The Problem
States need a way to measure whether their current child care licensing standards do or do not meet the Caring for Our Children Basics (CFOC Basics) guidelines. Those are the minimum health and safety standards that child care programs should meet.
The Solution
The research team at Child Care Aware® of America developed a Child Care State Licensing Database to serve as a tool for policymakers, child care advocates, and providers to quickly compare their state’s standards to the CFOC Basics. Adhering to the CFOC Basic’s stringent guidelines, researchers determined individual state ratings of “meets” or “does not meet” for each standard. A “meets” rating was granted only if a state’s child care licensing regulations covered every element of a given standard.
Explore the Child Care State Licensing Database, and see how your state compares! For more information about the Child Care State Licensing Database, to participate on our benchmarking workgroup, or to let us know that your state’s regulations have been updated, please contact us at research@usa.childcareaware.org.
