Child Care Choices

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CHILD CARE INFORMATION

CHILD CARE CHOICES

How Do I Find
What I Need?

How To Become A Licensed Family Child Care Provider

Before and After
School Programs

How To Be Added
To This Website

What Is Quality
Child Care?

A Child Care Center may be your preferred choice, but the operational hours may not meet with your schedule. Choosing child care should be based on what best suits you and your child's needs. Making hasty decisions now may result in child care problems later. The following will help you make an informed decision.
LICENSE-EXEMPT CHILD CARE
WHAT IS IT?
	A child care provider who is not required to have a child care license. This could be a relative, a neighbor, a friend, somebody from your church group, etc.
	It may be at another person’s house or in your home.
TRAINING/EDUCATION
	No statewide standards.
ACCESS
	Providers can be found through personal networking, advertisements, or family members.
REGULATIONS
	If a license-exempt person is the aunt, uncle, grandmother or grandfather of the child, related through blood or marriage, then the person is exempt from Trustline registration. If the person is not the aunt, uncle, grandmother or grandfather of the child through blood or marriage, then the person must be registered with Trustline before any subsidized child care payments can be made. The person you choose as your child care provider must be able to legally work in the United States. You may call the Trustline registry at 1-800-822-8490 for information on how to have your caregiver fingerprinted.
LICENSED FAMILY CHILD CARE HOMES
WHAT IS IT?
	An arrangement in which your child is cared for by someone else in their own home and who has been licensed through Community Care Licensing Division and is Trustline-Registered.
	A small licensed family child care home can care for up to 8 children; a large family child care home can care for up to 14 children.
TRAINING/EDUCATION
	No experience is necessary.
	License is required. In order to have a license, the provider and all adults living in the home will have been criminally cleared; completed a 15 hour Pediatric CPR, first aid, and health and safety course. The provider and all adults living in the home will have been TB tested, and will have been inspected by Community Care Licensing staff to ensure the facility meets state regulations.
ACCESS
	Licensed Family Child Care Homes may be found through the local Resource & Referral network. Your child care agency can help you with this.
REGULATIONS
	The California Department of Social Services (CSSS), Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD), has the responsibility for licensing Child Care facilities under the authority of the California Health and Safety Code (Sections 1596-1597, et. seq.) and enforcing the minimum standards contained in Title 22, California Code of Regulations.
CHILD CARE CENTERS
WHAT IS IT?
	An arrangement where care is provided in a setting similar to a school (includes school-age children, toddlers and infants).
	May be several classrooms.
	Children are usually grouped by age.
TRAINING/EDUCATION
	Education requirement for a teacher's aid or assistant is 6 units of early childhood education (ECE).
	A qualified teacher is required to have at least 12 semester units of early childhood education (ECE).
ACCESS
	Child care centers and preschools can be found through local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies, yellow pages, networking and newspaper ads.
REGULATIONS
	The Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) of the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has the responsibility for licensing Child Care facilities under the California Health and Safety Code (Sections 1596-1597, et. seq.) and enforcing minimum standards contained in Title 22, California Code of Regulations.