Licensed Toddler Care in Delaware, OH

Toddler Care in Delaware

As of July 2026

Delaware's licensing roster counts 31 providers, split 24 centers to 4 licensed homes, with the rest split across other provider types. Fifteen of the 31 carry a Google rating, averaging 4.5★ across that group, and 11 rate at 4.5★ or higher. Twelve Delaware providers hold a Gold, Silver, or Bronze medal under Ohio's Step Up To Quality — including seven at the Silver level, a notably deep showing for a city this size. CloverMap indexes all 31 Delaware providers so parents can weigh rating, medal, and format together.

What to know about childcare in Delaware

Delaware's 31 providers are led by 24 centers, with 4 licensed homes rounding out the roster and a handful of other provider types making up the remainder. Centers make up roughly three-quarters of the total, so a Delaware family scanning listings will see classroom-based programs far more often than home-based ones, though the home options that do exist remain a real alternative for families who prefer a smaller, residence-based setting with a more flexible daily rhythm than a typical center runs on. The handful of providers outside the strict center/home split fill in the rest of the 31-provider total, giving Delaware families a modestly varied set of formats to compare rather than a single dominant model.

Twelve of Delaware's 31 providers hold a medal under Ohio's Step Up To Quality, and the mix leans notably toward the middle tier: seven Silver medals, one Gold, and four Bronze. That Silver concentration is unusual — many Ohio cities this size show more Bronze than Silver — and suggests a cluster of providers that have moved past entry-level quality benchmarks toward the middle of the ladder. On the review side, 15 providers carry a Google rating averaging 4.5★, with 11 of those 15 landing at 4.5★ or above; the remaining 16 providers simply haven't accumulated public reviews yet, which is common among newer or smaller programs.

All 31 providers operate under a license from Ohio's Department of Children and Youth (DCY), the state agency responsible for setting staffing, health, and facility standards for both centers and licensed homes. Step Up To Quality medals sit above that baseline license as a voluntary add-on — a provider without a medal is still fully licensed and legally operating, it has simply chosen not to pursue, or hasn't yet completed, the additional quality review that leads to a Bronze, Silver, or Gold designation. That distinction matters most for families comparing a medaled provider against an unmedaled one that otherwise looks similar on paper.

For Delaware parents building a shortlist, the Step Up To Quality medal count is a useful first filter given how many providers here have earned one, and pairing that with the 15 Google-rated listings covers most of the useful public signal available. YMCA DELAWARE COMMUNITY CENTER sits among the rated group as one concrete example on the roster. With centers outnumbering homes six to one, most Delaware searches will default to center-based programs, so confirming age-group fit and current openings directly with each center is the logical next step after narrowing by rating and medal.