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CHILD, TEEN & FAMILY SERVICES
Ask Julie:
Got a question about children, teen or
family resources?
Ask Child & Family Resources
Coordinator Julie Taren, MA, MSW!
I am looking
for child care and / or preschool for my
child. What is the difference?
There are many
different types of settings where your child may
receive quality care and education:
Child Care Centers
Child care centers
offer education and care for infants, toddlers and
preschool-age (2-5 years), and school-age (5-12
years) children in a group setting. Child care
centers may provide a full (usually between 7:00 am
and 6:00 pm) or partial day (9:00 am and 12:30 pm)
program and children are generally grouped according
to age or ability. Sometimes preschool or nursery
school is used to refer to an early childhood
program for groups of children generally beginning
at 2 ˝ years old.
All child care centers in Santa Monica are required
by law to be licensed by the California Department
of Social Services/Community Care Licensing Division
http://ccld.ca.gov.
Community Care Licensing is responsible for
enforcing minimum standards contained in Title 22,
California Code of Regulations. Regulations for
centers cover staff qualifications and ratios,
building and playgrounds, health and safety
standards, food services and many other aspects for
operating. Parents are encouraged to check on the
licensing status of a particular child care center
by calling Community Care Licensing at (310)
337-4335
Child care centers may be exempt from licensing by
the California Department of Social
Services/Community Care Licensing Division if the
centers fall within Title 22, article 2, section
101158 of the child care licensing regulations.
An example of a center that is exempted from licensing is: 1) any
public recreation program that is open for under 16
hours per week and/or operates for a total of 12
weeks or less during a 12-month period. This total
applies to any 12 weeks within any 12-month period,
without regard to whether the weeks are consecutive;
2) a program provided to children under the age of
four years and nine months with sessions that run 12
hours per week or less and are 12 weeks or less in
duration. A program may permit children to be
enrolled in consecutive sessions throughout the
year. However, the program shall not permit
children to be enrolled in a combination of sessions
that total more than 12 hours per week for each
session.
Child care centers
may be accredited through the National Association
for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), or the
National School Age Care Alliance (NSACA).
Accreditation is a voluntary process designed to
evaluate and improve the quality of child care by
meeting and maintaining national standards
established by early childhood development
professionals.
Visit
http://www.naeyc.org/accreditation
to find a NAEYC-accredited center in Santa Monica.
Family Child Care
Homes
Family child care
homes are operated by individuals who are licensed
by Community Care Licensing to provide care in their
residence (owned or rented). Family child care is
licensed as either:
-
Small Family
Child Care Home--for up to 6 children (with an
additional 2 school-age, under certain
conditions), or
-
Large Family
Child Care Home—for up to 12 children (with
additional 2 school-age), with an assistant
present.
The home is inspected
for health and safety standards, and all adults
living in the home must obtain background and TB
clearances. Family child care providers must
complete 15 hours of health training, include
Infant/Child First Aid & CPR. No college education
is required, though many family child care providers
enroll in Early Childhood Education/Child
Development classes.
Many family child
care homes are choosing to participate in a national
accreditation process administered through the
National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC).
The NAFCC accreditation process includes the
completion of a self-evaluation study designed to
assist family child care homes in meeting nationally
recognized criteria for high quality in early
childhood education. For more information on NAFCC
accreditation, call (202) 347-3356.
To find a family
child care homes in Santa Monica that has
successfully achieved NAFCC, go to
http://www.nafcc.org/accred/accred.html
In-Home Care
You may hire
someone (babysitter, nanny, au pair) to care for
your child in your home. You set the hours,
responsibilities, rules and pay. In-home providers
can be located through nanny/employment agencies,
newspaper ads, local parent magazines, etc. There is
no training or licensing of such caregivers, though
‘nanny schools’ exist in some areas. Caregivers
should at least receive training in Infant/Child
First Aid and CPR, available through many hospitals,
Red Cross, etc. It is recommended that, for the
safety of your child, you obtain a TrustLine
fingerprint clearance for the person, which is a
background check through State and FBI criminal
records and State Child Abuse Index. Contact the
TrustLine Registry for information: 1-800-822-8490
or
www.trustline.org
.
Relatives and Other
Caregivers
You may hire a
relative or other person to provide child care
either in their home or yours. These arrangements
can be of equal or lower cost, or free. (Note that
caregivers providing care to non-relative children
from more than one family, other than their own, are
required to be licensed.) There are no State
requirements for training. The recommendations above
regarding TrustLine clearance and First Aid/CPR
training apply here. License-exempt caregivers who
are paid through public subsidy funds are often
required to obtain a TrustLine background clearance.
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