Choosing Child Care

Selecting the Right Child Care Provider for Your Family

The Family Services team at Children’s Council provides referrals to San Francisco licensed family child care homes and licensed child care centers.  For more information on our child care referral services, click here (link to finding child care page).

When choosing a provider, parents are urged to verify that benchmarks of quality child care are present in the child care home or center.  Click here for our quality child care checklist.

Choosing Child Care Workshops

Children's Council offers free Choosing Child Care workshops in order to assist parents in making informed choices about child care options.  Upcoming dates include:

Children’s Council also offers custom Choosing Child Care workshops for San Francisco businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community groups.  For more information on scheduling a custom workshop, contact the Family Services team at 415.343.3300.

To register for a Choosing Child Care workshop, click the registration links above or contact the Family Services team at 415.343.3300 or rr@childrenscouncil.org.

Child Care Licensing and Background Checks

Before placing your child(ren) in care, we suggest that you review a potential provider’s state licensing history.  Community Care Licensing is the state agency responsible for licensing and monitoring family child care homes and child care centers to ensure that they provide safe and healthy environments for children.  For more information, or to verify a provider’s license, visit www.ccld.ca.gov or call 650.266.8843.

In accordance with Oliver’s Law, licensed child care providers must keep a record of complaints received since 1997. Providers are required to present this information to a parent when asked.  Parents who are not comfortable about asking a provider for a list of complaints, or who are concerned about complaints occurring before 1997, should contact Community Care Licensing for information on their chosen provider.

All of the individual child care providers in Children’s Council’s resource and referral database have been cleared through TrustLine, California's registry of in-home child care providers.  These caregivers have passed a fingerprint check of records at the California Department of Justice, and have been found to have no disqualifying criminal convictions or substantiated child abuse reports in California.  For more information, visit www.trustline.org.

Although it is important to verify a child care provider’s license and TrustLine clearance, it is important to note that licensing and TrustLine clearances are not a guarantee of quality.

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