PITTSBURGH – Child’s Way, a daycare for medically fragile children run by the Children’s Home of Pittsburgh and Lemieux Family Center, was awarded the highest rating possible for early childhood centers.

With this designation, Child’s Way joins a premier group of child care programs within the Pittsburgh area that maintain this rating, or four out of four Keystone “STARS,” as dictated by Pennsylvania’s COMPASS.

Keystone STARS (Standards, Training/Professional Development and Assistance Resources) provides quality assessments of early learning programs throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Participants can earn a quality rating score from a STAR 1 to a STAR 4. Ratings are based on requirements in four key areas: staff education; learning environment; leadership and management; and family and community partnerships.

“Child’s Way was created in 1998 to provide medically fragile children with greater opportunity to become school-ready while providing parents/guardians with quality child care. At the time, it was the only daycare of its kind statewide,” says Pamela Keen, CEO of the Children’s Home and founder of the program.

“We’re thrilled to receive the STAR 4 rating from Keystone STARS. It shows who we are on the inside to the outside world. Our staff worked hard to achieve this,” says Meg Hannan, director of Child’s Way.

Due to their complicated health needs, kids with physical disabilities and health disorders are unable to attend traditional daycares. To give them a chance to learn and better prepare for school and community programs in the future, Child’s Way employs teachers and nurses to create a setting that helps kids stay healthy as they learn.