Quality Rating System (QRS)

Welcome to Iowa's Quality Rating System (QRS), a voluntary child care rating system for child development homes, licensed child care centers and preschools, and Child care programs that are operated by school districts.

The QRS was developed:

• to raise the quality of child care in Iowa
• to increase the number of children in high-quality child care settings
• to educate parents about quality in child care

There are five levels in the QRS.  For a program to be rated at:

• Level 1:  all the Level 1 criteria must be met. 
• Level 2:  all the Level 1 and Level 2 criteria must be met. 
• Levels 3-5:  all the Level 1 and Level 2 criteria must be met, and then the program must earn a minimum of one point in each of the Level 3-5 categories.  For levels 3-5, the level is determined by the total number of points earned. 

The charts below outline the criteria for homes and centers.

New Home Chart 2-1-11

New Center Chart 2-1-11

For more information about the QRS, to learn how to apply, or to see a listing of QRS providers, please select from the navigation link on the left.