| PARENT RESOURCES
10 Easy Steps to Finding Quality Child Care
Are you looking for the perfect child care setting for your child? Overwhelmed by the choices and the process? Don’t worry! Simply print out this helpful checklist which outlines the steps to take to find a great child care program. 10 Easy Steps to Finding Quality Child Care (PDF, 123 KB)
How to Check on a Child Care License
Nearly all child care programs are required to have a child care license issued by the Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division (CCL). CCL issues these family child care home and child care center licenses in conformance with the Title 22 Regulations to ensure that basic health, safety and quality of life standards are met. One of the most important activities you can do when choosing a child care program is to make sure that the provider’s license is currently valid, has not expired or been revoked, and covers the age of your child. Each licensed facility is required to have their current license prominently posted.
Another safety precaution parents should take when choosing a child care program is to call Community Care Licensing at (408) 277-1241 for a child care file review check of the program. Community Care Licensing will read you up to three files per day. Information in the provider’s file will include any regulation violations, findings at annual visits, and substantiated parent complaints going back three years. If you call before 4:00 pm, a Duty Officer will locate the files and call you back the same day. If you call after 4:00 pm, your call will be returned the following day. You will be asked to leave the following information on the message machine:
- Your Name
- Your Phone Number
- Type of Facility: Center or Family Child Care
- Name of Facility
- Address of Facility
- License Number of Facility
- Child Age Group for Center Care:
- Infant (birth to two years old)
- Preschool (two to five years old)
- School-age (five to twelve years ol
What is Quality Child Care?
What does quality look like in a child care program? How will you know it when you see it? Quality means different things to different people and is based upon your background, culture, educational philosophy and hopes and dreams for your child. Ideally, quality child care encourages the healthy development of each child to realize his or her full potential. Take a look at this list to get an idea of some aspects of quality child care. Quality Indicators for Center-based / Family Child Care Programs (PDF, 60.7 KB)
What to Look for in Child Care Settings…
Do the sights and sounds of child care programs overwhelm you? Do you ever leave a program and remember another detail you wanted to check on? Unsure about what you should be looking for in the first place? If so, this easy visit form can help! Click on this link to download the Child Care Program Visit Form (PDF) - print it out - and use it on your next visit to your current or prospective child care program. The form is designed to highlight different program areas with specific examples of each to consider. The form may be used in both child care centers and family child care homes. Please remember that the child care program environment only supports and enhances your child’s experience - the most important thing to consider is how the caregiver interacts with the children. Quality care means the adults in the program are caring, kind and responsive to children!
Parent Reference Resource
Ever wonder what to ask when you call a Parent Referral to check on a child care provider or program? You are not alone! This list is designed to give you a variety of possible questions to ask another parent about a child care center or family child care home provider. Check out each heading and pick-and-chose your favorite questions. Remember to ask open-ended questions so the parent can share his/her thoughts in an unrestricted way. Don’t be shy - be proud of being a careful parent who is doing a great job selecting the best child care program for your child!
Questions to Ask a Parent Reference (PDF)
Inclusive Child Care
For families with children with special needs, developmental delays and/or disabilities finding quality child care can be an even more challenging task. The trend in early education programming is to combine special needs children and normally developing children together in classrooms, because inclusion for all is good for kids! The best inclusive child care programs support the development of all of the children while giving special support services to the children who need extra attention. To review some helpful hints about inclusive child care, click on this link Inclusive Child Care Checklist (PDF) and also check out the helpful links section of this website below.
Child Care Payment Assistance
Child care is expensive! Although the City of Milpitas has no formal subsidized child care program assistance, the county does have a few organizations that might be able to assist you with the cost of child care. When you call each of these organizations, ask to be assisted with subsidized child care. They all have their own process by which they determine eligibility.
More Developmental Assets Are Better!
Developmental assets are the positive relationships, experiences, skills and values that young people need to grow up competent, caring and responsible. The more assets a child or teen reports having, the more likely it is the child will thrive. It is never too early to start planting the seeds for these assets. Visit the Search Institute’s website at http://www.search-institute.org/assets/assetlists.html to download list of developmental assets for early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescents.
Locally, in Santa Clara County, Project Cornerstone is helping spread the word about developmental assets. This collaborative is a catalyst for change and provides the developmental asset approach as a guiding framework and a common language to bring individuals and organizations together in support of children and youth in our communities. To learn more about this exciting work, check out the Project Cornerstone website at http://www.projectcornerstone.org/.
Free Car Seat Inspections
With so many different types of cars and different styles of car seats, how can you be certain your child's car seat is properly installed? The City of Milpitas Police Department has a service that can help! Check out this link to the Police Department's Safety and Crime Prevention page to learn more about the Free Car Seat Inspection Program: http://www.ci.milpitas.ca.gov/citydept/police/safety_crime_prevention.htm#carseat
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