There are many different kinds of child care: - Family child care home
- Child care center
- Nursery school
- Head Start
- School-age child care
- In-home relative care
Massachusetts Office for Child Care Services (OCCS) licenses most child care programs. At a licensed program, staff has had a criminal background check and meet minimum health, safety, education and training requirements. Licensed programs can also be accredited. This means that the program has met even higher standards set by a national organization. FAMILY CHILD CARE – HOME Ages: 8 weeks – 14 years Site: Home Hours: Usually full-day, year-round Groups may have up to 6 children. Large family child care homes have 2 providers and up to 10 children. CHILD CARE CENTER Ages: 8 weeks – 6 years Site: Center Hours: Usually full-day, year-round A child care center usually has large groups of children with multiple providers. NURSERY SCHOOL Ages: 2.9 – 5 years Site: School Hours: Half days, school year only, may have morning and afternoon sessions. HEAD START Ages: 2.9 – 5 years Site: Center or school Hours: Full and half days, school year only Head Start is an enrichment program with education, nutrition, health and social services. Early Head Start has similar program for children 8 weeks to 2.9 years. SCHOOL AGE CHILD CARE Ages: 6-14 yrs. Site: School or Home Hours: Before and after school, sometimes school vacations Some programs exempt from OCCS licensing IN-HOME RELATIVE CARE Ages: All ages Site: Home Hours: By agreement Provided by friend, neighbor, relative or nanny, UNLICENSED |