How to Earn a Rating
Is Your Program Eligible?
Are you a family child care provider? A director at a child care center? Is your program accredited? Many different programs can earn a Parent Aware Rating.
These include:
- public school-based programs
- accredited licensed child care programs
- non-accredited child care programs
For licensed child care programs, make sure you have signed up for an Individual Membership in Develop.
Who Should you Connect With?
The best person to help you get started depends on your program type and location. Find the right contact for your program and begin working toward your Rating today.
Which Pathway Should You Take?
There are four different Pathways you can take to earn a Parent Aware Rating. Read more about each to find the right one for your program.
What Resources Can You Use?
There is a collection of resources you’ll use throughout the Rating process.
What Should You Do After Earning a Rating?
Congratulations! Now you can Promote Your Rating and share your accomplishment. Families will also be able to see your Rating in your Parent Aware profile when using our search tool.
Eligibility Requirements
To participate in Parent Aware, child care and early education programs must meet basic child safety and health standards by being licensed for child care by the state, county, or Tribal government, or by having their basic child safety and health standards monitored by another approved organization, such as Head Start, public school-based programs, school districts, or charter school boards.
Child care centers and family child care programs licensed with the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families must not have licensing sanctions, including conditional license; temporary immediate suspension; suspension; revocation; or a facility-responsible maltreatment determination within the last year. Programs must be actively providing care to at least one child ranging in age from birth to kindergarten entry.
Licensed family child care and child care centers can take the Full-Rating Pathway to receive a One-, Two-, Three- or Four-Star Rating. Programs may also choose to participate in Building Quality, which offers additional time and coaching for programs to learn and implement best practices before submitting documentation for their Rating.
Starting July 1, 2026, all child care programs that are licensed and in good standing will receive a One-Star Parent Aware Rating, unless they choose to opt out. For more information, contact your Parent Aware Recruiter.
Licensed accredited family child care providers and licensed accredited child care centers can take the Accelerated Pathway. With a current national accreditation, these programs follow a process customized to their program type to earn a Four-Star Parent Aware Rating. The requirements of child care accreditation match or exceed the requirements of the Full-Rating Pathway. Accredited programs that have not participated yet can apply for the Accelerated Pathway at any time.
Prekindergarten and preschool programs provided through public schools that meet requirements in MN Statutes 142D.05 are also eligible to earn a Four-Star Rating in the Accelerated Pathway. Public schools may offer many options for children and families, such as Family Literacy, extended day, and the School Readiness program. Ratings are valid for two years. Programs new to Parent Aware can apply for a Four-Star Rating at any time in the Accelerated Pathway.
School districts and charter schools that receive voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) funding are eligible to receive a Four-Star Rating through the Automatic Pathway. Rating through the Automatic Pathway is embedded in the annual VPK Survey process overseen by The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Additional oversight and guidance are provided by the department in accordance with Sec. 142D.08 MN Statutes.
Charter schools must go through the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) early childhood program recognition process before applying for a Parent Aware Rating. Once a charter school has received their recognition notification from MDE, they may apply for a Rating through the Accelerated Pathway.
Head Start and Early Head Start center-based programs and their partners may apply for a Four-Star Rating through the Automatic Pathway. The application process for a Rating through the Automatic Pathway is embedded in the annual Head Start and Early Head Start annual planning process.
Choose Your Path
Full-Rating Pathway
The Full-Rating Pathway is available to all licensed family child care and child care centers, including Tribally licensed programs, that want to earn a One-, Two-, Three- or Four-Star Rating. Programs must be in good standing with state or county licensing, or with a Tribal government to participate. Programs can apply for Parent Aware up to six months before starting a Full-Rating Cohort. Cohorts are six months long and start on January 1 or July 1 each year.
Programs can also choose to receive 20-60 hours of free Quality Coaching by participating in the Building Quality track for six to 12 months to learn and implement best practices before joining a Full-Rating Cohort. Parent Aware Grants are available to programs that participate in Building Quality and to programs that earn a Rating.
Accelerated Pathway
The Accelerated Pathway is a streamlined process to earn a Four–Star Rating, and is available to licensed accredited child care centers, licensed accredited family child care programs, public school-based prekindergarten programs meeting School Readiness statute or voluntary prekindergarten statute and their partners, and license-exempt charter school early learning programs officially recognized by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).
These programs already meet or exceed most of the best practices required for a Rating through national accreditation requirements, state law, or School Readiness requirements (Sec. 142D.05 MN Statutes), so they are able to move through the Rating process more quickly.
Automatic Pathway
The Automatic Pathway is available to center-based Early Head Start and Head Start programs and their partners, and voluntary prekindergarten programs to receive a Four-Star Rating. The application for a Rating through the Automatic Pathway is embedded in the annual Head Start and Early Head Start application process and the annual voluntary prekindergarten annual survey oversight and guidance is provided by the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) in accordance with MN Statutes 142D.08.
These programs are rigorously monitored and must meet federal regulations on Head Start Performance Standards or state law that match or exceed the practices required for a Parent Aware Rating.
Expedited Pathway
The Expedited Pathway is for owners who oversee multi-site centers with Three- or Four-Star Ratings and are expanding to offer child care in additional locations. Expedited Pathway Ratings are available to licensed child care centers that have an active license, have been open less than six months, and meet a number of other eligibility requirements.
Eligible programs that apply will receive a Three- or Four-Star Parent Aware Rating that is valid for two years as long as they meet basic requirements and two Indicators within six months of receiving the Expedited Pathway Rating.
This pathway will sunset July 1, 2026.