OCDEL Announces It Will Offer Keystone STARS Award for 2025-26

Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has announced that it will offer the Keystone STARS Quality Improvement (CQI) Award again during the 2025-26 school year.

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The Keystone STARS CQI Award is paid directly through ELRCs to eligible child care programs that have a state Department of Human Services regular Certificate of Compliance and are designated as a Keystone STAR 2, 3, or 4.

The intent of the award is to improve, support, and recognize the quality of Pennsylvania’s early learning and school-age programs.

A child care provider application for this award is not required. Instead, providers who are eligible for the award will receive an eligibility and acceptance letter from their ELRC. The letter will include the maximum award amount that a child care provider is eligible to receive as well as contact information for their ELRC.

After spending the award on eligible expenses, the provider will be responsible for submitting a final expense report electronically to their ELRC.

To be eligible, a provider must possess a current, regular Pennsylvania Department of Human Services certificate of compliance. Providers with provisional certificates, those in a “refuse to renew” status,” or those whose certificates have been revoked are ineligible. 

For more information on the award, visit The Pennsylvania Key website.