Child Care Referral
If you need assistance finding a child care provider:
Business
hours are 9:00am-4:30pm, Monday - Friday, please leave a message during
non-business hours, we will return your call within one business day.
We will provide you, at no charge, an up-to-date list of child care options in your area.
The
programs listed are either registered or licensed by the NYS Office of
Children & Family Services. You are urged to choose carefully by
interviewing several prospective programs, checking references and by visiting the site(s) to determine what is best for your family.
Our Referral Specialists can also provide information about:
- Parent Education classes and home visiting programs
to assists parents in developing their family strengths and reaching
their goals through resource materials and parent education
- Consumer education on the different types of care available for you to make the best choice for your family
- Average cost of care information by geographic location
- Assisting parents of children with special needs to find care to enable the best possible choice for child care
- Customized
referrals for hours, days and programs to meet the demands of ever
changing schedules, including non-traditional hours and rotating
schedules
- Adult to Child Ratio:
Ask how many children there are for each adult. The fewer the children
for each adult, the better for your child. You want your child to get
plenty of attention. The younger your child, the more important this is.
The lower ratio of caregiver to
child allows more time to be spent with each child, which could lead to a
higher quality program.
- Group Size:
Find out how many children are in the group. The smaller the group, the
more attention your child will receive. Consider a group of 25 two-year
olds with five adults, compared to a group of 10 with two adults. Both
groups have the same adult to child ratio. Which would be calmer, safer
and more family oriented?
- We can also assist you with questions to ask care givers during telephone and on-site interviews. "As You Think About Child Care" resources are also available in our Documents & Printables section for parents or at http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/childcare/infoforparents.asp
- Our
Referral Follow-up Specialist will be contacting you regarding our
services within two weeks of the referral to ensure that our services
met quality standards for best practice and advise you in the next step
in your search if needed. Or, if you prefer, complete our writable follow-up form, available in English or Spanish, and email to cfr.info@cfresources.org or mail to any of our offices.