New Hampshire's Childcare Quality Rating System: What It Means for Directors and Staff
New Hampshire's quality rating and improvement system is Granite Steps for Quality (GSQ), a voluntary, four-step program the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services runs for licensed child care and out-of-school-time programs.
Each step is judged on two standards, Staff Qualifications and Learning Environments.
Participating programs receive a quality payment of 5% or 10% of their Child Care Scholarship billing, plus quarterly incentives that run from $600 to $4,800 at the top step.
Here is how the system works from the director's and staff's side.
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At a glance
Granite Steps for Quality (GSQ).
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which also licenses the state's child care programs.
Voluntary for licensed child care and out-of-school-time programs, and free to join.
Four Quality Steps, Step 1 through Step 4.
Two pathways under the Learning Environments standard: an Environment Rating Scales (ERS) pathway or a Pyramid Model pathway.
Our research confirmed program-level payments — a share of Child Care Scholarship billing plus quarterly incentives that scale with step and capacity — and did not confirm a staff-level bonus.
New Hampshire rating levels
- Step 1Rating level
The entry Quality Step for centers: at center Step 1, the administrator and 20% of eligible staff hold a current NH Early Childhood Credential, and the program draws the 5% quality-payment band.
- Step 2Rating level
The second of the four Quality Steps, judged on the same two standards, still in the 5% quality-payment band.
- Step 3Rating level
The third Quality Step, which moves a program into the 10% quality-payment band on its Child Care Scholarship billing.
- Step 4Rating level
The top step for centers: at center Step 4, the administrator and 80% of eligible staff hold a NH Early Childhood Credential, with 40% at Early Childhood Educator 2 (2022) or Teacher Level 5 (2015).
What is New Hampshire's QRIS called, and is participation required?
Granite Steps for Quality (GSQ) is New Hampshire's voluntary quality recognition and improvement system for licensed child care and out-of-school-time programs.
Voluntary means participation is a choice: GSQ is not part of a center's license.
New Hampshire child care programs are licensed by the DHHS Child Care Licensing Unit under He-C 4002, and GSQ is a separate program run by the same department.
Joining carries no cost for programs, per the GSQ guide.
“Learn about Granite Steps for Quality, New Hampshire's Quality Recognition and Improvement System (QRIS) for child care and out-of-school time programs.”
What are Granite Steps for Quality's rating levels?
GSQ has four Quality Steps, Step 1 through Step 4, and every step is judged on the same two standards: Staff Qualifications and Learning Environments.
The money tracks the steps rather than the standards: programs at Steps 1-2 receive 5% of their monthly NH Child Care Scholarship billing as a quality payment, and programs at Steps 3-4 receive 10%.
The credential expectations our research confirms are higher at Step 4 than at Step 1 — the two anchor points — and the list above shows what our research confirmed for each one.
“There are four GSQ Quality Steps (Steps 1—4).”
What staff credentials and training count toward a higher rating?
The Staff Qualifications standard runs on the NH Early Childhood Credential.
At center Step 1, the administrator and 20% of eligible staff hold a current NH Early Childhood Credential.
At center Step 4, the administrator and 80% of eligible staff hold one, with 40% at the level the guide calls Early Childhood Educator 2 (2022) or Teacher Level 5 (2015).
Our research confirmed those two anchor points and not the shares for Steps 2 and 3, so read the GSQ guide for the full matrix before you plan a hiring or training push around a target step.
The staff requirement our research confirmed is credential-based; our research did not confirm training hours that earn GSQ credit, so do not assume licensing training hours carry over.
GSQ's credential standard also sits on top of the licensing qualifications for directors and teachers, which this page does not restate.
“Administrator and 20% of eligible staff hold a current NH Early Childhood Credential.”
Which observation tool does Granite Steps for Quality use?
Our research confirmed two pathways for the Learning Environments standard rather than a single fixed instrument across the system.
A program chooses between an Environment Rating Scales (ERS) pathway and a Pyramid Model pathway.
Our research confirmed the two pathways but not which ERS editions New Hampshire allows or how a Pyramid Model pathway is assessed, so get the current GSQ guide from DHHS before you buy materials or book training around a specific scale.
What incentives come with a higher rating — for the center and for staff?
Two program-level incentives sit in the GSQ guide.
The first is a quality payment tied to Child Care Scholarship billing: 5% of a program's monthly billing at Steps 1-2 and 10% at Steps 3-4.
The second is a quarterly quality incentive that scales with both step and licensed capacity, from $600 for a Step 1 program with a capacity of 1-25 to $4,800 for a Step 4 program with a capacity of 201 or more.
Participation itself costs nothing.
Our research did not confirm a staff-level bonus paid through GSQ: the payments the guide describes go to the program, and our research found no share set for individual staff.
“Programs will receive a percentage of their monthly Child Care Scholarship billing dependent on their GSQ Quality Step”
How do directors prepare for a Granite Steps rating?
The guide's two standards show where preparation concentrates.
Staff Qualifications is a counting exercise: know how many eligible staff hold a current NH Early Childhood Credential and at which levels, because the step a program can document depends on that share — the administrator plus 20% at center Step 1, the administrator plus 80% at center Step 4.
Learning Environments means committing to a pathway, ERS or Pyramid Model.
Participation costs nothing, so the cost side is staff time rather than a fee.
Our research did not confirm GSQ's application and assessment steps — how a program applies, what DHHS asks for and when observations happen — so get the current process from the GSQ guide or DHHS before you schedule anything.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) publishes. For the rest of the picture in New Hampshire, see daycare director requirements in New Hampshire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all New Hampshire childcare centers have to join Granite Steps for Quality?
No. GSQ is New Hampshire's voluntary QRIS for licensed child care and out-of-school-time programs, so participation is a choice rather than a licensing condition.
A center's license comes from the DHHS Child Care Licensing Unit under He-C 4002, separate from any GSQ step.
Joining is free, so the cost of participating is staff time rather than a fee.
What is the highest Granite Steps for Quality rating?
Step 4, the top of the four Quality Steps.
At center Step 4, the administrator and 80% of eligible staff hold a NH Early Childhood Credential, with 40% at Early Childhood Educator 2 (2022) or Teacher Level 5 (2015).
Step 4 also sits in the higher payment band: programs at Steps 3-4 receive 10% of their monthly Child Care Scholarship billing as a quality payment, versus 5% at Steps 1-2.
Does Granite Steps for Quality pay staff bonuses?
Our research did not confirm a staff-level bonus through GSQ.
The guide describes program-level payments: a quality payment of 5% of monthly Child Care Scholarship billing at Steps 1-2 or 10% at Steps 3-4, plus quarterly incentives that scale with step and licensed capacity.
Our research found no share set for individual staff.
Is Granite Steps for Quality the same as a childcare license?
No. New Hampshire child care programs are licensed by the DHHS Child Care Licensing Unit under He-C 4002, New Hampshire's child care licensing rules.
GSQ is a separate, voluntary quality system for licensed programs: four Quality Steps judged on two standards, Staff Qualifications and Learning Environments.
How much does it cost to join Granite Steps for Quality?
Nothing.
The GSQ guide states there is no cost for programs to participate.
The investment a director plans around is staff time: building credential coverage among eligible staff toward the step you target and committing to an ERS or Pyramid Model pathway for the Learning Environments standard.
Confirm current process details with DHHS before you plan around them.
More New Hampshire Resources
Sources
- New Hampshire DHHS — Granite Steps for Quality (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- New Hampshire DHHS — Granite Steps for Quality program guide (PDF) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- New Hampshire child care licensing rules (New Hampshire General Court, administrative rules) (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 New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).