All group care centers and family day care homes must be licensed according to California law. (Currently no federal laws pertain to child care licensing.) Although licensing is intended to ensure a minimum standard of health and safety protection for children, it does not guarantee the over-all quality of a child care center or home. Child care facilities in California are licensed by the State Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division.
Yearly license renewal is required by the state; all licenses must be posted on the premises.
Facilities that are out of compliance may have their licenses revoked if violations are not corrected. Unlicensed or out-of-compliance facilities can be reported to the State Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division. The State Department of Health, the Fire Marshal's Office and the Building and Safety Department may also inspect and approve centers for safety compliance and, when necessary, issue violation notices and clearances. To find out if a particular facility has received violation notices, has been reported for other offenses, or to file a complaint, call (805) 682-7647 for family day care providers or center-based child care providers or see their website at http://ccld.ca.gov/
Baby sitters, live-in child care providers and family day care providers who take care of children from only one other family in their home are not required to obtain a license. The Children's Resource and Referral Program can fingerprint these child care providers and enter this data into the Trust Line.
Licensed child care providers must comply with the following adult-to-child ratios:
Parent Cooperative Centers
Must maintain a 1:5 adult-to-child ratio and are required to employ a full-time teacher in addition to parent participants, when more than 25 children are enrolled.Family Day Care Homes
Option 1: Six children, under 12 years of age, with one care provider. Only three children can be under the age of 2 years in this type of home.
Option 2: Four infants, under 2 years, with one care provider.
Option 3: Twelve children with two care providers; four children can be under age 2.
All care providers must be at least 18 years of age.
Center-Based Programs
Center directors, teachers, and teaching aides must meet specific educational and experience requirements for employment. State-subsidized pre-schools and infant-toddler programs must meet stricter requirements than non-subsidized programs and have lower teacher-to-child and adult-to-child ratios than regular licensing standards require.Minimum adult/child ratios for non-State-funded programs:
- One adult to four infants (under 24 months)
- One teacher* for every twelve pre-school children (ages 2 - 5 years)
Minimum adult/child ratios for State-funded programs:
- One adult for every three children or one teacher** for every 18 children (0-18 months)
- One adult for every four children (18-36 months)
- One adult for every eight children (36 months - kindergarten)
- One adult for every fourteen children (Kindergarten - 14 years old)
** Teacher means someone who has earned 24 Early Childhood Education units and holds a Child Development Permit.