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Child Care
Child Care Centers
Last Updated Aug 20, 2008 00:40 PM
CHILD CARE CENTERS
Centers provide care in a large group situation. Children are usually grouped by age or developmental level. A variety of experiences and activities can be offered because of the number and diversity of the staff. Licensing standards do not ensure that centers offer the types of services most suitable for your child.
Child care centers are licensed by the State Department of Social Services, (510) 622-2602.
Licensing requirements include:
Fingerprint and TB clearance of staff
Fire and safety standards for the facility
Prohibition of all physical and humiliating punishment
Training requirements for staff
The right of parents to visit the child care site anytime during its business
hours
For each adult: a maximum of 4 children under the age of two years, or a
maximum of 6 children, 18 –30 months
A maximum of 12 children, 2 -5 years
A maximum of 14 school-age children
Each individual center decides on the:
Specific curriculum and activities
Special services such as transportation, gymnastics, swimming lessons, etc.
Hours of service offered
Fees
Parents should expect:
Trained adults who understand the needs of children
Attention to individual needs of each child
Opportunities to exchange information about your child with the staff
Opportunities to meet and share experiences with other parents
Insurance coverage
A written agreement describing services, fees and policies
Respect for ethnic and cultural differences
FAMILY CHILD CARE HOMES
Family child care homes provide care of children in the caregiver's home. This
type of care offers a home-like atmosphere and may include children of several
ages. Children take part in a variety of experiences and activities as well as family routines. While not required, many family home providers take classes in early childhood education. Licensing standards do not ensure that a family child care home offers the types of services most suitable for your child. Family child care homes are licensed by the State Department of Social Services, (510) 622-2602.
Licensing requirements include:
Fingerprint and TB clearance of all adults requirements include
Fire and safety standards for the house
Prohibition of all physical and humiliating punishment
The right of parents to visit the home
Guns and ammunition locked up
Small Home License: 6 children with no more than 3 under two years old, or only
4 children all under age two.
Large Home License: 12 children with no more than 4 under age two with an
aide present for 7 or more children.
See Addenda Insert: license for 8 and 14 children
Each individual provider decides on the:
Specific curriculum and activities
Special services to be offered such as transportation, swimming and gymnastics
Fees and hours of service offered
Parents should expect:
An adult who understands the needs of young children
Attention to individual needs of each child
Opportunities to exchange information about your child with the provider
Encouragement of parental visits
Respect for ethnic and cultural differences
Opportunities to meet and share experiences with other parents
A written agreement describing services, fees and policies
Respect for ethnic and cultural differences
UNREGULATED CARE
Care in the child's own home (in-home) and care of children from only one family in the caregiver's home (exempt) are not covered by State licensing regulations. There are NO fingerprint and TB clearances or adult/child ratio required. Trustline is available to secure clearances for a fee
Care in the child's home is an agreement between the family (the employer) and the
caregiver (the employee).
Care of children from one family in the caregiver’s home is a service offered by the
caregiver. The parents are purchasers of the service, not employers.
Licensing requirements include:
There are NO licensing requirements for In-Home and Exempt Care
In-Home Care
Parents can require:
A physical examination and TB clearance
References
CPR and First Aid
Smoke-free environment
Trustline clearance
Parents can decide on:
Hours of service
Special services needed
Salary
Parents must:
Pay minimum wage and appropriate taxes
File employer’s tax forms
Parents should expect:
An experienced adult who understands the needs of young children
Attention to each child's needs
To share in determining your children's program
Exempt Care:
With the exception of no licensing regulations, services offered and parent expectations should be the same as for Family Child Care Homes.
CHILD CARE LINKS REFERRAL POLICY
Child Care Links assists parents seeking child care by providing referrals and information on available child care options. Child Care Links does not make recommendations because parents are the ones best able to assess which care situations meet their children's needs. It is the parents' responsibility to screen, interview, and select their child care.
WHAT PROTECTION DOES LICENSING OFFER?
Licensed care is regulated by the State. Licensing provides for the MINIMUM
standards for health, safety and staffing. It does not guarantee quality child
care. Licensing guarantees parents the right to visit their children's care site
any time during the facility’s business hours. Concerns and complaints about
a licensed facility may be made to the State Licensing Agent- Community Care Licensing.
REQUIRED HEALTH AND SAFETY TRAINING
At least one staff person in a child care center, and the licensee of a family
child care home must complete 15 hours of health and safety training including
CPR; first aid: recognition, management and prevention of infectious diseases including Immunizations; and prevention of childhood injuries.
Unregulated care is not required to meet any health, safety or staffing standards.
