Family day care is dened as child care for children in small group

sizes from at least two unrelated families. Care is provided in the

operator’s home located in a residential neighborhood. There are

three types of family day care home arrangements that are

authorized by the Florida Statutes (F.S.) and the Florida

Administrative Code (F.A.C). They are as follows:

• Registered Family Day Care Homes (s. 402.313, F.S.)

• Licensed Family Day Care Homes (s. 402.313, F.S. and 65C-20, F.A.C.)

• Licensed Large Family Child Care Homes (s. 402.3131, F.S. and 65C-

The parent’s role in quality child care is vital to its success. When

looking for an appropriate provider that meets both your needs

and the needs of your child, the following quality indicators

should be considered:

PARENT’S ROLE

Quality Caregivers

; Greet the children when they arrive. Communicate with parents.

; Are warm, understanding, encouraging, and responsive to

each child’s individual needs.

; Use a pleasant tone of voice and frequently hold, cuddle,

Quality Activities

; Include social interchanges with all children.

; Provide a daily balance of play time, story time, activity

time, and quiet time.

; Are appropriate for each age group.

LICENSED LARGE

Operator Requirements

; Good moral character based upon screening.

; Must be at least 21 years old.

; Must be licensed as a family day care home for two

; Operator and employee must be certied in rst aid

training and pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Capacity Requirements/Ratios

Licensed capacity includes those children under 13 years old

related to the operator and is as follows:

General Requirements

; Meet screening and background checks.

; Supervise appropriately; watch and direct children’s activities.

Stafng Requirements

; Must not be employed outside of home during hours of

items must be inaccessible to children.

; Must meet swimming pool and fencing requirements.

; Must have operable smoke detector and re extinguisher.

; Nutritional food, if food is offered.

; Individually labeled towels and wash cloths.

; Diaper changing area cleaned and sanitized.

; Fully stocked rst aid kit.

; Emergency numbers readily available including the

Florida Abuse Hotline.

; Conduct monthly re drills with children and have natural

Every licensed family day care home and large family child

care home must maintain licensing standards that include,

but are not limited to, the following:

; Good moral character based upon screening.

; Must be at least 18 years old.

; Must complete 30-hour family child care training (prior to

caring for children).

Capacity Requirements/Ratios

Licensed capacity includes one of the following groups,

including those children under 13 years old related to the

operator:

• 4 children birth to 12 months; or

• 3 children birth to 12 months and other children for a

total maximum of 6 children; or

• 6 preschool children if all are older than 12 months; or

10 children if no more than 5 are preschool age and, of

those 5, no more than 2 are under 12 months.

REGISTERED FAMILY

Registered homes are not licensed or inspected by the

Department of Children and Families; however, they are

required to provide the following information to the

department on an annual basis:

; Name and address of the home.

; Name of the operator.

; Number of children served.

; Proof of a written plan to provide at least one

competent adult to be available to substitute for the

operator in an emergency.

; Proof of completion of Registered Family Child Care Home

; Proof that immunization records of children are kept

current.

; Comply with statutory capacity (s. 402.302 (7), F.S).