Introduction
Research Questions
- What are some different approaches and practices state licensing agencies use to support license-exempt providers?
- What do licensing staff see as the strengths and challenges related to their licensing agency’s work with license-exempt providers?
- How do licensing staff think that licensing (e.g., regulations, policies, and processes) could be improved to better support license-exempt providers?
The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) regulations require annual inspections of child care and early education (CCEE) providers who operate legally without a license (i.e., license-exempt providers) and receive CCDF subsidies. In about half of all states and territories, the licensing agency is responsible for monitoring these providers.
Because monitoring of license-exempt providers may be a relatively new responsibility of state licensing agencies, there is little research about their approaches toward monitoring and supporting these providers. This report from The Role of Licensing in Early Care and Education (TRLECE) project highlights how four states engage with license-exempt providers.
Purpose
This report provides initial information about how licensing agencies in four states engage with license-exempt CCEE providers from the perspectives of licensing administrators and licensing front-line staff.
Key Findings and Highlights
- There are important differences between licensing agencies’ monitoring of license-exempt providers receiving CCDF subsidies and their monitoring of licensed providers.
- The turnover in license-exempt providers’ participation in the subsidy system may make it more challenging for licensing staff to monitor and support these providers.
- In states in which the licensing agency monitors license-exempt providers, they must coordinate with the CCDF subsidy agency.
- License-exempt providers receiving CCDF subsidies are a varied group of individuals with different needs.
- License-exempt providers receiving CCDF subsidies may not have access to the same resources, such as quality improvement supports and professional development, as licensed providers.
- Communication and technology challenges can make it more difficult for licensing staff to support license-exempt providers.
Methods
From November 2022 to January 2023, the team conducted interviews with licensing administrators or management staff (n=9) and front-line licensing staff (n=8) in four states.
Citation
Gal-Szabo, D.E., Falletta, K., Diamond, Z., Conway, J., Maxwell, K., & Johnson, N. (2024). Four state licensing approaches to supporting license-exempt child care and early education providers. OPRE Report #2024-128. Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Glossary
- Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) :
- The primary Federal funding source devoted to providing low-income families that are working or participating in education and training with help paying for child care and improving the quality of care for all children” (Child Care Technical Assistance Network, n.d.).
- Child Care and Development Fund Regulations :
- The CCDF regulations contain provisions that were published in five final rules: 2024 Final Rule, 2016 Final Rule, 1998 Final Rule, CCDF State Match Provisions Final Rule, and CCDF Error Rate Reporting Final Rule. The CCDF regulations are available on the Government Printing Office Electronic Code of Federal Regulations web site (Adapted from Administration for Children and Families, 2023).
- Child Care and Early Education:
- Caregiving and educational services for children from birth to age 13. CCEE includes center- and home-based settings for infants, toddlers, preschool- and school-aged children. CCEE refers to services for a larger age group than early care and education (ECE), which consists of services provided only for young children (birth to age 5 who are not yet in kindergarten). ECE programs are included within the definition of CCEE.
- Child care and early education provider:
- An organization or individual that provides child care and early education services (adapted from Child Care & Early Education Research Connections, n.d.).
- Front-line child care and early education licensing staff:
- Individuals who routinely conduct licensing inspections of licensed child care and early education programs. They may have other responsibilities as well, as long as one of their jobs is to routinely conduct licensing inspections.
- License-exempt:
- A determination by states/territories of providers who can operate legally without a license. License-exempt providers might include providers caring only for related children (e.g., person caring for grandchildren only), providers caring for a small number of children (e.g., 1 or 2 children), and facilities operating only a few hours per day (e.g., serving children from 9-11 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays only) or caring for children while adults are present (e.g., exercise facility cares for children while parent is exercising on site).
- Licensing agency:
- The agency responsible for regulating and licensing child care and early education facilities.
- Monitoring:
- "The process used to enforce child care providers' compliance with licensing rules and regulations” (adapted from Child Care & Early Education Research Connections, n.d.).
- Subsidy:
- “Private or public assistance that reduces the cost of child care for families” (Child Care & Early Education Research Connections, n.d.).