Childcare Search & Quality Disclaimer

The Early Learning Self-Assessment (ELSA) a self-assessment developed by Daycare Advantage. Childcare centers that have these markers or activities evident in their program may be considered high quality. Childcare center must achieve 80% proficiency on the ELSA in order to become a Childcare Partner in our network. Click here to view the ELSA.

Please note that Daycare Advantage relies on the honesty of the representative from each childcare center for accuracy and cannot be held responsible if a childcare center is misrepresented. A representative from Daycare Advantage does NOT visit the childcare center at any time. It is the parent's sole responsibility to determine which program is best for his/her children and should not rely on the childcare center's affiliation with Daycare Advantage. The ELSA focuses on curriculum. State licensing dictates safety and other environmental concerns.

Any childcare center that comes up on search results (even if they do not in the Daycare Advantage network) was on that particular state's list of licensed childcare programs as of March 2007. However, it is the SOLE responsibility of the PARENTS to verify the centers licensure status. It is possible for a center to be on the list and lose their state license/certification before Daycare Advantage has removed them from the search results. For individual state licensing information go to: http://www.childcareaware.org/en/parent_information/licensing.

For the reasons explained above, Daycare Advantage, Inc. does NOT vouch for ANY childcare center found using the search tool on our website.