The Market Rate Survey collects information about private pay tuition rates, payments and fees, and other key facility information from licensed child care providers across Pennsylvania. The Market Rate Survey must be completed by states and territories every three years to meet federal rules under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), which funds child care subsidies including Pennsylvania’s Child Care Works program.

Results from the survey will allow OCDEL to evaluate future child care related programming and policy decisions, such as updating Maximum Child Care Allowance (MCCA) rates. The survey helps make sure child care subsidy rates reflect real prices, so families getting help can access the same quality care as those who pay privately. The Office of Child Care (OCC) uses this information to check that states are setting fair and adequate rates. Results from the survey will also be used, in combination with a concurrent Narrow Cost Study, to better understand the relationship between the cost of care, private pay tuition rates, and MCCA rates.

Pennsylvania’s most recent Market Rate Survey was conducted in 2022. Results from that survey were used to update MCCA rates to the 60th percentile on March 1, 2023, and then again to raise MCCA rates to the 75th percentile on January 1, 2025.

Public reports available from the 2022 Market Rate Survey can be found here and here.

The Market Rate Survey includes questions about private pay tuition rates, payments and fees, and other key facility information, such as enrollment, staffing, and operations.

As a thank you for participating, Market Rate Survey respondents are eligible to enter a raffle for the chance to win one of 100 $100 Amazon electronic gift cards. Triple your chances of winning by returning the survey by October 22 (postmarked or submitted on the web by this date).

Gift card winners will be notified in January 2026. Entry into the gift card raffle is optional.

All licensed child care programs in Pennsylvania that charge private pay tuition rates are eligible for and encouraged to participate in the Market Rate Survey.

Programs that do not charge private pay tuition rates, such as programs that only have Head Start or Pre-K Counts classrooms, are not eligible for the survey. If your program is not eligible but has received a survey invitation, send an email that includes your MPI number to ChildCareResearch@psu.edu to notify the research team and to be removed from future contact about this survey.

The Market Rate Survey should be completed by the program’s director, owner, or another person who is knowledgeable about the program’s operations and finances. The survey includes questions about private pay tuition rates, payments and fees, enrollment, staffing, and operations.

The Market Rate Survey can be completed only once for each program location. If multiple program locations are owned by a single organization or entity, please ensure that the appropriate person at the organization is notified of the Market Rate Survey.

The Market Rate Survey ends on December 8, 2025.

Web responses will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on that date. Surveys returned in the mail must be postmarked by December 8.

No. The responses collected on the Market Rate Survey will be used for the purposes of this survey only and will not be imported into PELICAN or any other systems. Note that this is a change from the 2022 Market Rate Survey.

It is recommended that providers update their private pay rates in PELICAN by utilizing Provider Self-Service (PSS) or by contacting their ELRC to ensure that they are receiving the appropriate subsidy reimbursement rates.

The responses collected on the Market Rate Survey will be used only for the purposes of this survey. Only members of the Market Rate Survey team will have access to the data, and all data will be stored on secure servers accessible only through password protection and two-factor authentication. Paper surveys collected will be secured in a locked location, and the key to the locked location will be secured so that only authorized personnel will have access. Rate sheets provided for this survey will be purged at the conclusion of the project.

For information about your rights as a research participant, please contact Penn State’s Office for Research Protections at (814) 865-1775.

There are multiple ways to complete the Market Rate Survey.

Online: The survey can be completed online at csrpsu.link/MRS2025. Enter your program’s MPI number to begin the survey.

On paper: A paper copy of the Market Rate Survey will be sent in mid-September to all programs that have not yet completed the survey online. Return completed paper surveys in the pre-paid return envelope included with the survey. Alternatively, scan or take photos of your completed paper survey and submit it to ChildCareResearch@psu.edu. Programs may also request a PDF version of the paper survey by emailing ChildCareResearch@psu.edu.

If you are not able to complete the Market Rate Survey online or on paper, leave a toll-free voicemail at (866) 982-6433 to request to complete the survey with a member of the research team over the phone. In your voicemail, include your name, program name, MPI number, and the best time for you to complete the survey over the phone.

Yes! To complete the survey in Spanish online, enter your program’s MPI number and then select ‘Español’ when prompted to select your language.

A paper survey in Spanish will be sent to programs in Child Care Works (CCW) that identified Spanish as their preferred language. To request a paper copy of the Market Rate Survey in Spanish, email ChildCareResearch@psu.edu or leave a toll-free voicemail at (866) 982-6433. Include your name, program name, and MPI number.

To check if your program has submitted the Market Rate Survey, click on the link for online survey and enter your program’s MPI number. If your program has already submitted a response, a message will appear to indicate that the survey has been processed.

The research team will process paper surveys returned in the mail as quickly as possible, but it may take several weeks for mailed surveys to be delivered and processed.

Confirm that someone else from your program or organization has not already completed the survey online or returned a paper survey in the mail. Only one Market Rate Survey can be completed for each program location.

If you believe you are seeing this message in error, contact the research team at ChildCareResearch@psu.edu. Include your name, program name, and MPI number.

Do not include any dashes or hyphens when entering your MPI number on the survey. This is correct: 1234567890001. This is incorrect: 123456789-0001.

Check to make sure that the number you entered matches the MPI number on your program’s DHS Certificate of Compliance. MPI numbers are typically 13-digits or 11-digits long, and remember to not include any dashes or hyphens.

If you are still having issues, contact the research team at ChildCareResearch@psu.edu. Include your name, program name, and MPI number.

If multiple facilities are owned by a single organization or entity, a separate Market Rate Survey must be submitted for each program location. Be sure to communicate within your organization to discuss who is responsible for completing the survey for each location. The person completing the Market Rate Survey should be knowledgeable about the program’s private pay tuition rates, payments and fees, enrollment, staffing, and operations.

If one person is completing the Market Rate Survey for several program locations, be sure to think about each program location separately when answering the questions. For example, make sure that the enrollment numbers provided on each survey are accurate for each individual program location, not combined or conflated with other locations.

Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for programs to complete the Market Rate Survey. If you are completing the survey for multiple program locations and would like to discuss the easiest way to complete the survey, contact the research team at ChildCareResearch@psu.edu or leave a toll-free voicemail at (866) 982-6433. Include your name, program name, and MPI number.

Contact the research team at the Institute of State and Regional Affairs by emailing ChildCareResearch@psu.edu or by leaving a toll-free voicemail at (866) 982-6433. In your email or voicemail, please include your name, program name, and MPI number. A member of the research team will be in touch with you as soon as possible, typically within one or two business days. Support is also available in Spanish.