The services home day-care operators offer are invaluable to working parents of infants and preschool-age children. These operators can offer their services in their home while also looking after their own children and earning an income. In California, family home day-care operators can care for up to eight children at a time, including their own. Candidates for a family home child care license must apply to California's Department of Social Services.
Instructions
1. Obtain the child-care licensing application forms. You may download the forms from the website for California's Department of Social Services or visit a local Child Care Office (see Resources).
2. Contact your local Child Care Office to register for an orientation. The Family Child Care Home orientation meeting is designed to introduce participants to child-care licensing requirements and the licensing process. Expect to pay a fee of $25 at the orientation with a cashier's check or a money order. Take your application forms to the orientation.
3. Learn the family child-care home licensing laws and regulations. You must become familiar with the child-care laws and regulations before you apply for a license. You may read the Family Child Care Home Licensing Requirements online or print a copy of the 80-page booklet (see Resources).
4. Schedule an appointment for a home inspection. Expect a call from a licensing program analyst, who will help you pick a time for the inspection. You must pass the inspection to proceed with the application for a child-care license.
5. Complete the application and other forms in the application packet. Type your responses or write them in ink. Submit the application, any supplemental forms and the application fee to the Department of Social Services. It is $66 to file an application for a family child-care home license. Expect to receive your license in the mail if the department approves it.
