How IdahoSTARS Helps Families
How to Choose Child Care
New Quality Rating and Improvement System
Parent Leadership Development
Online Referrals are Here!
Balancing Work and Family
How IdahoSTARS Helps Families
IdahoSTARS has a child care referral database to help you find quality child care. Information about child care centers, family child care, preschools and school-age programs in Idaho are on our database. We have information about their hours, rates, and services they offer parents. To get child care referrals over the phone, please dial 2-1-1 Idaho CareLine or 1-800-926-2588, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, to speak to a Referral Specialist in your area. They will talk with you about your specific needs and get you information about programs available in your area. They also have educational materials to help guide you through the process of finding a quality child care program that best fits your needs. Many resources for choosing child care are also available on this page. If you prefer to get child care referrals online, we now offer online referrals.
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How to Choose Child Care
Choosing the right child care for your child can be a difficult process. As the child's parent you are the most valuable person in this process. You know your child better than anyone and you know how you would like your child taken care of. IdahoSTARS knows that you want only the best for your child. That's why we are committed to helping Idaho families find quality child care. Health and Welfare has an excellent guide to choosing quality child care on their web site.
Also see the Five Steps to Choosing Safe and Healthy ChildCare by Child Care Aware. This flyer will give you tips to evaluate and choose a quality child care provider. For more information on quality care, you can review Give your Child Something That Will Last a Lifetime or you can also get more personalized child care referrals from our Referral Specialists by calling 2-1-1 IdahoCareLine or 1-800-926-2588, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
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New Quality Rating and Improvement System
IdahoSTARS is proud to introduce the IdahoSTARS Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for child care facilities. The QRIS will help parents choose the child care program that's right for their family.
The QRIS is voluntary. Child care centers and homes that choose to participate conduct a self-study, create an improvement plan, and work to implement their plan over time. It may take as long as 18 months to complete the process and receive a STAR rating. During the process, facilities make improvements, request grants for needed improvements, receive a final environment assessment, and earn a one-to five-star rating.
Participating Facilities
Participating facilities have just begun the process. The following is a list of child care facilities in Idaho that are participating in QRIS. They are working on improvements to benefit children and families.