Silver State Stars is Nevada's voluntary daycare rating system, run by the state's welfare division on a five-star scale above licensing. A higher star signals more training, better ratios, and stronger learning environments — but because it is voluntary, an unrated program is not automatically a worse one.
If you are comparing daycares in Nevada and see a Silver State Stars level, this guide explains what the stars 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 is administered by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services through the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS) Office of Early Care and Education, within the broader structure the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Child Care sets for states.
Silver State Stars is Nevada's voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement System, administered by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services through the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS) Office of Early Care and Education. It rates participating child care centers, family child care, and pre-K programs on a five-star scale built above licensing, per DWSS and the federal ACF Office of Child Care. Participation is voluntary, so not every licensed program holds a star.
A quality rating system does two jobs at once. It rates programs so families can compare them, and it improves programs by pairing higher star levels with coaching, training, and resources. Nevada built Silver State Stars with support from the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) administered by the ACF Office of Child Care.
The rating and the license sit with different agencies. The DWSS Office of Early Care and Education runs Silver State Stars, while licensing is handled by the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH) Child Care Licensing Unit outside Washoe County, and by Washoe County for programs within its borders. Licensing is the mandatory floor; the star rating is the layer above it. The table below sorts out what each label means.
| Label | What to know |
|---|---|
| Silver State Stars | Nevada's voluntary five-star rating, run by the DWSS Office of Early Care and Education on top of licensing. |
| Licensing (DPBH / Washoe County) | The mandatory baseline. The Nevada DPBH Child Care Licensing Unit licenses outside Washoe County; Washoe County licenses within its borders. Confirm 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 Silver State Stars is voluntary, confirm a program's current license first — with DPBH or Washoe County, depending on location — then ask about its star level, rather than assuming an unrated program is lower quality.
Start with the license: confirm the program's status with the Nevada DPBH Child Care Licensing Unit, or with Washoe County for programs there, and review any compliance history. Then ask about the Silver State Stars level. Treat any star 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 star rating is genuinely useful, but because Silver State Stars is voluntary and Nevada splits licensing between the state and Washoe County, the records take a little more legwork. 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 Nevada, the state ties added support and can tie higher reimbursement to higher star levels through the child care subsidy program administered by DWSS, 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 Nevada-specific figures, see our daycare cost guide and estimate your own with the cost calculator. If you may qualify for help paying, the Nevada child care subsidy through DWSS is the place to start.
Silver State Stars is Nevada's voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement System, administered by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services through the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS) Office of Early Care and Education. It rates participating child care centers, family child care, and pre-K programs on a five-star scale built above licensing, per DWSS and the federal ACF Office of Child Care.
Outside Washoe County, the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH) Child Care Licensing Unit licenses child care facilities; Washoe County licenses programs within its own borders, per Nevada DPBH. Licensing is the mandatory baseline, while Silver State Stars is the voluntary quality layer. Confirm a program's current license before you enroll.
Confirm the program's license with the Nevada DPBH Child Care Licensing Unit, or with Washoe County for programs there, and review compliance history. Then ask the program about its Silver State Stars level, which runs up to five stars. Because participation is voluntary, an unrated program is not necessarily low quality. Pair any star with your own tour.
Not directly through tuition, which each program sets. But Nevada ties added support and can tie higher subsidy reimbursement to higher star levels through the child care subsidy program administered by DWSS, per DWSS 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 Nevada 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 Quality Counts California, Arizona's Quality First, and Idaho's Steps to Quality.
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