Ohio law defines "child day care" as administering to the needs of children outside of school hours by persons other than their parents or guardians on a less than 24 hour basis. Some types of child care must be regulated in Ohio; other types of child care may operate without a license.
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Type A
7 - 12 Children |
Type B
6 or Less Children |
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Large homes;
provider must be licensed by the
Ohio Department of Job and
Family Services (ODJFS),
with two caregivers. |
Small homes; not licensed by ODJFS, with one caregiver, training and monitoring requirements may vary:
- Certified with ODJFS for serving subsidy eligible and private pay families:
- Registered with an agency like AfC serving private pay families
- Independent of any agency, serving private pay families.
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Going Beyond the Minimum Requirements: |
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Becoming a Child Development Associate (CDA) |
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Getting Accredited by the NAFCC |
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- Cares for 7 - 12 children in the provider's residence, with an additional staff person.
- Must be licensed by Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).
By definition a Type B Home is any home where a resident of the home cares for six or fewer children. No more than three of these children can be under the age of two years. These homes are not licensed by the state. There are four kinds of Type B homes in Ohio. Provider training requirements vary among each type.
- Registered
- Meets requirements (including inspections and background checks) of registering agency such as Action for Children (AFC)
- Receives referrals from registering agency ( AFC)
- Is eligible to participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
- CACFP requires two hours of nutrition training each year
- Professional Type B Certified by ODJFS
- Has met requirements (including being 18 years of age, has High School diploma / GED, inspections, background checks, and two emergency / substitute caregivers) required by ODJFS
- Training required
- Certified in first aid and infant child CPR
- Child abuse recognition and prevention
- Prevention, recognition and management of communicable disease
- Child growth and development
- Must have six additional hours of training each year
- Required to complete "Health and Safety in Family Child Care" course approved by ODJFS
- Child care is paid for by public funds
- Is eligible to participate in CACFP
- CACFP requires two hours of nutrition training each year
- Limited Certification by ODJFS
- Cares for six or fewer children from one family
- Must be 18 years of age or older
- Must complete "Health and Safety in Family Child Care" course approved by ODJFS
- Care is paid for with public funds
- Agency Inspected Limited providers are eligible to participate in CACFP
- CACFP requires two hours of nutrition training annually
- Independent Provider
- Provides care in the home , however is not associated with any agency
- Only requirement is to adhere to the Type B ratio requirement.
These are the minimums that are required to participate as a child care home in one of the above categories. As seen above, professional development is a requirement in certain instances. However, as in any industry, to be successful and to provide a quality service, one must engage in continuing education. This is even more critical when you are responsible for the care and early education of the children in your care. Opportunities for ongoing education are numerous. To find out more about what Action for Children offers, please access information about the latest training opportunities.
There are standards to which home child care can be measured beyond what is required in any of the above situations. Pursuit of these standards is motivated by the individual involved in the service of providing child care in her/his home.
Going above and beyond the minimum will lead to success in any business. There are paths for the home based provider to take that can set them apart from the rest of the field. One of these is credentialing and the other is accreditation.
Completion of a Child Development Associate program
Accreditation
A Child Development Associate (CDA) is an individual who has successfully completed a CDA assessment and has been awarded the CDA Credential. She / he is able to meet the specific needs of children and works with parents and other adults to nurture children’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth in a child development framework.
A CDA would also demonstrate competence in her/his ability to meet the CDA Competency Goals through her / his work in a center-based, home visitor or family child care program. To date, there are more than 150,000 CDAs across the country—in all 50 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands.
The Credential is awarded for three child care settings: 1) Center-based, for which Candidates receive endorsements to work with infants and toddlers or preschool children; 2) Family Child Care; and 3) Home Visitor.
Why should you get a CDA?
- Demonstrates your skills to parents
- Learn to provide higher quality care
- Nationally recognized
- Personal and professional growth and development
This information was provided by the CDA Council. For more information, contact www.cdacouncil.org.
According to a national study, one out of five infants are cared for in home based child care. As parents rely more heavily on home care, providers have embraced professional standards and a code of business ethics and integrity. Along with this has come increased emphasis on accreditation. Accreditation is through the National Association of Family Child Care (NAFCC) www.nafcc.org . This organization has set standards that are higher than those typically found in most licensing or certification processes.
Why accreditation?
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Demonstrates leadership in early childhood education and care
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Assists parents in their search for high quality programs
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Promotes the physical, social, emotional and cognitive development of children
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Honored with national recognition for having a program of excellence
Eligibility Requirements:
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Offer care to children in a home.
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Be the primary caregiver (children are not left with a substitute for more than 20% of the time).
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Be at least 21 years old.
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Have a high school diploma or GEG.
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Have 18 months experience as a family child care provider.
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Have 90 hours of documented training (completed before the observation visit).
Application Process:
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Contact NAFCC for an application packet.
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Complete application forms and mail to NAFCC with the Self-Study Fee (First half of the non-refundable Accreditation fee) if not already a member of NAFCC, include membership form and fee.
Self-Study Process:
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NAFCC will send you a self-study packet. (Includes Provider Self-Study Workbook, Guidebook, and additional forms.)
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Use Self-Study Workbook to assess yourself and your program. Review the quality standards. Make notes for quality improvements in your workbook. Design your own professional development plan to prepare for your observation visit. If possible, join a support group and get the help of a mentor/advisor. Involve parents in your accreditation.
Observation and Decision Process:
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Send the request for Observer Visit and the Observation Fee to NAFCC (2nd half of the Accreditation Fee).
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NAFCC will review your file for all the required materials and when complete, assign an Observer.
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NAFCC will send the Self-Observation Packet to you and the Observer Packet to your Observer.
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Complete your Self-Observation and mail to NAFCC. Distribute Park Surveys.
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Your Observer will call you to plan the Observation visit. Organize your documents for Observer review.
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Arrange for someone to help take care of children during your Observer interview.
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Complete Observation visit and interview. Send your Observer Evaluation to NAFCC. (Observer and Parents will send their own materials to NAFCC.)
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NAFCC will notify you when materials are received and when accreditation decision is made.
The accreditation process can be daunting. Action for Children, through Start Smart, can help. We have dedicated staff to work with home providers to achieve these standards. Through the Start Smart initiative of United Way of Central Ohio, Action for Children is able to support you with expertise and networking and with financial and technical support.
This information was provided by the National Association for Family Child Care. For more information, visit our Contact Us page.
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