Becoming a Child Care Provider
Quality child care is an essential service that helps to form the economic backbone of New York State.
As a general rule, any child day care program planning to serve three or more children, for more than three hours a day on a regular basis, must obtain a license or registration. Before becoming licensed or registered, the applicant must show that the proposed child day care program meets requirements established to promote the health and safety of children in care.
The Community Child Care Clearinghouse of Niagara assists people in becoming a registered or licensed in-home child care provider. Services offered include:
- Ordering a family or group family child care application
- Introduction to Family Child Care Training
- Health and Safety Start-Up Grant
- Health and Safety Training
- Information on grant programs to assist with training
- Assistance throughout the registration and licensing process
- Information on the New York State Office of Children and Family Services
regulations
We also assist people in opening a day care center of school-age child care program. Services offered include:
- Ordering a day care center or school-age child care application
- Assistance with filling out the application
- Technical Assistance throughout the registration or licensing process
- Information on the New York State Office of Children and Family Services
regulations
Every child care provider, potential child care provider, substitute or alternate child care provider, and family member eighteen years of age or older living in the home of a registered or licensed child care provider must be fingerprinted through the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.
Effective October 9, 2009, the Office of Children and Family Services changed to a computerized imaging process known as LiveScan for all potential child care providers. This new fingerprinting format will be available only at authorized sites located throughout the state and will offer more benefits than the traditional “ink-and-roll” format. These benefits include a near elimination of rejected fingerprint cards, a significantly quicker turn-around time in receiving results, and a decrease in costs associated with postage, supplies, and personnel.
The vendor that is providing the LiveScan fingerprinting service is MorphoTrust USA. The vendor has set up locations throughout the state and they will also be providing evening and weekend services at select locations. Individuals that need to have fingerprints taken need to schedule an appointment by going to www.identogo.com, by calling 1-877-472-6915 or, for TTY/TTD applicants, by calling 877-219-0199.
Providers may click on the following downloads to access the guidelines for the LiveScan fingerprinting service and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services Request for Fingerprinting Services Information Form. Forms are provided in both English and Spanish.
Request for Fingerprinting Services
Request for Fingerprinting in Spanish
Training Requirements
The regulations established by the Office of Children and Family Services require all child care providers to complete thirty hours of training that cover ten training topic areas every two years.
The ten topic areas include:
- Principle of Childhood development, focusing on the developmental stages of the age groups for which the program provides care.
- Safety and Security Procedures
- Child Abuse and Maltreatment Identification and Prevention
- Statutes and Regulations Pertaining to Child Day Care
- Nutrition and Health Needs of Infants and Children
- Business Record Maintenance and Management
- Child Day Care Program Development
- Statutes and Regulations Pertaining to Child Abuse and Maltreatment
- Education and Information on the Identification, Diagnosis and Prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome (This requirement does not apply to school-age child care program staff).
- Adverse childhood experiences, focused on understanding trauma and on nurturing resiliency.
For more specific information on these training topics and your requirements, contact your licensor or registrar. It is important to remember that training certificates must be submitted to your licensor or registrar as verification that training was completed. A copy of a training log for trainings completed at the Community Child Care Clearinghouse of Niagara may be obtained by calling 716-285-8572 Ext. 105 or 118 .
For more detailed information on training requirements, click here.
Training Tracking Forms
The Division of Child Care Services has developed two forms for the purpose of recording training hours. These forms will assist you in recording and tracking training hours. Family and Group Family providers should be using form #OCFS-4880 – Individual Training Tracking Form. This form should be maintained on file and submitted to your Registrar or Licensor at renewal, in place of the grid in the renewal booklets. School-Age Programs and Day Care Centers should be utilizing the Individual Training Tracking Form #OCFS-4880 for the Director. Employees can utilize the form for tracking their individual training.
School-Age Program and Day Care Center Directors should complete form #OCFS-4879 for all employees at their site. This form should be submitted to your Registrar or Licensor at renewal and a copy of this form should be maintained on site. Both forms are included below for your convenience. You may also order copies of the forms from the OCFS warehouse by calling (518)473-0971.
Where should I start?
Our office holds an in-person Introduction to Child Care Informational Session on the first Wednesday of every month. There is no fee for this session but pre-registration is required. Please contact our office to register.
This session will help you decide if operating a child care program is right for you. It outlines requirements for opening a child care program, spaces where care can be provided, the ratios of children to adults, and resources for providers. We’ll talk about important rules and regulations you need to know to run your business. You will also find information on how to best care for children in your program.
