Family Child Care

• Licensed and regulated by the state of MA
• Child Care Centers And Programs
• Care in a provider's own home
• One provider independently caring for a group of children
• Provider may have some training in child development
• Group size determined by state regulation
• Mixed-age group of up to 6 children
• Year-round schedule
• Hours of operation flexible for working parents
• Possible part-time scheduling needs
• Possible school-age care offered
• Developmentally appropriate activities
• Often an option for sibling groups you want to keep together

Family Child Care Plus

• A provider may care for up to eight children provided that at least two of the children are school-age

Large Family Child Care

• Licensed and regulated by state of MA
• Group size up to 10 children
• Same as Family Child Are Homes, except staff: child ratio is different
• six or fewer children/one caregiver
• Seven-ten children/two caregivers

Family child care homes are child care programs run by one or two providers in their own home. A lot of parents prefer family child care for infants and very young children because it offers a homey environment with a small-group, mixed-age setting. Family child care homes may also offer:

When looking for a family child care provider, it’s important to be comfortable with the home, the children, and the caregiver. When you visit a family child care program, look at the activities the children are doing, see how the children fit in with the rest of the family, check out the space the children have to play in, and ask a lot of questions.

Most, but not all, states require family child care homes to be licensed or registered. Experts say you should look for a situation where there are no more than six children for each adult. To check on provider-to-child ratios in your state, go to the National Child Care Information Center website and click on your state. If the home caregiver is licensed, he is required to have a certain amount of training in the early childhood field.