ADDENDA
Family Child Care:
Small Home License may have up to 8 children if at least 2 of the children are six years or older and no more than 2 children are under the age of two whenever 7 or 8 children are present.
Large Home License may have up to 14 children if at least 2 of the children are six years or older and no more than 3 children are under the age of two whenever 13 or 14 children are present. An aide must be present if there are 7 or 8 children and 3 of them are under two years or whenever there are 9 or more children.
Parents must be notified in writing that the provider is caring for 2 additional children.
Facility Complaint Record:
Anyone seeking child care has the right to access any public file
pertaining to the facility. After you have narrowed your choice to 2 or 3
potential sites, call Community Care Licensing at: 510-622-2614 to ask
about the facilities' complaint records.
Child care facilities are also required to make records of visits from
Licensing, including complaint investigations, av1flilable to parents. If a
family child care home or center has a substantiated complaint on it's
record, talk to the provider or center director about the complaint. It
may have been the result of misunderstanding of licensing regulations
and will not happen again.
CONTINUING A CHILD CARE RELATIONSHIP
Choosing a provider, or a family to use your care, is just the beginning a long-term relationship. Here are some ideas to help you work together.
PARENT
Respect your child care provider: be on time to pick up your child; pay
tuition on time; value your provider’s opinions and expert.
Visit the child care setting at various times of the day. A lunch visit can be
fun for your child and let you experience a very t time of the day.
Take time to let your caregiver know about your child. Information about family trips, visitors, illness, changes in schedule can help your provider
better meet your child’s needs.
Get to know the other families using your provider. Their children are a
part of your child’s everyday experiences.
Tell your caregiver what you like about the program and arrange time to discuss anything that is bothering you.
PROVIDER
Respect the parents: give clear written and verbal information about your program; be understanding of their individual work/family problems; value their opinion. They know their own children better than anyone else.
Encourage parents to visit at various times of the day. Show off the quality care you offer.
Take time to let parents know about their children’s accomplishments and share information about daily happenings.
Make opportunities for families to get to know one another, Have parent meetings and parties, serve a snack one evening a month so parents can stay and meet one another. Invite parents to help on field trips.
Let parents know how much you appreciate them and their children and arrange time to discuss any problems as they arise. See also Child Care 408 1 - 18 |
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Does It Matter and Does It Need to be Improved?
Child care has become the norm for young children in the United States. In 1995, 59 percent of children who were 5 years or younger were in nonparental care arrangements on a regular basis (Hofferth, Shauman, Henke, and West, 1998). This care typically began at early ages and lasted substantial hours: with 44 percent of infants under the age of 1 year were in nonparental care for an average of 31 hours a week. In the late preschool years, 84 percent of 4- to 5-year-olds were recorded as being in child care for an average of 28 hours per week. The use of nonparental care in the United States is expected to grow even ... Associations between structural quality in the first 3 years and children’s later preschool and kindergarten adjustment were tested, controlling for a family socialization composite and a family demographic composite.
Children with a history of poor-quality child care during the first 3 years were rated by their preschool teachers as being more difficult and by their kindergarten teachers as being more hostile. The children also engaged in less social pretend play and displayed less positive affect in their... Recent research shows that a child’s earliest experiences
and relationships make a huge difference in the way his / her
brain develops. During the first three years of life,
the brain is forming connections that may determine a
lifetime of skills and potential. Parents and caregivers
can have a long-lasting impact by playing and talking
with young children. Here are a few simple things you
can do to help a child’s brain grow and thrive.
Warm, Responsive
Care Talk with me, hug
me, respond to my needs.
Smile at me and make me feel
important and secure. Sensitive,
predictable care is important
for my healthy emotional
development.
Lovi... WHAT MIGHT BE DONE TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CHILD CARE?
A wide variety of approaches might be used to improve child care. Figure 7 provides a path model that attempts to identify the various links between interventions and quality, taking into account parents? resources.
Most of the interventions would be included in the elements of the left column. These include the provision of information, licensing requirements, placement activities, subsidies to compensate child care workers, training programs for providers, tuition subsidies for students who enr... A third source of evidence pertaining to structural and caregiver characteristics is the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 1999a).
In that study, child:adult ratios were observed at regular intervals and caregivers reported their educational background and specialized training. The percentage of center classrooms that met the AAP and APHA recommendations for child:adult ratio and group size is sho... Although much of the research literature has reported significant relations between structural and caregiver characteristics, and process quality, Blau (in press) has cautioned that these associations may be the result of uncontrolled factors that are confounded with the structural and caregiver characteristics.
He argues that these confounding factors might include center policies, curriculum, and directors’ leadership skills. To address this perceived shortcoming, Blau conducted secondary analyses on 274 child care centers that were part of the ... |
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