All child care centers and family child care homes must be licensed by the State of California Community Care Licensing Division. Licensing is intended to assure minimal standards of health and safety protection for children. Licensing, however, does not guarantee the quality of a child care center or home. You, the parent, are the best judge of whether the child care services provided will meet your child's needs. Choosing who cares for your child is one of the most important, and difficult decisions you'll ever have to make. To help better judge quality when you're considering which child care program is right for your child, the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) has created an easy-to-use booklet,Is This the Right Place for My Child?: 38 Research Based Indicators of High-Quality Child Care. The booklet contains a checklist of 38 questions that you can ask to evaluate child care programs. Unlike most guidelines for selecting child care, this booklet explains why each question is important and how it relates to the quality of care. All of the questions are based on research about what is important to your child's health, safety and development. to download your free copy of Is This the Right Place for My Child? Please visit the NACCRRA website at: NACCRRA Is This the Right Place for My Child?

Family Child Care Homes Family Child Care is provided in a small group setting in an individual's home. Family child care provides a home-like atmosphere for a child and greater flexibility to match non-traditional schedules.

Center-Based Programs Child care centers, nursery schools, Head Start programs, parent cooperatives and preschools are center based programs that care for children in groups of twelve or more. These programs vary in the number of hours children are in care, the types of learning environment they offer and the specific goals of the program.

Accreditation The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) has developed an accreditation process for licensed family child care homes. Accredited providers have demonstrated a commitment to reach beyond minimum licensing requirements and have received professional recognition.  For the names of accredited providers in Irvine, please call the Orange County Child Care Association at 949-857-6003.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has developed an accreditation system for Early Childhood Program (ages 0-6). It provides a process through which early childhood professionals and families can evaluate and strengthen the child care program and commit to ongoing evaluation and improvement. To see which Irvine centers are accredited; please visit NAEYC online by clicking here.

Family-Based Childcare- Infant/Toddler/Preschool To view map of Irvine Villages, click here.   Center-Based Programs- Infant/Toddler/Preschool  Center-Based Programs- School Age  Center-Based Programs- School Age Facilitated by the Irvine Child Care Project Programs with specific training and/or experience in working with children having special needs

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