Quality matters!
The early years are critical when it comes to building social, emotional, thinking, and learning skills. Children with these skills are more likely to succeed in school and in life.
Maryland EXCELS builds upon the foundation of the State’s rigorous child care licensing requirements. Every licensed program is inspected by the State at least once each year to ensure compliance with Maryland regulations.
Maryland EXCELS provides the opportunity for programs to demonstrate achievements that exceed state licensing requirements. Upon review and verification, programs publish a rating from 1 to 5 (with 5 being the highest quality level) on the online Find a Program portal and in the Quality Finder mobile App.
Publishing a rating at any level, including level 1, demonstrates a program’s commitment to continuous quality improvement.
What is Maryland EXCELS?
Maryland EXCELS awards ratings to participating Child Care Centers, School-Age Child Care Programs, Family Child Care Homes, and Public Pre-Kindergarten programs based upon nationally recognized quality standards and best practices. Maryland EXCELS is designed to increase awareness of the elements of high quality care and education, to recognize and support those who are meeting those standards, and to educate families and the community about the importance of high quality child care and early childhood programs.
Searching for quality child care and early education programs that promote school-readiness has never been easier!
The map feature below allows families and other community members to locate early childhood and school-age programs that have achieved and published a Maryland EXCELS Quality Check Level. When available, a link is provided to the program’s website. New programs are added to this search feature often. Please continue to check back.
What do the checks mean?
Maryland EXCELS participants are awarded a rating of 1 to 5 checks based on quality demonstrated by evidence uploaded into the online system. In addition to this overall rating, programs and providers achieve a rating in each of the five content areas: Licensing and Compliance, Accreditation and Rating Scales, Staffing and Professional Development, Developmentally Appropriate Learning and Practice, and Administrative Polices and Practices. For more information on each of the five overall quality check levels, click here.