Many thanks to Julie Taren and the City of Santa Monica from which much of this information is borrowed  http://santa-monica.org/hsd/services/1ctfaskjulie.htm. Thanks to Nadiyah Taylor for compiling this piece.

I am looking for child care for my child. What types of child care options are available?
I want to find a quality early care and education program for my child. Where do I start?
I need help paying for child care. What resources are available?
I need to find an after-school program for my school-aged child. Where do I start?
I want to start a child care business. Where do I begin?

Answers

• I am looking for child care for my child. What types of child care options are available?

  There are many different types of settings where your child may receive quality care and education.

  Child Care Centers

  Child care centers offer education and care for infants, toddlers and preschool-age (2-5 years), and school-age (5-12 years) children in a group setting. Child care centers may provide a full (usually between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm) or partial day (for example, between 9:00 am and 12:30 pm) program and children are generally grouped according to age or ability. Sometimes preschool or nursery school is used to refer to an early childhood program for groups of children generally beginning at 2 ½ years old.

  All child care centers in Alameda County are required by law to be licensed by the California Department of Social Services/Community Care Licensing Division. Community Care Licensing is responsible for enforcing minimum standards contained in Title 22, California Code of Regulations. Regulations for centers cover staff qualifications and ratios, building and playgrounds, health and safety standards, food services and many other aspects for operating. Parents are encouraged to check on the licensing status of a particular family child care home by calling Community Care Licensing at (510) 622-2602 or by going to the Community Care Licensing Division website.

  Child care centers may be exempt from licensing by the California Department of Social Services/Community Care Licensing Division if the centers fall within Title 22, article 2, section 101158 of the child care licensing regulations. An example of a center that is exempted from licensing is: 1) any public recreation program that operates less than 16 hours per week and/or operates for a total of 12 weeks or less during a 12-month period. This total applies to any 12 weeks within any 12-month period, without regard to whether the weeks are consecutive; 2) a program provided to children under the age of four years and nine months with sessions that run 12 hours per week or less and are 12 weeks or less in duration. A program may permit children to be enrolled in consecutive sessions throughout the year. However, the program shall not permit children to be enrolled in a combination of sessions that total more than 12 hours per week for each session.

  Child care centers may be accredited through various associations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), or the National AfterSchool Association (NAA). Accreditation is a voluntary process designed to evaluate and improve the quality of child care by meeting and maintaining national standards established by early childhood development professionals.
  Visit http://www.naeyc.org/academy/search/ to find out more about the NAEYC-accredited process and to find an accredited center in Alameda County. For NAA go to http://www.naaweb.org/pdf/NAAAccreditedProgramsMarch2007WebPosting.xls.

  Family Child Care Homes

  Family child care providers offer education and care for infants, toddlers and preschool-age (2-5 years), and school-age (5-12 years) children in a group setting. Providers are licensed to provide care in their residence (owned or rented) and can be licensed as either a:

  • Small Family Child Care Home-for up to 6 children (with an additional 2 school-age children, under certain conditions), or
  • Large Family Child Care Home-for up to 12 children (with additional 2 school-age children), with an assistant present.

  The home is inspected for health and safety standards, and all adults living in the home must obtain background and TB clearances. Family child care providers must complete 15 hours of health training, including Infant/Child First Aid & CPR. While there are no minimum educational units required, many family child care providers enroll in Early Childhood Education/Child Development classes or hold degrees in Early Childhood Education. Parents are encouraged to check on the licensing status of a particular family child care home by calling Community Care Licensing at (510) 622-2602 or by going to the Community Care Licensing Division website.

  Many family child care homes are choosing to participate in a national accreditation process administered through the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC). The NAFCC accreditation process includes the completion of a self-evaluation study designed to assist family child care homes in meeting nationally recognized criteria for high quality in early childhood education. For more information on NAFCC accreditation, call (202) 347-3356.

  To find a family child care homes in Alameda County that has successfully achieved NAFCC, go to http://nafcc.fmdatabase.com/fmi/iwp/cgi?-db=accreditationsearch.fp7&-loadframes.

