Does Hawaii Have a Childcare Quality Rating System? What Directors Need to Know

Hawaii has no statewide QRIS, so there is no program name to join and no participation requirement to meet.

In its federal Quality Progress Report for FFY 2024, which covers October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024, Hawaii DHS checked the box stating that the lead agency does not have a QRIS or other system of quality improvement.

DHS's own QRIS web page documents only a pilot: in February 2012, Hawaii began a QRIS Pilot for DHS-licensed family child care homes, group child centers and infant and toddler centers, administered by the University of Hawaii Center on the Family.

That page documents no current statewide star-rating system.

Licensing is a separate track: the Hawaii Department of Human Services licenses group child care centers and group child care homes under Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-892.2, licenses infant and toddler centers under chapter 17-895.1, and registers family child care homes under chapter 17-891.2, and that licensing applies with or without any quality designation.

There are no rating levels to list.

Hawaii DHS told the federal government it has no QRIS or other system of quality improvement, and the state's CCDF plan for FFY 2025-2027 says the department does not define any variations or levels of quality other than the three types of accreditation it recognizes for the subsidy rate.

A director will not find star levels, scoring bands or published level criteria to work toward, and this page describes none because none are documented.

The only quality marker Hawaii's subsidy system names is national accreditation: a program either holds one of the three recognized accreditations or it does not.

None earn a higher rating, because Hawaii has no rating levels to reach.

Every licensed program is still subject to Hawaii's own staff qualification, training-hour and background-check rules, and those apply with or without any quality designation; this page does not restate them.

Beyond licensing, the quality marker Hawaii's subsidy system recognizes is national accreditation from NAEYC, NECPA or NAFCC.

What each accreditation asks of staff is not recorded here: our research did not document the standards behind NAEYC, NECPA or NAFCC accreditation, so ask the accrediting organization directly when weighing the path.

None.

Hawaii has no QRIS, so the state runs no QRIS observation or assessment tool, no rated classroom visits and no scoring instrument tied to a quality level.

DHS's QRIS page, which documents only the pilot begun in February 2012, names no current assessment tool either.

If a program pursues accreditation, any observation involved would be part of that accreditor's own process, which our research did not document; the accreditor and DHS are the confirmation points.

There are no rating-based incentives, because there are no ratings.

The incentive Hawaii does attach to quality sits on the subsidy side: DHS pays higher subsidy rates to licensed centers and registered family child care homes accredited by NAEYC, NECPA or NAFCC, and the state's CCDF plan for FFY 2025-2027 confirms the higher rate for accredited center-based providers and defines no other quality levels.

As of September 30, 2024, Hawaii counted 145 accredited providers meeting its high-quality definition — 142 licensed centers and 3 family child care homes — serving 1,053 children.

The payment goes to the program through subsidy rates; our research found no quality-tied staff bonus in Hawaii.

One staff-side support exists outside any rating: the Hawaii Early Childhood Educator Stipend, run by the Executive Office on Early Learning and the University of Hawaii, pays tuition stipends to students in qualified ECE certificate and degree programs across the UH system, and it is an education subsidy rather than a quality-rating incentive.

There is no state rating visit to prepare for and no level criteria to build a training plan around.

The quality marker with a concrete payoff in Hawaii is national accreditation: DHS recognizes NAEYC, NECPA and NAFCC accreditation for the higher subsidy rate.

A director weighing that path is working to an accreditor's standards rather than a state rubric, so the accreditor's criteria are the place to start, and DHS is the place to confirm the current subsidy conditions.

Hawaii's licensing duties — staff qualifications, training hours and background checks — still apply to the licensed centers and registered homes this quality path runs through, with no quality designation attached.