For Parents
Finding Family Child Care
There are many types of child care services including family child care, child care centers, and nanny services. Stevens County family child care homes are licensed by Sourcewell.
A child care license is not a guarantee of quality child care, but it does help protect the health and safety of children, because it requires family child care providers to maintain certain minimum standards of care.
For parents, choosing a family child care provider that works for their family can be difficult and overwhelming. It is important for parents to have a good working relationship with their family child care provider. Parents may find the the following forms to be helpful tools when selecting a licensed family child care provider:
-Checklist for Parents
-Choosing Child Care
Finding Child Care
DHS Licensed Provider Look-up is a helpful tool when searching for child care. This site lists all programs licensed by DHS and any negative actions that have been placed on a license.
Minnesota has a voluntary quality rating program for child care and early learning programs called Parent Aware. The site has a search tool that will list child care and early learning programs, if they are participating in Parent Aware, and if so, what their star rating is.
Child Care Aware of Minnesota also has information parents may find helpful when searching for child care and ways of staying involved in their child's care.
What Parents Should Know
Knowing the rules and regulations of the family child care profession can be beneficial in making an informed decision on whether a potential provider is right for you. You may find it beneficial to read "Your Child's Safety in Licensed Family Child Care".
There are many types of child care services including family child care, child care centers, and nanny services. Stevens County family child care homes are licensed by Sourcewell.
A child care license is not a guarantee of quality child care, but it does help protect the health and safety of children, because it requires family child care providers to maintain certain minimum standards of care.
For parents, choosing a family child care provider that works for their family can be difficult and overwhelming. It is important for parents to have a good working relationship with their family child care provider. Parents may find the the following forms to be helpful tools when selecting a licensed family child care provider:
-Checklist for Parents
-Choosing Child Care
Finding Child Care
DHS Licensed Provider Look-up is a helpful tool when searching for child care. This site lists all programs licensed by DHS and any negative actions that have been placed on a license.
Minnesota has a voluntary quality rating program for child care and early learning programs called Parent Aware. The site has a search tool that will list child care and early learning programs, if they are participating in Parent Aware, and if so, what their star rating is.
Child Care Aware of Minnesota also has information parents may find helpful when searching for child care and ways of staying involved in their child's care.
What Parents Should Know
Knowing the rules and regulations of the family child care profession can be beneficial in making an informed decision on whether a potential provider is right for you. You may find it beneficial to read "Your Child's Safety in Licensed Family Child Care".
When you enroll in a program you should be given the Rule Summary for Parents form. This is a summary of each Rule or Statute part family child care providers are required to follow.
-Minnesota Rule 9502
-Minnesota Statute 245A
-Minnesota Statute 245C
Child Care Assistance Program
Some families may qualify for the Child Care Assistance Program to help with the cost of child care. For more information on this program, please visit the Family Child Care Assistance page.