Which States Get the Most Enrollment Referrals From QRIS Systems?
Which States Get the Most Enrollment Referrals From QRIS Systems?
Which States Get the Most Enrollment Referrals From QRIS Systems?
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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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Jaclyn is a data journalist and CFP™ who evaluates trends in the childcare industry and wider economy. She has previously worked for publications including CNET, SmartAsset, Bizfluent, AZCentral and Chron, and as a research consultant for NAPCO Media. Her insights are often cited by publications including Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Insider, Fox News, USA Today, The Hill and more. She has a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from The College of New Jersey.
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