|
|
|
Child
Care - Choices
WHAT
ARE MY CHILD CARE CHOICES: In-Home Care, Relative Care, Family
Child Care, Child Care Centers and School- Aged Child Care.
IN-HOME
CARE
You hire someone to work in your home
to take care of your child. You set the hours, responsibilities
and compensation for the job. There is no statewide training
or education standard, however, it is sometimes determined by
individual agencies. These providers can be found through personal
networking, advertisements, employment agencies, or nanny schools.
There are no specific regulations governing In-Home Care. However,
for the protection of your child, you should have your child
care provider fingerprinted through Trustline. You may call
the Trustline registry at 1-800-822-8490 for information on
how to have you care giver fingerprinted.
RELATIVE CARE
This is an agreement with a family member to provide care in
their home or yours. The cost of care may be comparable to or
lower than other settings, or there may be no cost. There are
no state requirements or standards for training or education.
However, a relative who receives reimbursement for child care
from Los Angeles County may be required to be fingerprinted
through Trustline. Your Eligibility Worker will refer you to
the District’s Child Care Coordinator who will determine if
your relative needs to be fingerprinted through Trustline (see
telephone number above).
FAMILY CHILD CARE
This is an arrangement in which your child is
cared for in someone else’s home. No experience, training or
education is required however, many Family Child Care Home Providers
have taken child development courses and some even have college
degrees. It is recommended when choosing a provider to ask about
their educational background in child development. A license
is required. In order to have a license, the provider and all
adults living in the home will have been criminally cleared
and the provider must complete a 15 hour Pediatric CPR, first
aid, and health and safety course. The provider and all the
adults living in the home will have been TB tested, and the
home will have been inspected by community care licensing staff
to ensure the facility meets state regulations. The California
Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division,
has the responsibility for licensing Child Care facilities under
the authority of the California Health and Safety Code (Sections
1596-1597, et. seq.) and enforcing the minimum standards contained
in Title 22, California Code of Regulations.
CHILD CARE CENTERS
Child Care Centers provide care in a setting similar to a school
which may include school age children, preschool age children,
and/or toddlers and infants. The center may have several different
classrooms where the children are grouped by age or ability.
The education requirement for a teacher’s aid or assistant is
6 units of early childhood education. A qualified teacher is
required to have at least 12 semester units of early childhood
education. Child care centers and preschools can be found through
local child care resource and referral agencies (see listing
below), yellow pages, networking and newspaper ads. The Community
Care Licensing Division of the California Department of Social
Services has the responsibility for licensing Child Care facilities
under the California Health and Safety Code (sections 1596-1597,
et. seq.) and enforcing minimum standards contained in Title
22, California Code of Regulations.
SCHOOL AGE CHILD CARE
This arrangement offers care for school age children
before and after school hours, on non-school days during the
school year and the summer. This may be offered by family child
care providers, child care centers, public and private schools,
recreation programs, or the YMCA. The education requirement
for a licensed program includes teacher’s aid or assistant is
6 units of early childhood education. A qualified teacher is
required to have at least 12 units of early childhood education.
School age child care can be found through local child care
resource and referral agencies (see listing below), yellow pages,
networking and newspaper ads. The Community Care Licensing Division
of the California Department of Social Services has the responsibility
for licensing Child Care facilities under the authority of the
California Health and Safety Code and enforcing minimum standards
contained in Title 22, California Code of Regulations. Many
school-age programs are considered “recreational” and are not
required to have a license. It is recommended that a prospective
parent ask the program if they are licensed and what is the
educational background of their staff.
|
200
N. SPRING STREET, 22nd Floor || LOS ANGELES,
CA 90012
PHONE: (213) 978 - 1840 || FAX: (213)
978 - 1872 ||
TDD: (213) 978 - 1846
|