  In-Home Care

  You may hire someone (babysitter, nanny, au pair) to care for your child in your home. You set the hours, responsibilities, rules and pay. In-home providers can be located through nanny/employment agencies, newspaper ads, local parent magazines, etc. There is no training or licensing of such caregivers, though 'nanny schools' exist in some areas. Caregivers should at least receive training in Infant/Child First Aid and CPR, available through many hospitals, Red Cross, etc. It is recommended that, for the safety of your child, you obtain a TrustLine fingerprint clearance for the person, which is a background check through State and FBI criminal records and State Child Abuse Index. Contact the TrustLine Registry for information: 1-800-822-8490 or www.trustline.org. Your local child care resource and referral agency (BANANAS, 4C's, or Child Care Links) may also have a listing of available in-home providers.

  Relatives and Other Caregivers

  You may hire a relative or other person to provide child care either in their home or yours. These arrangements can be of equal or lower cost, or free. (Note that caregivers providing care to non-relative children from more than one family, other than their own, are required to be licensed.) There are no State requirements for training. The recommendations above regarding TrustLine clearance and First Aid/CPR training apply here. License-exempt caregivers who are paid through public subsidy funds (except for grandparents, aunts and uncles) are required to obtain a TrustLine background clearance.

  Community Care Licensing

  The Community Care Licensing Division is the department for the state that oversees child care providers. The website has useful information for parents interested in locating child care or learning more about their rights as parents. Additionally, parents can use the website for a "facility search" at the following website: http://www.ccld.ca.gov/docs/ccld_search/ccld_search.aspx. This search will provide the names of licensed child care centers and large family child care homes, as well as the current status of the provider's license. Any unusual license status is shown in red. Contact Community Care Licensing at (510) 622-2602.

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• I want to find a quality early care and education program for my child. Where do I start?

  Finding quality care is going to take a little homework. Alameda County has three Resource and Referral agencies that can help you find a program that fits your family's needs. These programs help all parents, including parents of children with special needs, navigate the public and private early childhood and school age care system.

  BANANAS: Serving Albany, Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Piedmont
  5232 Claremont Avenue
  Oakland, CA 94618
  (510) 658-0381
  www.bananasinc.org

  4C's of Alameda County:
  Serving Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, and San Lorenzo
  22353 City Center Drive, Suite 200
  Hayward, CA 94541
  (510) 582-2182
  www.4c-alameda.org

  4C's of Alameda County
  Serving Fremont, Newark, and Union City
  22353 City Center Drive, Suite 200
  Hayward, CA 94541
  (510) 790-0655
  www.4c-alameda.org

  Child Care Links: Serving Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and Sunol
  1020 Serpentine Lane, Suite 102
  Pleasanton, CA 94566
  (925) 417-8733
  www.childcarelinks.org

  Each of these agencies has helpful information and brochures on choosing quality care and education for your child. Also, the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies is the national network of more than 850 child care resource and referral centers (CCR&Rs) located in every state and most communities across the United States. Through their Child Care Aware, non-profit initiative, they have developed a series of publications containing important information for parents seeking child care. These resources address some of the following topics:

  • Matching Your Infant's or Toddler's Style to the Right Child Care Setting
  • Choosing Quality Child Care for a Child with Special Needs
  • Selecting a Quality After School Program for Your Child
  • Five Steps to Choosing Safe and Healthy Child Care

  You can download these publications and more in English and Spanish by going to their web site: http://www.childcareaware.org/en/resources/pubs.php

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• I need help paying for child care. What resources are available?

  In Alameda County, there are several programs to assist your family. Each type of child care financial assistance has different qualifications such as income level, employment status, or residency. Please check with each program to see how you may qualify. Unfortunately there are often more families needing assistance than available funding.

  Alternative Payment Programs
  Alternative payment programs receive funding from the California Department of Education to assist eligible parents or caregivers to pay for child care, including after-school care, for children. There are eight such programs serving Alameda County.

  You can call any of these agencies to be added to the Centralized Eligibility List (CEL) that enables any agency to contact you for services. The CEL is a single countywide list of all children from income eligible families who are waiting for subsidized child care. The CEL allows agencies with state subsidies to contact families when they have openings. Getting on this CEL puts you on the one list that is used by all the State subsidized programs in the County.

  With the CEL, families have access to all programs for which they qualify, improving their chances of obtaining subsidized child are. Agencies can quickly access family information through the CEL database which increases the chances of being selected for a potential child care opening.

