Kentucky's Childcare Quality Rating System: What It Means for Directors and Staff
Kentucky's quality rating and improvement system is Kentucky All STARS, written in 922 KAR 2:270 and run by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
Providers receiving public funds participate from preliminary licensure; other providers participate unless they file an opt-out request, though 2026 legislation signals a move toward voluntary participation.
Providers are rated across five levels on a four-domain scale worth up to 50 points, with environment assessments at the top levels and provider awards subject to funding.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
Kentucky All STARS, set out in 922 KAR 2:270.
Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS).
Providers receiving public funds participate from preliminary licensure; providers not receiving public funds participate unless they file the DCC-433 Kentucky All STARS Opt-Out Request, and 2026 HB 6 signals legislative intent for voluntary participation.
Levels 1 through 5, with point thresholds of 21-30 at Level 3, 31-40 at Level 4 and 41-50 at Level 5 on the 50-point scale.
An environment assessment conducted by the cabinet or its designee, scored per classroom at the top rating levels; the instrument's name is not established in our research.
No staff-side incentive is established in our research; subject to funding, Kentucky pays qualifying providers an initial achievement award, an annual quality award or a subsidy enrollment award.
Kentucky rating levels
- Level 1Rating level
The lowest-numbered level in the 1-through-5 scale the All STARS regulation names; the rule text describes Levels 2 through 5 as the levels for which the provider applies and qualifies.
- Level 2Rating level
The first applied-for level, and the one with a staff benchmark confirmed in our research: 50% of teaching staff must complete 10 hours of professional learning in curriculum or instruction or hold an early childhood credential or degree.
- Level 3Rating level
Requires 21-30 points on the four-domain, 50-point scoring scale.
- Level 4Rating level
Requires 31-40 points plus an environment assessment score of at least 4 per classroom, conducted by the cabinet or its designee.
- Level 5Rating level
The top level: 41-50 points plus an environment assessment score of at least 5 per classroom.
What is Kentucky's QRIS called, and is participation required?
Kentucky's quality rating and improvement system is Kentucky All STARS, set out in 922 KAR 2:270 and administered by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services — the same cabinet that licenses centers and certifies family child-care homes.
The rating covers licensed centers and certified family child-care homes, with levels 1 through 5.
Participation follows funding: a provider receiving public funds participates in All STARS from preliminary licensure, while a provider not receiving public funds participates unless it waives participation by completing the DCC-433, Kentucky All STARS Opt-Out Request.
Kentucky's 2026 House Bill 6 signals legislative intent for voluntary participation in the rating system, so the participation rules may be revised; confirm the rules in force with the cabinet before you plan around them.
“A provider not receiving public funds shall participate in STARS unless the provider waives participation by completing the DCC-433, Kentucky All STARS Opt-Out Request.”
What are the Kentucky All STARS rating levels?
All STARS rates providers on five levels, 1 through 5, and the regulation describes Level 2 through Level 5 as the levels for which the provider applies and qualifies.
Levels 3 through 5 carry point thresholds on the system's four-domain scale: Level 3 requires 21-30 points, Level 4 requires 31-40 points with an environment assessment score of at least 4 per classroom, and Level 5 requires 41-50 points with at least 5 per classroom.
The point ranges for Levels 1 and 2 are not established in our research, so treat any scoring total you have seen for those levels as unconfirmed until the cabinet's current regulation or guidance verifies it.
“As a Level 2 through Level 5 for which the provider applies and qualifies in accordance with this administrative regulation.”
What staff credentials and training count toward a higher rating?
Staff qualifications and professional development is one of the four scoring domains, worth up to 10 of the system's 50 points, and the regulation says it may include the hours of staff training, professional development plans for staff that align with state requirements, and staff credentials.
The one per-level staff criterion our research confirmed sits at Level 2, where 50% of teaching staff must complete 10 hours of professional learning in curriculum or instruction or hold an early childhood credential or degree.
What staff credentials and training earn points at Levels 3 through 5 is not established in our research, so do not build a credential or training plan around point totals you have not confirmed with the cabinet.
“Staff qualifications and professional development, which may include the hours of staff training, professional development plans for staff that align with state requirements, and staff credentials for a maximum of ten (10) points to the provider”
Which observation tool does Kentucky All STARS use?
For the top levels the regulation requires an environment assessment conducted by the cabinet or its designee: a provider qualifying at Level 4 needs a score of at least 4 per classroom, and at Level 5 a score of at least 5 per classroom.