Obtaining an Employer Identification Number – Providers may obtain an Employer Identification Number by visiting the Internal Revenue Service website located in the Links section of this website and downloading a SS-4 form. An Employer Identification Number may be used in place of a provider’s social security number for parents who are claiming a child care credit on their taxes.
Important Information for Child Care Providers
For information on the importance of professionalism in early care and education, click here.
Lead Screening – The attachment contains information for child care providers on Lead Screening requirements distributed by the New York State Department of Health. What Child Care Providers Need to Know about Lead
Health Care Plans – Every registered and licensed child care program must prepare a health care plan on forms furnished by the Office of Children and Family Services or approved equivalents. Such plan must protect and promote the heath of children. The health care plan must be on site, followed by the caregivers and available upon demand by a parent or guardian or the Office. Where the provider will administer medications, the health care plan must also be approved by the program’s health care consultant. Each program in Niagara County may be eligible for Health Care Consultant services free of charge though the Community Child Care Clearinghouse of Niagara. For information on obtaining a Health Care consultant though the Community Child Care Clearinghouse of Niagara please call 716-285-8572 or 1-800-701-4KID.
Elijah’s Law
In 2019 Elijah’s Law was signed into legislation. The law is named after 3-year-old Elijah Silvera from New York City who was given a grilled cheese sandwich while at day care despite having a known severe dairy allergy. After Elijah went into anaphylaxis, his family was not told what he had eaten and 911 was not called. Elijah died in November of 2017.
Elijah’s Law requires all child care programs to be in compliance with Elijah’s Law by September 15, 2021. Below are some documents that will provide additional information on Elijah’s law, a sample document that may be used to create your own Allergy and Anaphylaxis policy, the OCFS Dear Provider Letter, and the updated pages to the health care plan for each modality of care. The complete health care plans can be found on the OCFS website by clicking here.
Dear Provider Letter Regarding Elijah’s Law
Office of Children and Family Services Anaphylaxis Policy
Individual Allergy and Anaphylaxis Emergency Plan
Allergy and Anaphylaxis Policy Sample Document
Updated Health Care Plan Pages for Day Care Centers
Updated Health Care Plan Pages for School-age Child Care Programs
Updated Health Care Plan Pages for Family/Group Family Day Care
New York State registered and licensed child care providers, alternate providers and substitute providers are mandated reporters of child abuse and maltreatment and must report any suspected incidents of child abuse or maltreatment concerning a child receiving child day care to the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment at 1-800-635-1522. To obtain a copy of the Report of Suspected Child Abuse or Maltreatment form please click on the forms tab in this website or contact your licensor or registrar. Remember that within forty-eight hours after reporting an incident of child abuse or maltreatment to the mandated reporter hotline, a written copy of the Report of Suspected Child Abuse or Maltreatment form must be submitted to the Niagara County Department of Social Services, Child Protective Service Unit. The address for the Niagara County Child Protective Service Unit is, NCDSS, PO Box 865, 301 10th Street, Niagara Falls, NY, 14302-0865.
Carbon Monoxide Detector Requirements – In order to comply with Amanda’s Law, a minimum of one carbon monoxide detector must be installed in every home where there is a carbon monoxide source, defined as any appliance or system that may emit carbon monoxide, a fireplace, or a building with an attached garage, or other motor vehicle related occupancies. Per the amended New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code, in existing residences (constructed before 1/1/08) with a carbon monoxide source, a carbon monoxide detector must be installed on the lowest story having a sleeping area. Because the areas used for napping in Family Day Care and Group Family Day Care are often not on the floor where the provider’s family sleeps, it is highly recommended that one unit be installed on each floor of the residence on which there is either a sleeping area or carbon monoxide source. This recommendation is based on the requirements in place for new construction and is made in consideration of promoting the safety of both children in care as well as the families of providers. In existing homes constructed prior to January 1, 2008, battery-operated units are acceptable and are not required to be interconnected. Homes constructed after that date should already have hard-wired, interconnected systems, as required by code.
Provider’s Lending Library – Providers can borrow materials on child development, health and safety, discipline, business, cultural sensitivity and other subjects. The provider lending library also has magazines, children’s books, games, children’s CDs, curriculum kits and other items that can enhance a child care program. Items may be borrowed for up to one month. The Community Child Care Clearinghouse of Niagara offers this service free of charge to registered and licensed child care providers. For an appointment to borrow items from the provider lending library please contact the Community Child Care Clearinghouse of Niagara.
For information working with infants and toddlers in your care, click here.
For more information on technical assistance and intensive assistance, click here.