Grow NJ Kids is New Jersey's voluntary daycare rating system, organized from Level 1, which means meeting basic licensing standards, up to Level 5. A higher level 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 New Jersey and see a Grow NJ Kids level, this guide explains what the levels 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 led by New Jersey state agencies, including the Department of Human Services, Department of Children and Families, and Department of Education, within the broader structure the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Child Care sets for states.
Grow NJ Kids is New Jersey's voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement System for child care and early learning programs, organized from Level 1, which means meeting basic licensing standards, up to Level 5. It is led by New Jersey state agencies including the Department of Human Services, Department of Children and Families, and Department of Education, per the State of New Jersey and the federal ACF Office of Child Care. Participation is voluntary, so not every licensed program holds a rating.
A quality rating system does two jobs at once. It rates programs so families can compare them, and it improves programs by pairing higher levels with coaching, training, and resources. New Jersey built Grow NJ Kids with support from the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) administered by the ACF Office of Child Care.
The rating spans several state agencies, but licensing has a single home: the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) Office of Licensing licenses child care centers, while county Child Care Resource and Referral agencies monitor registered family child care. Licensing is the mandatory floor; Grow NJ Kids is the layer above it. The table below sorts out what each label means.
| Label | What to know |
|---|---|
| Grow NJ Kids | New Jersey's voluntary Level 1–5 quality rating, built on licensing. Led by NJ state agencies; Level 1 means meeting basic licensing standards. |
| Licensing (NJ DCF Office of Licensing) | The mandatory baseline for centers. Registered family child care is monitored through county Child Care Resource and Referral agencies. 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 Grow NJ Kids is voluntary, confirm a program's current license first, then ask about its rating level, rather than assuming an unrated program is lower quality.
Start with the license: confirm the program's status with the New Jersey DCF Office of Licensing, which licenses child care centers, and review any compliance history. Then ask about the Grow NJ Kids level. Treat any 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 Grow NJ Kids level is genuinely useful, but because the system is voluntary, a strong New Jersey program may carry no rating 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 New Jersey, the state ties added support and can tie higher reimbursement to higher rating levels, while the Child Care Assistance Program through the Division of Family Development helps eligible families pay, 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 New Jersey-specific figures, see our daycare cost guide and estimate your own with the cost calculator. If you may qualify for help paying, the New Jersey Child Care Assistance Program through the Division of Family Development is the place to start.
Grow NJ Kids is New Jersey's voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement System for child care and early learning programs, organized from Level 1 (meeting basic licensing standards) to Level 5. It is led by New Jersey state agencies including the Department of Human Services, Department of Children and Families, and Department of Education, per the State of New Jersey and the federal ACF Office of Child Care.
The New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) Office of Licensing licenses child care centers, per the State of New Jersey. Registered family child care providers are monitored through county Child Care Resource and Referral agencies. Licensing is the mandatory baseline, while Grow NJ Kids is the voluntary quality layer. Confirm a program's current license before you enroll.
Confirm the program's license with the New Jersey DCF Office of Licensing and review compliance history, then ask the program about its Grow NJ Kids rating level. Because participation is voluntary, an unrated program is not necessarily low quality. Treat any rating as one data point and pair it with your own tour.
Not directly through tuition, which each program sets. But New Jersey ties added support and can tie higher subsidy reimbursement to higher rating levels, while the Child Care Assistance Program through the Division of Family Development helps eligible families pay, per the State of New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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 Delaware Stars, Maryland EXCELS, and Connecticut's QRIS.
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