You are not just a babysitter. You are a business….and a very important one at that! A child care provider is not someone who just watches children. Child care providers supervise and monitor the safety of children, prepare and organize mealtimes and snacks, help children keep good hygiene, provide an educational environment, communicate with families and the list goes on.

Whether you are a licensed child care provider or license exempt provider we are here to help you and your business be successful.

License exempt home child care means you provide care to no more than three children, including the provider’s own children, unless additional children are from the same household, allowing the provider to care for more than three children.

Requirements Needed

License-exempt non-relative home providers, their assistants/substitutes and license-exempt center providers (including directors, teachers, aides, and staff with access to children) caring for children paid for through the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) must meet the following requirements within 90 days of being approved for CCAP payments:

• Become a Gateways to Opportunity Registry member and renew membership every year.
  • To become a Registry member visit: https://registry.ilgateways.com.
• Complete Pediatric First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Certification by an approved training entity.
• Complete Department of Child & Family Services (DCFS) Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect Mandated Reporter training.
• Complete Child Development, Health, and Safety Basics course or obtain ECE Credential Level 1 Training-Tier 1.
• Enter your completed trainings in the Gateways Registry and print and keep a copy of your certificates and First Aid/CPR card.
• In addition to the orientation requirements, license-exempt non-relative providers must complete at least six (6) hours of approved Child Development, Health & Safety training each year to continue to qualify for CCAP payments.
• Training completion is subject to monitoring and inspection.

If you care for children who participate in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) you are eligible to receive all of the supports listed below:

• Assistance with training requirements.
• Access to resources to help answer questions you may have.
• Communication about additional resources for provider’s individual needs.
• Help with filling out grant applications.

Feel free to give Brenda, our Health & Safety Coach, a call at 815.484.9448 ext. 237 or email her at BrendaR@ywcanwil.org for assistance.

Additional Resources for Providers

In addition, we have several opportunities in which we can assist.

• We offer free CPR/First Aid training which is one of the requirements needed to become a provider.
• We also offer Health & Safety Improvement grants that are available to Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) License Exempt Child Care providers to fund materials and equipment needed to address health and safety needs. Priority will be given to License Exempt providers whose requests are supported by a Health & Safety Monitoring visit.

We offer a training calendar in which we provide several opportunities for child care providers to take free in person or virtual trainings. You can visit our website to view the training calendar or contact Annemarie, Training Coordinator, at 815.484.9442 ext. 211 or email Annemarie@ywcanwil.org for more information.

If you already are a child care provider or are are thinking of becoming a child care provider or want to grow your child care business, please contact us. We are here to help with any questions you may have! Contact our office at 815.484.9448.

BY LISA BOCK