Unless
specifically exempt by statute or regulation, arrangements for providing
child care are required to be licensed by the California Department of
Social Services. The
following settings are exempt from needing a license:
Relative
Care –
care provided by a parent, stepparent, grandparent, aunt, sister, etc.
Care can be in the relative’s or the child’s home.
Any number of children can be in care as long as they are related.
For example, a parent has 2 adult children, each of whom has 3
minor children; the grandparent cares for all 6 children.
Such an arrangement does not require a license.
Cooperative
Care
– care provided by the parents of the children.
This type of care arrangement is for no more than 12 children and
each parent or set of parents rotates as the care giver for all of the
children, and each parent or set of parents rotates as the care giver for
all of the children.
No money is exchanged for the care, which can be provided in a home
or a commercial building.
Care
for One Family –
care provided in the home of the care provider for the children of
one family not related to the care provider.
The care provided may be taking care of their own children as well.
As with relative care, there is no limit on the number of children
receiving care, as long as they are from one other family only.
Public
Recreation Programs –
recreational programs operated by any public entity, often a city, county,
or school district. The
programs must be operated only during the hours school is not in session
and must be for children of kindergarten age and above. The programs must operate for 16 hours or less per week, or
for a total of 12 weeks or less in any one year.
Recreation programs can also accept children not yet in
Kindergarten who are at least 4 years and nine months of age, as long as
the program operates for less than 16 hours per week or no more than 12
weeks during any given year. Children
under 4 years and nine months may also attend recreation programs as long
as no child attends any program for more than 12 hours per week and more
than 12 weeks in a given year.
Extended
Day Care –
care provided to school-age children by a public or private school.
Usually, this exemption is for the children who attend a public or
private school, and receive care after school at the school site.
The after school program is exempt if the school is responsible for
the entire program, including employing the staff who operate the program.
Parents-on-Site
Child Care –
care offered for parents on a short-term basis, usually no more than a few
hours, while the parents are participating in an activity such as bowling
or physical fitness. Parents
must be readily available on the premises at all times.
Care for children in shopping centers, malls or ski resorts is
required to be licensed because parents are not readily available and
could leave the area for extended periods of time.
Nanny
Care –
care arranged for children in their own home.
A nanny hired by the child’s parents to provide care in the
child’s own home would not be required to be licensed.
If the nanny were to care for other neighborhood children, the care
arrangement would no longer be exempt and would require licensure as a
child care center (care outside of the care provider’s own home.
Parents
in School or Adult Education Child Care – care
for children on a school premise while the parent is attending school.
Child care provided at a school site when the parent is attending
classes on the same premises, and the school is operated by (or contracted
to operated by) a public school district, is exempt.
As with temporary, short term care, the parent must be readily
available.
One-Day-A-Week
Care –
programs that operate on day per week for four hours or less.
These short-duration programs are often arranged by groups of
parents, or by church groups, to provide a bit of respite for the parents
in the community.
Parents may, but are not required, to serve as the care providers.
Instructional
Child Care – offer instruction to school-age children for no more than 30
consecutive days during school vacations or breaks.
Such programs include bible schools and summer craft schools.
Children younger than school-age can also attend for up to 15
consecutive days.
Activities-Based
Child Care –
recreational programs, similar to those found at public parks or schools
during the summer. Activities-based
child care is exempt if children can come and go at their will, and there
is no monitoring as to attendance or length of stay.
In these programs, children are supervised only to the extent that
they do not injure or harm themselves while participating in the
activities offered. Such
activities may include soccer, baseball, softball, or arts and crafts.
Centers that provide drop-in care for younger children while
parents are shopping or involved in other activities must be licensed.
Although
the above programs are not required to have their staff screened by
licensing, checks of criminal and child abuse histories can be obtained
through TrustLine.
