FCCA
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    • List of Child Care Homes
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    • In The Community
  • Home
  • Find Child Care
    • List of Child Care Homes
  • Membership
    • Workshops
    • Resources
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
    • In The Community
What is Family Child Care?
     Family Child Care is a home-based service where childcare is provided in the caregiver’s home. The home is licensed according to Massachusetts Early Education and Care state laws. Family Child Care is the most preferred type of care for young children, especially infants and toddlers. Many family childcare homes provide high quality programs for preschoolers, school age, and children with special needs. Family childcare is “home-away-from-home” personalized professional childcare.


Benefits of Family Child Care
·         Small groups of children encourage close friendships to develop and allow individualized attention from Educators
·         Warm, comfortable, loving in-home setting
·         Consistency of care:  one or two Educators will care for your child for several years
·         Siblings can be in care together
·         Mixed age groups allow for valuable exchanges between children; teaching, learning, nurturing and receiving compassion                   from each other
·         Parents can choose from a wide variety of educators with unique programs, philosophies, and learning environments


Family Child Care Educators are licensed by the Department of Early Education and Care,
which includes:
·         Safety inspections
·         A combination of training, experiences, and certifications including CPR/First Aid
·         Orientation courses
·         A minimum of 10 hours of training annually
·         Criminal record check (CORI report) and fingerprinting
·         EEC regulates the program operation and number of children in care


      Looking for a quality Licensed Family Child Care Provider?  One of the most critical decisions you will make as a parent is choosing an environment that will help you nurture your child’s growth and development, and set the stage for future learning. Please contact the area referral director for your area for FREE referrals.​
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​Finding Quality Child Care
 
 The Family Child Care Association prides itself in being a quality resource for child care providers and local families. We promote quality licensed child care for children.
 
Where to Start
 
      If you are in search of a child care provider, Early Education and Care (EEC) the place to start. All Registered providers are listed with EEC and will provide a list of Licensed Providers to you based on the criteria you are searching for. They will offer you guidelines on what to look for in quality child care. They will also offer you other resources. It is a free service that is publicly funded and operated through the Massachusetts Early Education and Care.
 
      The Family Childcare Association will also provide referrals to licensed providers for your child care needs, such as type of child care desired and the location.
 
Setting Up an Interview
 
     When looking for child care it is recommended that a parent call many programs to get an idea of what is offered for your child. Important things to find out during an initial phone call are location, hours, and how many other children the provider cares for.
 
     If the provider has an opening, make an appointment to visit the setting. Many providers interview at night and some interview during business hours. Whatever the case, remember that the provider will usually only interview if they have space available so you may need to make many contacts before you have a good list of places to visit. Parent's should visit at least 3 or more programs for comparison.
 
Before and During the Interview
 
     When making an appointment with a provider it is very important that you be on time. You are not only interviewing the provider but they are also interviewing you. Family child care providers are limited in the amount of children and the ages of the children that they can care for. Therefore if you are late for an interview without a telephone call, more than likely that provider will feel that you do not value their time after hours and you may not value their time during the work day and may be late picking up your child. This may affect how the provider perceives you.
 
     Take your child with you and observe the environment, the caregiver, and if it is during business hours, the other children. After this, decide on an arrangement that is best for you and your child.
 
After the Interview
 
    After you have selected an arrangement, if the provider offers you the space for your child, there will be paperwork that is required by Early Education and Care other paperwork that may be required by the provider. Each provider operates their business differently so it may also be necessary to sign a contract. If so, read the contract/handbook thoroughly to be aware of the way the provider addresses all aspects of the services they offer. Take steps in the beginning to establish a good relationship with the provider, the key for that is communication. A successful child care experience can make for a happy child and a very happy parent and provider.
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