Daycares in Indiana

Indiana scores licensed daycares through Paths to QUALITY (PTQ), the state's quality rating program. Paths to QUALITY rates providers through four sequential Levels, with Level 4 reflecting the strictest standards. The four Levels build from health and safety, to a supportive learning environment, to curriculum, to national accreditation.

Indiana's minimum legal requirements for adult-to-child ratios, group sizes, and staff qualifications all fall below the standards published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the leading professional accreditation body for early- childhood programs and the most widely cited benchmark for high- quality care. Indiana caps infant ratios at 1:5 (NAEYC: 1:4), toddler ratios at 1:6 (matching NAEYC), and preschool ratios at 1:13 (NAEYC: 1:10). The state allows infant groups of up to 12 (NAEYC: 8), toddler groups of up to 14 (NAEYC: 12), and preschool groups of up to 29 (NAEYC: 20). The state requires only a high school diploma for a lead teacher in a licensed center, where NAEYC's professional standard is a bachelor's degree. Pre-service training for lead teachers is not set in state rule, and required ongoing professional development is 12 hours per year, well below NAEYC's recommended 25.

These minimum legal requirements apply to every licensed daycare in Indiana, regardless of its Paths to QUALITY Level. They are one of the Structural inputs in every Childery rating shown above. The rating distribution above combines that Structural input with Paths to QUALITY scores and other Process inputs to produce the Overall scores. For the full breakdown, see the Indiana methodology page.