Ohio Child Care: Providers & Step Up To Quality Ratings
Childcare Alerts indexes Ohio's licensed child care programs from the Ohio Department of Children & Youth, including each program's Step Up To Quality star rating where it has one. This is a factual overview, not a safety rating of any provider.
What “Step Up To Quality” means
Step Up To Quality (SUTQ) is Ohio's five-star quality rating and improvement system, run by the Department of Children & Youth. It recognizes programs that go beyond the minimum licensing requirements on things like staff qualifications, curriculum, and family engagement. Programs earn one to five stars (five is highest). A rating is a marker of measured quality — not a safety guarantee, and an unrated provider is not necessarily lower quality (participation is optional). Always review the official state record, which we link to on every provider page.
Provider types
| Type | Providers |
|---|---|
| Licensed Child Care Center | 4,208 |
| Licensed Type B Family Child Care Home | 1,552 |
| Licensed School-Based Preschool | 1,432 |
| Licensed Type A Family Child Care Home | 324 |
| Registered Day Camp or Approved Day Camp | 239 |
| Licensed School-Age Child Care | 231 |
| Certified In Home Aide | 13 |
Where the providers are
Ohio counties with the most indexed providers:
- Franklin County — 1,149 providers
- Cuyahoga County — 1,066 providers
- Hamilton County — 1,065 providers
- Lucas County — 385 providers
- Montgomery County — 355 providers
- Summit County — 346 providers
- Stark County — 196 providers
- Mahoning County — 193 providers
- Lorain County — 192 providers
- Butler County — 170 providers
Ohio child care in the news
Recent third-party coverage of Ohio child care. Headlines link to the original source — these are news reports, not our licensing records.
- Ohio Voters Agree: Child Care Is an Affordability IssueFirst Five Years Fund · Aug 24, 2026
- Advocates call Ohio childcare costs a crisis for familiesSpectrum News · Aug 22, 2026
- Precious Cargo Preschool opens child care center in HartvilleYour Ohio News · Aug 21, 2026
- Ohio House Democrats Unveil "An Ohio You Can Afford" Legislative Package to Drive Down Costs in Healthcare, Childcare, Housing, Energy and Consumer GoodsOhio House of Representatives (.gov) · Aug 17, 2026
- Ohio House Democrats Unveil "An Ohio You Can Afford" Legislative Package to Drive Down Costs in Healthcare, Childcare, Housing, Energy and Consumer GoodsOhio House of Representatives (.gov) · Aug 15, 2026
- Federal rule changes could limit Ohio childcare programsFOX 8 News · Aug 14, 2026
Coverage is gathered automatically from public news sources and isn't an endorsement; we link out and don't host the articles.
How to check a specific provider
Search any Ohio provider by name or city to see its details, Step Up To Quality star rating, and a link to the official state record.
Methodology & source
Programs and Step Up To Quality ratings: the Ohio Department of Children & Youth child care roster (childcaresearch.ohio.gov). Childcare Alerts surfaces and summarizes these public records; the official government record always controls, and the absence of a record is not a guarantee of safety. Childcare Alerts is an independent service, not affiliated with any state agency.