Great Start to Quality Michigan

What Great Start to Quality Actually Is

Great Start to Quality (GSQ) is Michigan's voluntary quality rating and improvement system for child care programs. It uses quality ratings and improvement activities to support providers. It is not a licensing requirement — you can operate a fully licensed home daycare without ever enrolling — but participation can support your quality-improvement work.

How the Star Rating System Works

GSQ uses star ratings as part of its voluntary quality-improvement system. Regional resource centers focus on star ratings, professional development, and family placement. Contact your regional resource center for the current assessment and documentation process.

Why Home Daycare Providers Should Care

Three concrete reasons to participate:

Quality-improvement support. GSQ participation puts your program into Michigan's voluntary quality rating and improvement system. It can support your quality-improvement profile, but participation is not a guarantee of a particular CDC reimbursement increase.

Parent search visibility. GSQ contributes provider information to public search directories, and a published rating can give parents an additional quality signal. As of August 2026, about 44% of family child care homes and 57% of group child care homes statewide are actively participating in the quality improvement process.

Free professional development resources. GSQ participation connects you with your regional Great Start to Quality Resource Center, which offers free coaching, mentoring, and training hours that count toward your annual professional development requirement (10 hours for licensees, 5 hours for staff).

How to Enroll

Enrollment is straightforward:

1. Confirm that your MiLEAP license is active and in good standing.
2. Create or log into your MiRegistry account — this is where your training and qualifications are tracked.
3. Contact your regional Great Start to Quality Resource Center. Michigan's regional centers focus on quality ratings, professional development, and family placement.
4. Complete the quality-assessment and documentation steps provided by your resource center.
5. Submit your documentation through the resource center's process to support your quality rating.

Resource-center support is free; confirm current enrollment details with your regional center.

Timing It Right

The original license period is six months. Use that time to settle into your routines, complete initial training, and build the documentation base for quality-improvement work. Plan your GSQ timeline alongside your launch.

If you are still working through the licensing process itself, the Michigan Home Daycare Licensing Guide covers every step from initial application through CDC subsidy enrollment, so you can plan your GSQ timeline alongside your launch.

See more Michigan guides →