An official State of Texas website.
What are the different types of permits?
Child Care Licensing issues four types of permits:
- A license (or certification for an operation that is operated by a state agency) is issued to most types of day care and residential child care operations including, Licensed Centers and Programs (also known as Center Based Care or Licensed Centers), Licensed Child Care Homes, General Residential Operations and Child-Placing Agencies.
- A registration is issued to Registered Child Care Homes.
- A listing is issued to Listed Family Homes.
- A certificate is issued to a Small Employer Based Child Care Operation or Temporary Shelter Operation.
What does issuance mean?
Child Care Licensing issues a permit to an operation upon determining that an operation is able to receive a permit. A permit allows the operation to legally care for children.
What is an initial permit?
An operation with a license generally receives an initial permit first. An initial permit lasts six months and provides the operation an opportunity to establish compliance with minimum standards, rule and law before receiving a full permit.
If the operation is not able to establish compliance in six months, Child Care Licensing can extend the initial permit for one additional six-month period before deciding whether to issue a full permit to the operation.
What is a full permit?
An operation with a license receives a full permit when the operation meets compliance with minimum standards, rule and law. A full permit remains in effect as long as the operation renews the license every two years and Child Care Licensing does not take enforcement action to revoke the license.
What happens before Child Care Licensing issues a permit?
CCL reviews an application for a permit and, depending on the type of permit, inspects the operation to determine whether it is appropriate to allow the operation to legally care for children.
- For a license or registration, CCL completes at least one on-site inspection to evaluate the operation’s compliance with minimum standards. This evaluation includes making sure employees have cleared background checks and received all required training.
- For a listing, CCL makes sure people living in the listed family home have cleared background checks. A listed family does not have minimum standards or training requirements for caregivers.
- For a certificate, CCL completes an on-site inspection to make sure employees have cleared background checks and have received all required training. Small employer-based operations do not have minimum standards, but CCL evaluates that the operation maintains a child/caregiver ratio of 1:4 and meets fire safety and sanitation standards in its political subdivision.
What does a condition on permit mean?
A condition on a permit is a requirement that:
- Allows an operation to perform a certain action (for example, when Child Care Licensing approves an operation to provide a certain type of service, the approved service is a condition on the permit).
- Restricts the operation from performing certain actions (for example, children under 6 years old must be restricted to the first floor of the operation, or the permit holder’s spouse must not transport children).