The name of the observation instrument behind those scores is not established in our research.
Before you schedule staff time or practice observations around a specific classroom tool, ask the cabinet which instrument its assessments use and how they are arranged.
“Complete an environment assessment conducted by the cabinet or its designee with a minimum score of five (5) per classroom.”
What incentives come with higher ratings — for the center and for staff?
Subject to funding, Kentucky pays qualifying All STARS providers an initial achievement award, an annual quality award or a subsidy enrollment award.
The award amounts are not established in our research, and the funding condition matters: an award the regulation names is not automatically paid in a given year.
For individual staff, our research found no All STARS bonus or wage supplement in the regulation; the three awards it names go to the provider.
Ask the cabinet which awards are currently funded and at what amounts before you count one in a center budget.
How do directors prepare for a Kentucky All STARS rating?
The scoring structure tells a director where a rating is earned.
Classroom and instructional quality is the largest domain at up to 20 of the 50 points, with family and community engagement, staff qualifications and professional development, and administrative and leadership practices worth up to 10 points each.
Because a provider receiving public funds participates in All STARS from preliminary licensure, the system reaches a center at the licensure stage rather than after it is established.
The confirmed staff benchmark is the Level 2 criterion that 50% of teaching staff complete 10 hours of professional learning in curriculum or instruction or hold an early childhood credential or degree, and the environment assessments at the top levels make per-classroom conditions part of the rating too.
What the regulation's text does not settle — how points map to specific practices at each level, and when assessments happen — should come from the cabinet rather than from this page.
What has changed in Kentucky All STARS recently?
Kentucky's 2026 House Bill 6 became law without the Governor's signature on April 14, 2026, as Acts Chapter 146.
The bill signals legislative intent for voluntary participation in the rating system, and our research did not confirm that a revised All STARS regulation has taken effect, so the participation rules described on this page are the ones 922 KAR 2:270 set when we read it.
Because the regulation may be revised, confirm current participation and scoring rules with the cabinet.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Kentucky licensing rules, agency pages and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state quality rating system (QRIS) series, current as of October 2026. It is not a substitute for the instructions the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) publishes. For the rest of the picture in Kentucky, see daycare director requirements in Kentucky.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kentucky All STARS the same as a childcare license?
No. Kentucky centers are licensed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services under its licensure regulations, and family child-care homes are certified separately.
All STARS is the cabinet's quality rating system for those licensed and certified providers, written in 922 KAR 2:270.
It is a quality designation the cabinet runs alongside licensing, not the license itself.
Does every Kentucky childcare provider have to participate in All STARS?
Under the current regulation, providers receiving public funds participate from preliminary licensure, and providers not receiving public funds participate unless they waive it by completing the DCC-433, Kentucky All STARS Opt-Out Request.
Participation may change: 2026 House Bill 6 signals legislative intent for voluntary participation in the rating system, and the regulation may be revised.
Confirm the current rule with the cabinet.
What score do you need for Kentucky All STARS Level 4?
Level 4 requires 31-40 points on the four-domain, 50-point scale, plus an environment assessment score of at least 4 per classroom.
For context, Level 3 requires 21-30 points and Level 5 requires 41-50 points with at least 5 per classroom.
The point ranges for Levels 1 and 2 were not established in our research.
Does Kentucky All STARS pay teachers a bonus?
Our research found no staff bonus in the All STARS regulation.
Subject to funding, Kentucky pays qualifying providers an initial achievement award, an annual quality award or a subsidy enrollment award, and the amounts are not established in our research.
Ask your director or the Cabinet for Health and Family Services what supports, if any, reach individual staff.
What training counts toward All STARS points?
The regulation's staff qualifications and professional development domain, worth up to 10 points, may include hours of staff training, professional development plans that align with state requirements, and staff credentials.
One confirmed criterion: at Level 2, 50% of teaching staff must complete 10 hours of professional learning in curriculum or instruction or hold an early childhood credential or degree.
Criteria at the higher levels were not established in our research.
More Kentucky Resources
Sources
- Kentucky Administrative Regulations — 922 KAR 2:270 (Kentucky All STARS) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Kentucky General Assembly — 2026 Regular Session, House Bill 6 (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Kentucky Administrative Regulations — 922 KAR 2:090 (Child-care center licensure) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
Sourced from the documents listed above. Verified October 2026. This is career and employer information, not licensing or legal advice. Confirm current rules with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS).