Quality Start is Louisiana's child care rating system, historically a one-to-five-star scale built on licensing. Since 2015, Louisiana has layered a unified early childhood network on top, led by the Louisiana Department of Education, which gives publicly funded sites an annual Performance Profile rating.
If you are comparing daycares in Louisiana and keep seeing Quality Start stars or Performance Profiles, this guide explains what each measures, who runs them, how to look a program up, and how a rating connects to subsidy — so you can use it as one input, not the whole decision. The original Quality Start framework came from the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS); the unified network and Performance Profiles are run by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE), with the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Child Care setting the broader structure states follow.
Quality Start is Louisiana's child care quality rating system, historically run by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). It used a one-to-five-star scale, with licensing as the foundation and four star levels above the state's licensing standards. It is the system many Louisiana families came to know first, per DCFS and the federal ACF Office of Child Care.
A quality rating system does two jobs at once. It rates programs so families can compare them, and it improves programs by pairing higher ratings with coaching, training, and resources. Louisiana adopted this model, like most states, with support from the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) administered by the ACF Office of Child Care.
Since 2015, under Bulletin 140, Louisiana built a unified statewide early childhood network led by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE). Each publicly funded center, Head Start, and school serving children birth to five receives an annual Performance Profile with a rating based on rigorous classroom observations, alongside information on curriculum and teacher credentials. The table below contrasts the two systems parents may encounter.
| System | What to know |
|---|---|
| Quality Start (DCFS) | The original one-to-five-star child care rating system, built on licensing, that many families recognize by name. |
| Unified network and Performance Profiles (LDOE) | The current statewide system; publicly funded birth-to-five sites get an annual Performance Profile rating from classroom observations. |
| Licensing | The mandatory baseline. The Louisiana Department of Education now licenses early learning centers; confirm a program's current license. |
Because Louisiana has moved to the unified network, confirm a program's most current rating through the LDOE Performance Profile rather than relying only on an older Quality Start star, as states revise these systems periodically.
For publicly funded programs, look up the site's Performance Profile on the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) site, then cross-check its license status, which the LDOE now oversees for early learning centers. Treat the rating as one verified data point alongside your own tour, because ratings can lag a program's real, day-to-day conditions by a year or more.
Honest tradeoff. A rating is genuinely useful, but Louisiana's system has changed, so a single star you see online may be out of date. Privately funded programs may not have a current Performance Profile at all. Use ratings to narrow your list, never to replace a visit.
The rating does not set tuition, which each program decides on its own. But in Louisiana, higher-rated providers can qualify for added support and, where offered, enhanced reimbursement tied to the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), now administered by the Louisiana Department of Education, a structure the ACF Office of Child Care encourages under the federal Child Care and Development Fund. For national context, ChildCare Aware of America's 2024 Price of Child Care report put center-based care at roughly $8,000 to $24,000 per year depending on age and state.
For Louisiana-specific figures, see our daycare cost guide and estimate your own with the cost calculator. If you may qualify for help paying, the Louisiana Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) through the LDOE is the place to start.
Quality Start is Louisiana's child care rating system, historically run by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), using a one-to-five-star scale built on licensing. Since 2015, Louisiana also operates a unified statewide early childhood network led by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE), which gives publicly funded sites an annual Performance Profile rating, per the LDOE and the federal ACF Office of Child Care.
Louisiana has shifted toward a unified early childhood system under the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE), in which publicly funded centers, Head Start, and schools serving children birth to five receive a Performance Profile based on classroom observations. Parents may still see Quality Start star references, so check the LDOE Performance Profile for the most current public rating and confirm the program's license.
For publicly funded programs, look up the site's Performance Profile on the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) site, then confirm the program's license status, which the LDOE now oversees for early learning centers. Ratings can lag real conditions, so pair the profile with your own tour.
Not directly through tuition, which each program sets. But higher-rated providers can qualify for added support and, where offered, enhanced reimbursement tied to the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), now administered by the Louisiana Department of Education, per the LDOE and the ACF Office of Child Care. Center care nationally runs roughly $8,000–$24,000 per year, per ChildCare Aware of America's 2024 Price of Child Care report.
For the full picture in your state, see the Louisiana daycare guide, which covers licensing, subsidy, and pre-K. Our daycare quality and safety pillar explains accreditation, ratios, and what to look for on a tour.
Comparing how other states rate quality? Read our explainers on Kentucky All STARS, Kansas Links to Quality, and Iowa's IQ4K.
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