Is it time to return to work after your maternity leave? Are you thinking about returning to school and you are a parent of a young child? Have you started thinking about care for your child when you do return to work or school? Do you want to know what options you have?

When parents begin the search for child care they are often confused and unsure of what options are available to them. Listed below are several different options, including both licensed and license exempt care. Each of these types of care has distinct features, differences and licensing requirements, along with conditions on size and adult-to-child ratios. Knowing what these features and differences are can assist you in choosing the option that best fits you and your child’s needs.

Licensed child care can occur in either a Family Child Care Home or in a Child Care Center.

A FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME (FCCH)

• May be licensed for up to 8 (for a small FCCH) or 14 (for a large FCCH) children depending on the license.
• Is a program where care is provided in the licensee’s home.
• Is licensed along with the child care provider by the California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division (CCL).

Each Family Child Care Home…

• Has health and safety requirements that must be maintained and which are monitored by CCL.
• Must maintain specific adult-to-child ratios.
• Is required to have the licensee, and for large family child care homes (this does not apply to small FCC), any additional staff that may be left alone with the children, complete pediatric CPR/First Aid.
• Is required to have the provider, as well as anyone who lives in the home and is over 18 years of age tested for TB, fingerprinted with a criminal background check and CA Child Abuse Index clearance.

A CHILD CARE CENTER

• Can be found in public/private schools, religious facilities, or a building owned/leased by the provider.
• Is issued a license for a specific capacity which is the maximum number of children that can be cared for at any one time.
• Can be licensed for varying ages of children from infancy to school age with a separate license issued for each age component.

Each Child Care Center…

• Is licensed by the State of CA and has health and safety requirements that must be maintained and which are monitored by CCL.
• Is required to maintain specific adult-to-child ratios.
• Is required to have at least one director or teacher at the center with training on preventive health practices, including pediatric CPR/First Aid.
• Must have a staff member with certification in pediatric CPR / First Aid present at all times.
• Must employ staff who meet the specific educational requirements for each position.

STATE PRESCHOOL
State preschool programs are part-day comprehensive developmental programs for 3 to 5 year old children from low-income families. The programs emphasize parent education and encourage parent involvement.

STATE PRESCHOOL FULL-DAY PROGRAM
The Budget Act of 1997 allowed state preschool program contractors the opportunity to extend their half-day programs to full-day programs with certain restrictions. Some current state preschool providers chose this wrap-around of their existing half-day programs to provide families with the extended services parents needed to maintain employment, meet work participation requirements, or to participate in education or job training. Agencies providing full-day services continue to operate in a half-day mode as a state preschool program but must follow general child care rules and regulations for the remainder of the program day.

HEAD START
Head Start is a U.S. program designed to help children from birth to age 5, who come from families with incomes below or at the poverty level. The goal of Head Start is to help these children become ready for kindergarten, and also to provide needed requirements like health care and food support.

LICENSE EXEMPT CARE
There are also various types of License Exempt Care. License Exempt Care:

• Is when a license is not required by the State of CA.
• Can include child care programs in a school district (on the school’s site), cooperative care where parents rotate care but no money is exchanged, and temporary on-site child care (conference, activity, special events).
• Also includes relatives or TrustLine registered providers.
• Some license exempt providers can only care for the children of only one family (and their own children if appropriate).
• (If a family receiving state assistance for child care through Sierra Nevada Children’s Services, chooses a license exempt provider other than a relative, that provider is required to be TrustLine registered and to complete pediatric CPR / First Aid.)

For more information on the definition of license exempt care, click on this Child Care Law Center link.