Licensed early care and education providers who are in good standing must meet all state requirements for serving children and families. Sites engaged in Keys to Quality have chosen to move beyond state licensing requirements to focus on program development in these identified quality improvement areas: child observation, health & developmental screening, teacher qualifications, teacher-child interactions, ratios & group size, Director qualifications, & care & learning environment. Sites that are rated will provide documentation and receive objective observation related to these areas of professional practice, receiving a score to reflect their progress on the quality improvement tiers.

Eligible individuals who are working in early learning/child care settings directly with children 0-5, or providing care for a child/children 0-5 can receive a stipend for completing professional development and ECE/CD coursework. In addition for center based care, a site bonus may be earned when at least 50% of the teaching staff, including the site supervisor completes the program.