10.4.1.1: Uniform Categories and Definitions

 

Each state should adopt uniform categories and definitions for its own licensing requirements. Every state should have individual standards that are applied to the following types of facilities:

1. Family child care home: A facility providing care and education of children, including the caregiver/teacher’s own children in the home of the caregiver/teacher:
   1. Small family child care home – one to six children;
   2. Large family child care home – seven to twelve children, with one or more qualified adult assistants to meet child: staff ratio requirements;
2. Center: A facility providing care and education of any number of children in a nonresidential setting, or thirteen or more children in any setting if the facility is open on a regular basis (for instance, if it is not a drop-in facility);
3. Drop-in facility: A child care program where children are cared for over short periods of time on a one-time, intermittent, unscheduled and/or occasional basis. Drop-in care is often operated in connection with a business (e.g., health club, hotel, shopping center, or recreation centers);
4. School-age child care facility: A facility offering activities to school-age children before and after school, during vacations, and non-school days set aside for such activities as caregivers’/teachers’ in-service programs;
5. Facility for children who are mildly ill: A facility providing care of one or more children who are mildly ill, children who are temporarily excluded from care in their regular child care setting;
6. Integrated or small group care for children who are mildly ill: A facility that has been approved by the licensing agency to care for well children and to include up to six children who are mildly ill;
7. Special facility for children who are mildly ill: A facility that cares only for children who are mildly ill, or a facility that cares for more than six children who are mildly ill at a time.

RATIONALE

Lack of standard terminology hampers the ability of citizens and professionals to compare rules from state to state or to apply national guidance material to upgrade the quality of care (1). For example, child care for seven to twelve children in the residence of the caregiver/teacher may be referred to as family day care, a group day care home, or a mini-center in different states. While it is not essential that each state use the same terms and some variability in definitions of types of care may occur, terminology should be consistent within the state and as consistent as possible from state to state in the way different types of settings are classified. Child care facilities should be differentiated from community facilities that primarily care for those with developmental disabilities, the elderly, and other adults and teenagers who need supervised care (2).

RELATED STANDARDS

3.6.2.1 Exclusion and Alternative Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.2 Space Requirements for Care of Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.3 Qualifications of Directors of Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.4 Program Requirements for Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.5 Caregiver/Teacher Qualifications for Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.6 Child-Staff Ratios for Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.7 Child Care Health Consultants for Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.8 Licensing of Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.9 Information Required for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.10 Inclusion and Exclusion of Children from Facilities That Serve Children Who Are Ill

REFERENCES

1. National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). 1997. Licensing and public regulation of early childhood programs: A position statement. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
2. Newacheck, P. W., B. Strickland, J. P. Shonkoff, et al. 1998. An epidemiologic profile of children with special health care needs. Pediatrics 102:117-23.