  For more information about the CEL please visit www.alamedacocel.org or contact one of the agencies below:

  Berkeley-Albany Licensed Day Care Operators Association (BALDCOA): Serving Berkeley and Albany
  2414 6th Street
  Berkeley, CA 94701
  (510) 549-1223

  BANANAS: Serving Albany, Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Piedmont
  5232 Claremont Avenue
  Oakland, CA 94618
  (510) 658-7353

  Child Care Links: Main Office: Serving Dublin, Livermore , Pleasanton, and Sunol
  1020 Serpentine Lane, Suite 102
  Pleasanton, CA 94566
  (925) 417-8733

  Child Care Links: South County Office: Serving Fremont, Newark and Union City
  39155 Liberty Street, Suite D430
  Fremont, CA 94538
  (925) 268-0548

  Child Care Links: North County Office: Service CalWORKs Stage 1 clients in Albany, Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Piedmont
  250 E. 18th Street, 2nd Floor
  Oakland, CA 94606
  (510) 268-0106

  Child, Family & Community Services - Serving Hayward
  359 Gresel Street
  Hayward, CA 94544
  (510) 441-2220

  Davis Street Family Resource Center - Serving Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, and San Lorenzo
  3801 Teagarden Street
  San Leandro, CA 94577
  (510) 347-4620

  4Cs of Alameda County - Oakland Office
  756 21st Street
  Oakland, CA 94612
  (510) 272-0669

  Oakland Licensed Day Care Operator's Association (OLDCOA)- Serving Oakland
  6201 Doyle Street, Suite B
  Emeryville, CA 94608
  (510) 658-2449

  PACEAPP - Main Office
  Serving all of Alameda County
  114 Sansome Street, Suite 300
  San Francisco, CA 94104
  (800) 541-9922

  School Districts' Child Development Services
  Through the California Department of Education, many school districts in Alameda County offer child development and school age services. Here is a list of the school district offices to contact for more information on the types of services offered and eligibility and payment information.

  Alameda Unified School District
  2200 Central Avenue
  Alameda, CA 94501
  (510) 748-4001

  Albany Unified School District
  904 Talbot Avenue
  Albany, CA 94706
  (510) 559-6500

  Berkeley Unified School District
  2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
  Berkeley, CA 94704
  (510) 644-4533

  Emery Unified School District
  4727 San Pablo Avenue
  Emeryville, CA 94608
  (510) 848-9092

  Fremont Unified School District
  4210 Technology Drive
  Fremont, CA 94538
  (510) 659-2579

  Hayward Unified School District
  23640 Reed Way
  Hayward, CA 94541
  (510) 783-3793

  Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District
  685 E. Jack London Blvd.
  Livermore, CA 94551
  (925) 606-3207

  New Haven Unified School District
  34200 Alvarado-Niles Road
  Union City, CA 94587
  (510) 744-9280

  Newark Unified School District
  5715 Musick Avenue
  Newark, CA 94560
  (510) 818-4112

  Oakland Unified School District
  1025 Second Avenue
  Oakland, CA 94606
  (510) 879-8328

  San Lorenzo Unified School District
  P. O. Box 37
  15510 Usher Street
  San Lorenzo, CA 94580
  (510) 317-4734

  State Funded Programs: State Preschool/State Child Development Centers:
  State Preschool and CDC is publicly funded preschool through the California State Department of Education and is available to children from low-income families. State preschool is for children between the ages of three (3) and five (5) years old. In addition to child care and early learning programs, these half-day sessions also offer health care and parent training. Contact your local Resource & Referral agency for information on enrollment.

  BANANAS: Serving Albany, Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Piedmont
  5232 Claremont Avenue
  Oakland, CA 94618
  (510) 658-0381
  www.bananasinc.org

  4C's of Alameda County:
  Serving Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, and San Lorenzo
  22353 City Center Drive, Suite 200
  Hayward, CA 94541
  (510) 582-2182
  www.4c-alameda.org

  4C's of Alameda County
  Serving Fremont, Newark, and Union City
  22353 City Center Drive, Suite 200
  Hayward, CA 94541
  (510) 790-0655
  www.4c-alameda.org

  Child Care Links: Serving Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and Sunol
  1020 Serpentine Lane, Suite 102
  Pleasanton, CA 94566
  (925) 417-8733
  www.childcarelinks.org

  Head Start and Early Head Start
  Head Start (ages 2-1/2 to 5) and Early Head Start (ages 0-2-1/2) are federally funded full or part-day programs that provide free child care other services to help meet the health and school readiness of eligible children. Most, but not all families who access Head Start or Early Head Start must have incomes that meet federal poverty guidelines. There are six agencies that operate Head Start programs in Alameda County.

