Child Care Options

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There are many options open to you in seeking child care. While other fact sheets in this series talk about licensing, questions to ask, food programs, and quality, this one simply describes the various full- and part-time options available.

Full-time Child Care

If you need full-time care for your child, you can choose from several options. These may involve care in a family home setting, a child care center, your own home, or a facility in your workplace.

Family Child Care. This type of care is provided in another caregiver's home. While most family care providers accept children from infancy through school age, some providers care for only one specific age group. The care may be provided in a very relaxed, nurturing, homelike atmosphere or it may be in a more structured, educational setting. Your choice of the right setting depends on you and your child's needs.

When family child care providers care for more than one family's children, they must be licensed through the State Department of Human Services. See the fact sheet entitled "Licensed Child Care: What Does It Mean For My Child?" for more information on the numbers and ages of children that a child care home can legally care for. Depending on the number of caregivers and/or helpers, private home facilities can care for between 10 and 14 children, including the provider's own children. Only so many of these can be under school age.

Child Care Centers. This type of care is provided in a facility other than a private home. Centers, like family care settings, may specialize in a certain age group or offer care for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children. Fees will vary, depending on how they are funded. Some centers offer a sliding-fee scale or scholarships for low-income families.

Centers that care for more than three children for more than three hours a day must also be licensed by the State Department of Human Services. They must follow certain health and safety standards in their facility, as well as requirement for staffing and educational programs.

Some centers provide care at night during normal sleeping hours.

In-home Care. Another option involves an adult caregiver (sometimes a relative) caring for your child in your own home. You must pay the caregiver minimum wage and provide certain benefits if they're working over 20 hours per week. This may be too expensive for a family with fewer than three children. You may locate this type of care through a placement agency (bonded or unbended) or hire someone on your own.

Employer-sponsored or Employer-supported Child Care. Some employers will provide and pay for child care facilities for their employees. Others will subsidize care in their own facility, in one or more chosen sites (either at a center or family home setting), or in a site selected by the parent.

Employer support to child care can also be in the form of donations and contributions to child care programs, support for community child care councils, information and referral services, and family-oriented personnel policies.

Parent Care. You may also be able to consider fulltime care for your child by yourself, your partner, or a combination. Work schedules can sometimes be juggled to split the child care responsibilities evenly.

Special Needs Care. Some children need special care because of a handicap. Special services and programs are available for handicapped children from at least 6 weeks to not more than 13 years. Check your county's social services department for programs available in your community.

Part-time Child Care

In addition to working out part-time care in the options already mentioned, there are also some unique part-time care situations that can work for you.

Drop-in Care. This type of care (offered separately or along with other services in a child care center or family home setting) provides supervised play on an irregular or as-needed basis (usually from three to four hours a day). You must pre-register your child and they may not attend more than 45 hours per calendar month. Staff may be professionals, volunteers, or parents. You will usually have to pay an hourly rate.

Migrant Child Care. For parents working in temporary agricultural jobs, the state and federal government runs free, full-time child care centers during the busiest seasons. Programs are available for children to develop their health, education, and nutrition.

Parent Babysitting Cooperative. Another option for part-time care involves a group of families sharing child care. Instead of money, "points" are assigned for services based on number of children, hours of care, etc. Everyone in the co-op must follow agreed upon guidelines and share the record keeping responsibilities. No license is required.

Play Group. Similar to co-op babysitting, parents (usually mothers) may take turns providing activities for a group of children, including their own. Most play groups meet once or twice a week for two to three hours. This arrangement can free the primary caregiver's time, as well as provide playmates for their children.

School-age Child Care. Beginning in kindergarten and continuing until age 13, this type of care can provide supervision and planned activities for children before and after school and on school holidays. In addition to centers and family home settings, school-age child care can be offered by public schools, youth recreation groups, churches, and other community groups. Fees will vary, depending on ages of children, hours, services provided, and sources of funding.

Sick Child Care. When your child is ill, you can have an adult come into your home to provide care or bring your child to a sick care program in a licensed day care, drop-in, or night care program. There are also some programs run exclusively for sick children.

Pre-schools. There are various types of pre-school programs for children from 33 months old to school age (kindergarten).

Nursery Schools. This type of pre-school program provides physical, intellectual, social, and developmental activities for three- to five-year-olds. They sometimes are based on a particular religious, political, or philosophical belief and may be part of a child care center. Most nursery schools operate for less than three hours a session, two to five times a week, and follow a school-year schedule. Fees will vary, depending on schedule and funding.

Nursery schools may voluntarily register with the Minnesota State Education Department and follow their guidelines for their facility, staff, and programs.

Nursery School Cooperatives. Similar to a part-time nursery school, this program requires parents to take turns helping professional teachers run the school and teach. Fees will vary, depending on schedule, sources of funding, and how much parents participate.

Head Start. This is a federally funded program for three- to five-year-olds from low-income families. Even though there is no charge, parents must be involved in this thorough child development program that works with health, nutrition, education, and social services. Head Start programs can be part-day, full-day, or home-based. They usually follow a school-year schedule.

There is not one, single best type of care for all families. Instead, parents need to choose the quality and type of care that will best meet their child's needs, as well as reflect their own values. Through careful selection, including visits to different facilities, parents can choose the right child care for their child.

University of Minnesota Extension Service
University of Minnesota
College of Human Ecology

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This information is intended to help parents make the best decision about the selection of child care for their family. The University of Minnesota Extension Service does not recommend any particular providers or any specific type of care.

Produced by Communication and Educational Technology Services, University of Minnesota Extension.

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