Child Care Resource & Referral

Family Child Care Homes

Family child care homes are child care programs run by one or two providers in their own home. A lot of 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

When looking for a family child care provider, it’s important to be comfortable with the home, the children, and the caregiver. 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 a lot of questions.

Most, but not all, states require family child care homes to be licensed or registered. Experts say you should look for a situation where there are no more than six children for each adult. To check on provider-to-child ratios in your state, go to the National Child Care Information Center website and click on your state. If the home caregiver is licensed, he is required to have a certain amount of training in the early childhood field.