Public Information and Resources
The mission of the Child Care Licensing Program is to ensure the health and safety of children in care and to improve the quality of their care through regulation and consultation.
This mission is accomplished through:
Prevention
- Prevention reduces the predictable harm to children in care by:
- Orientation prior to licensure
- Performing background checks
- Requiring fire clearances
- Maintaining staffing requirements
- Verifying financial stability
- Health screenings
- Pre-licensing inspections of the physical facility
- Providing information regarding laws and regulations
Compliance
- Compliance ensures child care facilities operate according to California Health and Safety Code, California Child Day Care Act, Chapters 3.35, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 and 3.65 and California Code of Regulations Title 22, Division 12, Chapters 1 and 3.
- Compliance is maintained through:
- Unannounced facility inspections
- Complaint investigations
- Issuing deficiency notices
- Consultations
- Education and technical support
- Follow-up on plans of correction
- Follow-up on self-reported incidents
Enforcement
- Corrective action is taken by the Program when a licensee fails to protect the health, safety and personal rights of children in care or is unwilling to maintain substantial compliance with licensing laws and regulations.
- Enforcement is maintained through:
- Civil Penalties (these vary according to the violation)
- Non-compliance office conferences
- Administrative legal actions
- Denial of applications
- Compliance plans
- Probationary licenses
- Temporary suspension of a license
- Revocation of a license
- Licensee and employee exclusions
The Child Care Licensing Program is overseen by the Program Administrator, at a central headquarters office in Sacramento.
There are four Assistant Program Administrators, two overseeing the Northern Child Care Regional Offices and two overseeing the Southern Child Care Regional Offices. There are 19 Local Licensing Regional Offices and one satellite office located throughout the State.
VIDEO: An Overview of Community Care Licensing
Below are pages designed to provide information about the Child Care Licensing Program, licensing laws and regulations, and other helpful resources.