

• Licensed home care capacity: 1,158

• Total licensed spaces available: 38,476

28. Colorado

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 2,259

• Referrals relative to capacity: 1.37%

• Licensed center capacity: 153,627

• Licensed home care capacity: 11,648

• Total licensed spaces available: 165,275

29. South Carolina

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 1,750

• Referrals relative to capacity: 0.85%

• Licensed center capacity: 201,287

• Licensed home care capacity: 5,118

• Total licensed spaces available: 206,405

30. Utah

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 328

• Referrals relative to capacity: 0.53%

• Licensed center capacity: 48,752

• Licensed home care capacity: 13,226

• Total licensed spaces available: 61,978

31. Idaho

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 294

• Referrals relative to capacity: 0.43%

• Licensed center capacity: 66,480

• Licensed home care capacity: 1,680

• Total licensed spaces available: 68,160

32. Arizona

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 1,008

• Referrals relative to capacity: 0.38%

• Licensed center capacity: 264,128

• Licensed home care capacity: 3,537

• Total licensed spaces available: 267,665

33. Arkansas

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 703

• Referrals relative to capacity: 0.36%

• Licensed center capacity: 191,623

• Licensed home care capacity: 2,646

• Total licensed spaces available: 194,269

34. Minnesota

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 713

• Referrals relative to capacity: 0.32%

• Licensed center capacity: 151,376

• Licensed home care capacity: 68,352

• Total licensed spaces available: 219,728

35. Rhode Island

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 107

• Referrals relative to capacity: 0.32%

• Licensed center capacity: 31,458

• Licensed home care capacity: 1,942

• Total licensed spaces available: 33,400

36. Kentucky

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 30

• Referrals relative to capacity: 0.02%

• Licensed center capacity: 164,568

• Licensed home care capacity: 1,306

• Total licensed spaces available: 165,874

37. Tennessee

• Child care referral requests through QRIS: 8

• Referrals relative to capacity: 0.00%

• Licensed center capacity: 183,024

• Licensed home care capacity: 4,757

• Total licensed spaces available: 187,781

Data and Methodology

Data comes from Child Care Aware® of America, Child Care in America: 2024 Price & Supply, with analysis and insights from Playground. Full data was not available for the following states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine, Ohio, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, Wyoming, West Virginia, Oregon, and Alabama.