Becoming a Child Care Provider

There is no such thing as a "certified" child care provider. The types of child care in New York State are registered family child care, licensed group family child care, licensed child care center, registered school age child care, or enrolled legally exempt child care.

You can provide care in your home for up to 2 non-related children fulltime. If you wish to provide care for more than 2 children, you must first become a registered or licensed family child care provider. As a family or group family child care provider, the number of children you can have depends on the ages of the children in your care. Please call a Child Care Specialist or your OCFS licensor to review the regulations.

Some insurance companies do not cover family child care providers and may drop your homeowner's insurance if you tell them you are providing child care. They may also drop you if you do not tell them you are providing child care and they find out later. For guidance on this topic, please call a Child Care Specialist at Family Enrichment Network.