Types of Child Care Operations

Child Care Regulation (CCR) regulates child day care and residential child care, including child-placing agencies. 

Child Day Care: 

Child day care operations provide care for children ages 13 or younger and for less than 24 hours a day.

Child day care operations include: 

  • child care centers; 
  • before or after-school programs; 
  • school-age programs; 
  • small employer-based child care; 
  • temporary shelter child care programs;
  • licensed child care homes; 
  • registered child care homes; and 
  • listed family homes. 

What is a Licensed Child Care Center?

A licensed child care center provides care and supervision:

  • to seven or more children that are ages 13 or younger;
  • for at least two hours but less than 24 hours per day, for three or more days a week; and
  • at a location other than the license holder’s home.

A licensed child care center must meet minimum standards for child-care centers and receive at least one unannounced monitoring inspection by CCR per year.

What is a Licensed Before or After-School Program?

A licensed before or after-school program provides care and supervision, including the supervision of recreation or skills instruction or training:

  • to children attending pre-kindergarten through sixth grade; and
  • at least: 
    • two hours per day, 
    • three or more days a week, and
    • before or after, or before and after, the customary school day and during school holidays.

A licensed before or after-school program must meet minimum standards for school-age and before or after-school programs, and receive at least one unannounced monitoring inspection by CCR per year.

What is a Licensed School-Age Program?

A licensed school-age program provides care and supervision, including the supervision of recreation or skills instruction or training:

  • to children attending pre-kindergarten through sixth grade; and
  • for at least: 
    • two hours per day, 
    • three or more days a week, and
    • before or after, or before and after, the customary school day and during school holidays, the summer period or any other time when school is not in session.

A licensed school-age program must meet minimum standards for school-age and before or after-school programs and receive at least one unannounced monitoring inspection by CCR per year.

What is a Licensed Child-Care Home?

A licensed child-care home provides care and supervision:

  • to seven to 12 children ages 13 or younger;
  • for at least: 
    • two hours, but less than 24 hours per day, 
    • for three or more days a week; and
  • in the primary caregiver’s home.

A licensed child-care home must meet minimum standards for licensed and registered child-care homes as applicable, and receive at least one unannounced monitoring inspection by CCR per year.

What is a Registered Child-Care Home?

A registered child-care home provides care and supervision:

  • for up to six unrelated children who are ages 13 or younger during school hours, and can also provide care and supervision for six additional school-age children after school hours. (No more than 12 children can be in care at any time, including children related to the caregiver.)
  • for at least:
    • four hours a day, three or more days a week, for three or more consecutive weeks, or 
    • four hours a day for 40 or more days in a 12-month period; and
  • in the primary caregiver’s home.

A registered child-care home must meet minimum standards for licensed and registered child-care homes as applicable and receive at least one unannounced monitoring inspection by CCR every one to two years.

What is a Listed Family Home?

A listed family home provides care and supervision:

  • for up to three unrelated children;
  • for at least: 
    • four hours a day, three or more days a week, for three or more consecutive weeks, or 
    • four hours a day for 40 or more days in a 12-month period; and
  • in the primary caregiver’s home.

A listed family home must meet minimum standards for listed family homes and is not routinely inspected unless CCR receives a report alleging: 

  • child abuse, neglect or exploitation; 
  • an immediate risk of danger to the health or safety of a child; 
  • a violation of minimum standards for listed family homes; or 
  • the caregiver is caring for more children than the permit allows.

What is a Small Employer Based Child Care Operation?

A small employer-based child care operation:

  • is located on the employer’s premises;
  • employs fewer than 100 full-time employees;
  • provides care and supervision for up to 12 children of the employer’s employees;
  • has no minimum standards; and
  • is not routinely inspected unless CCR receives a report alleging child abuse or neglect.

24-hour Residential Child Care 

24-hour residential child care is for children ages 17 or younger whose parents or guardians are temporarily or permanently unable to care for them. This may include agencies providing adoption services.

Residential child care facilities include:

  • general residential operations; 
  • child-placing agencies (CPAs); 
  • foster homes; and
  • adoptive homes. 

Note: foster homes and adoptive homes are regulated by a child-placing agency, not by CCR. Because of this, the Search Texas Child Care website doesn’t include regulatory information for individual foster or adoptive homes.

What is a General Residential Operation?

A general residential operation:

  • Provides 24-hour care and supervision for seven or more children ages 17 and younger.
  • May provide any of the following services:
    • Child care services.
    • Programmatic services, including emergency short-term care services, therapeutic camp services, a transitional living program or assessment services.
    • Treatment services for children with an emotional disorder, an intellectual disability, an autism spectrum disorder or a primary medical need.
  • Must meet minimum standards.
  • Receives at least one unannounced inspection by CCR per year.

What is a Child-Placing Agency?

A child-placing agency:

  • Is a person or entity other than a child’s parent who places or plans for the placement of a child in a foster home, adoptive home or other residential child care setting.
  • Doesn’t provide direct care for children.
  • Evaluates the home before verifying a foster home or approving an adoptive home.
  • Is responsible for supervising and regulating the foster and adoptive homes.
  • Must meet minimum standards.
  • Receives at least one unannounced inspection by CCR per year.

What is a Foster Home?

A foster home:

  • Provides care for six or fewer children ages 17 and younger. (In some instances a home can provide care for up to eight children.)
  • Is issued a verification after a child-placing agency evaluates the home. Verification can include interviews with the household members, reviewing results of a background check, or inspecting the home to make sure the home meets minimum standards.

What is an Adoptive Home?

An adoptive home:

  • Is approved to accept adoptive placements after a child-placing agency evaluates the home through interviewing household members, reviewing results of the background check and inspecting the home to make sure it meets minimum standards