  (CAPE) Community Association for Preschool Education- Serving Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, Mountain House, Sunol
  1328 Concannon Boulevard
  Livermore, CA 94550
  (925) 443-9380 x 104

  City of Oakland - Serving children in Oakland
  Dept. of Human Services
  150 Frank Ogawa Plaza, 4th Flr.
  Oakland, CA 94612
  (510) 238-3165

  Berkeley-Albany YMCA - Serving Albany, Berkeley, and Emeryville
  2070 Allston Way, Suite 101
  Berkeley, CA 94704
  (510) 848-9092 x302
  Xanthos, Inc. - Parents must live or work in City of Alameda
  2325 Clement Ave.
  Alameda, CA 94501
  (510) 865-4500

  Child, Family & Community Services - Serving San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, Fremont, Newark, Union City
  35699 Niles Blvd.
  Fremont, CA 94536
  (510) 796-9512

  De Colores Head Start - Unity Council - Serving children in Oakland
  Fruitvale Village,
  3411 E. 12th Street, Suite 200
  Oakland, CA 94601
  (510) 535-6107

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• I need to find an after-school program for my school-aged child. Where do I start? The need for quality child care doesn't end once your child enters kindergarten; in fact it may be more difficult to find care because there are fewer choices than for preschool. Now that your child has started school, choosing a quality after-school care program can have a tremendous impact on academics, self-esteem and overall happiness and adjustment. So, what type of program is best for your child? Here is some information to consider when making this important decision.
  Types of Programs. School-age child care includes almost any program that regularly enrolls children from kindergarten through early adolescence during the times when schools are traditionally closed including non-school days during the school year and the summer. These programs may be offered by schools, family day care providers, child care centers, private and public schools, recreation centers and youth-serving organizations. Sometimes known as extended day programs, before-and-after school programs provide enrichment, academic instruction, recreation and supervised care. An array of drop-in and part-time programs also serve an ad hoc child care function.
  Licensing Requirements. The education requirement for a licensed program includes a teacher's aide or assistant who has six (6) units of early childhood education. A qualified teacher is required to have at least 12 units of early childhood education. School age child care can be found through local child care resource and referral agencies (see listing below), yellow pages, networking and newspaper ads. The Community Care Licensing Division of the California Department of Social Services has the responsibility for licensing Child Care facilities under the authority of the California Health and Safety Code and enforcing minimum standards contained in Title 22, California Code of Regulations. Many school-age programs are considered "recreational" and are not required to have a license. It is recommended that a prospective parent ask the program if they are licensed and the educational background of their staff.
  Alameda County has a variety of options for school-aged children. For more information on selecting an after-school program, or for the names of programs in your area that provide school-age child care contact your child's' school, your local Parks& Recreation Department or one of the following Resource and Referral agencies:

  BANANAS: Serving Albany, Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Piedmont
  5232 Claremont Avenue
  Oakland, CA 94618
  (510) 658-0381
  www.bananasinc.org

  4C's of Alameda County:
  Serving Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, and San Lorenzo
  22353 City Center Drive, Suite 200
  Hayward, CA 94541
  (510) 582-2182
  www.4c-alameda.org

  4C's of Alameda County
  Serving Fremont, Newark, and Union City
  22353 City Center Drive, Suite 200
  Hayward, CA 94541
  (510) 790-0655
  www.4c-alameda.org

  Child Care Links: Serving Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and Sunol
  1020 Serpentine Lane, Suite 102
  Pleasanton, CA 94566
  (925) 417-8733
  www.childcarelinks.org

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• I want to start a child care business. Where do I begin? Anyone who takes care of non-relative children for more than one family must have a license issued by the Community Care Licensing Division of the California Department of Social Services. If you are interested in opening your own child care business, please contact Community Care Licensing at (510) 622-2602, or one of the following child care resource and referral agencies listed below:

  BANANAS: Serving Albany, Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Piedmont
  5232 Claremont Avenue
  Oakland, CA 94618
  (510) 658-0381
  www.bananasinc.org

  4C's of Alameda County:
  Serving Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, and San Lorenzo
  22353 City Center Drive, Suite 200
  Hayward, CA 94541
  (510) 582-2182
  www.4c-alameda.org

  4C's of Alameda County
  Serving Fremont, Newark, and Union City
  22353 City Center Drive, Suite 200
  Hayward, CA 94541
  (510) 790-0655
  www.4c-alameda.org

  Child Care Links: Main Office Serving Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and Sunol
  1020 Serpentine Lane, Suite 102
  Pleasanton, CA 94566
  (925) 417-8733
  www.childcarelinks.org

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