What is family child care?

Family child care is the provision of child care in the home of the child care provider. The child care provider’s home is not transformed into a day care centre. Instead, the children spend time in the atmosphere of a family home. Child Care may be offered in the entire home, or may be provided in a designated space, such as the downstairs portion of the home. 

Family child care is community-based and flexible enough to meet a variety of families’ needs. Child care providers may contract directly to parents or may be affiliated with a supervising agency. Family and Child Care Connections is a licensed family child care supervising agency in St. John’s, NL.

What is a family child care provider?

In Newfoundland and Labrador, family child care providers are self-employed individuals whose family child care is their home-based business. They are not considered employees of Family and Child Care Connections but are approved under the family child care agency license. To become an approved child care provider of Family and Child Care Connections’ Family Child Care Agency, they must follow the regulations outlined in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Child Care Legislation.

Family child care providers work in partnership with the parents of the children in their care. The child care provider’s role is to provide a healthy, safe, developmentally enriched environment, to develop a warm and secure relationship with each child in her or his care and to meet those children’s individual and group needs.

Please view our Fact Sheet on the number of children allowed in regulated and non-regulated family child care: