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Choosing Quality Child Care
Choosing child care is one of the most important decisions a parent/guardian will make.
It can be hard to find and choose the best care for your child. There are different options for child care programs for children 0-5, including:
Types of Child Care
Home-Based Child Care
Family Child Care Homes
A family child care home is a licensed child care site operated in the provider’s own home. People who care for children from more than one family and who are not relatives of the child in care need to be licensed. They often offer care during both traditional and non-traditional or flexible hours such as early mornings, evenings, and even weekends. Family child care homes often serve multiple ages with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers together. Families may choose family child care for their children because it is a home-based setting with smaller adult-to-child ratios. This type of care is licensed by the CDSS’s Child Care Licensing Division.
Family, Friend & Neighbor (License-Exempt) Care
There are also child care options that are not licensed. Family, Friend, & Neighbor or License-Exempt providers care for their own children and also for children from just one other family do not need to be licensed.
If care is provided to someone’s own child(ren) or those of a relative (such as a grandchild), and children from only one other family, then a child care license is not required and the provider is legally exempt (license-exempt) from licensure requirements in California. If care and supervision are provided to non-relative children from more than one family in the home or non-residential facility for periods of less than 24 hours, a license is likely needed.
Child Care Providers who are not required to be licensed in California (baby-sitters, nannies, etc.) and who are providing child care to parents that receive a state or federal child care subsidy are required by law to register with TrustLine, except for grandparents, aunts and uncles.
TrustLine is California’s is a criminal background screening and clearance process for in-home child care providers. A background check discloses information about any criminal history that a potential child care provider may have.
To check whether a specific child care provider is registered on TrustLine call:
- (800) 822-8490
To learn more visit our Family, Friend, & Neighbor page
Child Care Centers
A child care center is also licensed by the state and normally operated in a commercial type building and provides care to children usually during traditional weekday work hours such as 8am-6pm. Child care centers range in size and can be operated by community-based organizations, school districts, religious institutions, or private businesses. Center-based care often has more space, more adults present, and more children than home-based children. Children are often grouped by age categories (infants, toddlers, preschoolers) and follow licensing adult-child ratios.
There are benefits to all of these different types of care, but the signs of quality for all of them are much the same.
A child can thrive in all types of child care settings and both home-based and center-based child care can provide high quality care for children.
What is quality child care?
Quality child care means a program is a safe, healthy, caring and educational place for young children to learn and grow. It supports all areas of a child’s development and wellbeing.
Why does quality child care matter?
- Kids in quality care do better later on, in school and in life.
- Quality care supports their physical, social, emotional and mental growth.
- As a parent, it lowers your stress, because you know your child is well-cared for.
Signs of Quality
Teacher-Child Interactions
Providers that talk, play, read, laugh and interact positively with the kids in their care. Through interactions, providers help develop children’s critical thinking skills, language, and curiosity.
Ratio and Group Size
Small group sizes and a small number of kids to every adult.
Learning Activities
A variety of creative, fun and developmentally appropriate educational activities that are
right for a child’s age, meet children’s individual needs, and help them learn new skills and information.
Staff
Caring and knowledgeable staff who have a lot of training and enjoy what they do. Providers have taken classes or earned degrees in Early Childhood Education.
Environment
A rich learning environment with varied materials, activities and routines. Areas are healthy, clean and safe.
Program (or Curriculum)
Providers have a schedule and activities/curriculum to meet learning needs and may hold parent-teacher conferences.
Parent/Family Involvement
The child care program encourages family participation, allows parents to visit, keeps parents informed their child’s day in child care, and may hold parent-teacher conferences.
Child Health & Development
Providers make sure children receive health screenings and that children are developing on track.
Here are some links to useful checklists and additional information on what to look for when selecting the best provider for your family:
Ready to Look for Child Care?
Click here to begin your search at one of the LA Child Care Resource and Referral (R&R) agencies.