Step Up to Quality is Nebraska's daycare rating system, run by the Nebraska Department of Education on a Step 1 to Step 5 scale above licensing. Programs that take public funding must participate, while privately funded ones may opt out — so an unrated daycare is not automatically a worse one.
If you are comparing daycares in Nebraska and see a Step Up to Quality rating, this guide explains what the steps measure, who runs and licenses programs, how to confirm a rating, and how it connects to cost and subsidy — so you can use it as one input, not the whole decision. The system was established by the Nebraska Legislature in 2013 and is administered by the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE), within the broader structure the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Child Care sets for states.
Step Up to Quality is Nebraska's Quality Rating and Improvement System, established by the Legislature in 2013 and administered by the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE). It rates participating early childhood programs from Step 1 to Step 5 on standards built above licensing, per NDE and the federal ACF Office of Child Care. Programs that accept public funding are required to participate; others may join voluntarily.
A quality rating system does two jobs at once. It rates programs so families can compare them, and it improves programs by pairing higher steps with coaching, training, and resources. Nebraska built Step Up to Quality with support from the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) administered by the ACF Office of Child Care.
Two agencies share the work. The Nebraska Department of Education runs the Step Up to Quality rating, while the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) licenses child care programs through its Children's Services Licensing. Licensing is the mandatory floor; the step rating is the layer above it. The table below sorts out what each label means.
| Label | What to know |
|---|---|
| Step Up to Quality | Nebraska's Step 1–5 rating, run by the Nebraska Department of Education. Required for publicly funded programs, voluntary for others. |
| Licensing (Nebraska DHHS) | The mandatory baseline. The Nebraska DHHS licenses programs through Children's Services Licensing; confirm a program's current status. |
| Accreditation | Optional national recognition, such as NAEYC (the National Association for the Education of Young Children), separate from the state and a useful extra signal. |
Because participation can be voluntary for privately funded programs, confirm a program's current license first, then ask about its step level, rather than assuming an unrated program is lower quality.
Start with the license: confirm the program's status with the Nebraska DHHS, which licenses child care programs, and review any compliance history. Then ask about the Step Up to Quality level. Treat any step 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 step rating is genuinely useful, but because privately funded Nebraska programs can opt out, a strong daycare may carry no step at all. Use the rating to narrow your list, never to rule out an unrated program before you have visited.
The rating does not set tuition, which each program decides on its own. But in Nebraska, the state ties added support and can tie higher reimbursement to higher steps through the Child Care Subsidy program administered by the Nebraska DHHS, 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 Nebraska-specific figures, see our daycare cost guide and estimate your own with the cost calculator. If you may qualify for help paying, the Nebraska Child Care Subsidy through DHHS is the place to start.
Step Up to Quality is Nebraska's Quality Rating and Improvement System, established by the Legislature in 2013 and administered by the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE). It rates participating early childhood programs from Step 1 to Step 5 on standards built above licensing, per NDE and the federal ACF Office of Child Care. Programs that accept public funding are required to participate.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) licenses child care programs in Nebraska through its Children's Services Licensing, per Nebraska DHHS. Licensing is the mandatory baseline, while Step Up to Quality is the quality layer run by the Nebraska Department of Education. Confirm a program's current license before you enroll.
Confirm the program's license status with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and review compliance history, then ask the program about its Step Up to Quality rating. Steps run 1 to 5; a privately funded program may not be rated. Treat any step as one data point and pair it with your own tour.
Not directly through tuition, which each program sets. But Nebraska ties added support and can tie higher subsidy reimbursement to higher steps through the Child Care Subsidy program administered by Nebraska DHHS, per NDE and DHHS. 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 Nebraska 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 Iowa's QRS, Kansas's Links to Quality, and Colorado Shines.
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