Child Care Options - Family Child Care
Family child care homes are child care programs run by one or two providers in their own home. Many parents prefer family child care for infants and very young children because it offers a homey environment with a small-group, mixed-age setting. Family child care homes may also offer:
-
School-age care options
-
Part-time schedule options
-
Flexible schedules
-
Option to allow siblings to stay together
-
Year round schedule
-
Provider may have some training in child development
-
Learning activities
-
Care can often be located along a specific elementary school bus route
-
Parents are welcome to spend time in the home and drop by unannounced
-
Regulated caregivers usually have business contracts and policies regarding illness, emergency care, transportation, fees, vacation, etc. Sample Parent/Provider contract agreements are available at Child Care Resources of Rockland.
-
Social Security numbers should be available for child care tax credit
-
May do mildly ill and/or respite care
-
May do weekend and evening care
-
May do emergency back-up care
-
Group size determined by regulation
Types of Family Child Care Homes
Registered
NYS Registered Providers may care for 5-6 children with an additional two
school-age children, including their own. They may care for a maximum of
two children under the age of two. Registration should be visible to the
parents who visit the program.
Group Licensed
NYS Group Licensed Providers may care for 10-12 children with an
additional two school age children, including their own. When there are
more than six children in the program an assistant must be hired. There may
not be more than two children under the age of two for each provider or
assistant in the program.
Legally Exempt
Another form of family child care is known as Legally Exempt. This means
the provider is legally allowed to care for two children, in addition to their
own, without being licensed or registered by New York State. Child Care
Resources of Rockland does not maintain information about these providers
on their database.
To check on provider-to child ratios in New York, go to the National Child Care Information Center website and click on New York. If the home caregiver is registered or licensed, he is required to have a certain amount of training in the early childhood field.
When looking for a family child care provider, it is important to be comfortable with the home, the children and the caregiver. Find out whether there are other children or adults in the household who will be in contact with your child. When you visit a family child care program look at the activities the children are doing, see how the children fit in with the rest of the family, check out the space the children have to play in and ask questions.
Remember that a license or registration does not guarantee that the family child care home provides a well-rounded, quality care program. You must visit and evaluate each individual home setting.
Guidelines
