The Division of Early Childhood Development at the Maryland State Department of Education is responsible for early care and education in Maryland. The Division houses the Office of Child Care and the Early Learning Branch. The Office of Child Care (formerly known as the Child Care Administration) comprises the:

Licensing Branch, which licenses and monitors child care centers and family child care providers,

Credentialing Branch, which administers the Maryland Child Care Credential Program and the Child Care Accreditation Support Fund,

Program Development Branch, which issues and administers contracts and grants to improve the quality of early care, and

Child Care Subsidy Branch (formerly Purchase of Care, or "POC"), which regulates and administers Maryland's child care subsidy voucher system for TANF and income-eligible families.

The Early Learning Branch is responsible for the Judith P. Hoyer Programs (i.e., Judy Centers and Enhancement Grants for Private Providers), the Maryland Model for School Readiness, Head Start Collaboration, Early Childhood Accreditation, Early Childhood Curriculum Project, as well as curriculum development and policy and programmatic issues related to prekindergarten and kindergarten.

The main mission of the Division is improve early education in Maryland so that young children are well prepared for school.  Each year, MSDE publishes the report, Children Entering School Ready to Learn which provides information about the school readiness skills of Maryland kindergarteners. Click here for the 2006-2007 School Readiness Report.

Click here for The Division of Early Childhood Development (DECD) 3-year strategic plan

Click here for the full text of Preschool for All in Maryland - Recommendations of the Task Force on Universal Preschool Education.  For a cost-benefit analysis of the recommendations, click here.  To read the proposed business plan for Preschool for All in Maryland, click here.

NEW - Individually Developed Curricula - Submission due date is March 25, 2009. Technical Assistance meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, 2009. (FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE the section “Submission Due Date” in Guidelines for Individually Developed Comprehensive Curricula (ages 3, 4, 5) and Guidelines for Individually Developed Infants & Toddlers Curricula) - Click here

Click here for the State-Recommended Infants and Toddlers Curricula - includes a Press Release (January 23, 2008) and a Matrix of Curricular Information.

NEW - The DECD Office of Child Care's "Playground and Water Safety Guidelines" for child care and early education programs.  To download the full text, Click here.

NEW!  Click here to visit the DECD Office of Child Care's new child care licensing inspection findings site.  This site provides free public access to findings from routine licensing inspections conducted since mid-2007.  The on-line inspection database will be updated monthly to include recently conducted inspections.  NOTE: To make sure the site displays properly, please set your computer to accept cookies.