Family Home Centre - Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits to becoming a licensed Family Home Centre?
- You can provide care for up to eight children in your home, depending on their ages.
- Families attending a licensed centre are eligible to apply for fee subsidies up to the maximum per diem rates through the Child Care Subsidy program.
- Family Home Centre providers are eligible to apply for grant funding.
- Family Home Centre operators are eligible to apply for funding such as the Special Needs Grant.
- Family Home Centre operators are eligible for support through centre visits from the Early Childhood resource team.
- Operators can participate in networking opportunities with other family child care providers.
- Care givers are able to participate in child care training and other professional development opportunities.
- Operators have access to the Early Learning and Child Care registry.
What has changed about the application process?
Recent regulation changes mean that potential Family Home Centres no longer need to complete business plans or staffing plans, and the licence application has been streamlined to only request required information.
Do I need to have an Early Childhood Educator Certificate?
Operators of licensed Family Home Centres are required to complete, at a minimum, a 30-hour Family Home Child Care Provider certificate course. Upon completion of the course, operators may apply for certification.
How many children can I care for in my home?
In a licensed Family Home Centre an operator can provide care for up to eight children, aged infant to school age, at any one time, given the following ratios:
| Age of Child |
Indoor Ratio caregiver:children |
Outdoor Ratio caregiver:children |
| Under 22 months | 1:3 | 1:3 |
| 22 months - three years | 1:5 | 1:7 |
| Over 3 years - school entry | 1:10 | 1:15 |
| School age | 1:15 | 1:22 |
As long as there are no more than 8 children being cared for in a home, a licensed family home centre may have two caregivers to meet ratio numbers.
Here is another way to determine ratio maximums in your family home centre:
| .333 | under 22 months |
| .200 | 22 months to 3 years |
| .100 | over 3 years to school entry |
| .066 |
school age |
Assign the numbers above to the ages of children in your care. If the number is more than 1.000 then there must be a second care-giver in the home. As an example, three infants times .333 equals .999 so only one caregiver is required in a licensed family home centre. Alternatively, two infants times .333 and two 2-year olds times .200 equals 1.066, so a second caregiver would need to be in attendance in the home.
Does this include my own children?
A licensed family home centre is able to provide care for up to 8 children, including the operators own children.
How many children can an unlicensed operator care for in their home?
A person may operate a centre without a licence where the person does not provide services at the centre to more than:
- five children, including those of the operator, where the group includes an infant or infants, provided that the group does not contain more than two infants;
- six children, including those of the operator, where the group consists solely of preschool children or a combination of preschool children and school-age children; or
- seven children, including those of the operator, where the group consists solely of school-age children.
The maximum number of children allowable in an unlicensed premise is 7, regardless of the number of adults on site.
How will parents know I am licensed?
A licensed Family Home Centre operator is required to post their license in an area visible to parents.
Will inspectors come to my home frequently?
Once your application is received, inspections will be scheduled at a time which is convenient to you. After you become a licensed Family Home Centre, unscheduled inspections will occur once per year.
Will inspectors look in every room of my home?
Only the areas which you have indicated on your application as being used to care for children will be inspected, unless there is reason to believe children are utilizing other areas of the home, as well.
Are families attending my centre eligible for child care subsidies?
Families attending a licensed centre are eligible to apply for fee subsidies up to the maximum per diem rates through the Child Care Subsidy program.
Am I eligible for grants?
Information about Family Home Centre grants can be found here.
Will I be offered support to improve the quality of my programming?
Family Home Centre operators are eligible for support through centre visits from the Early Childhood resource team.
Will I have access to the Early Learning and Child Care registry?
Yes, licensed operators have access to the Early Learning and Child Care registry.
Who can I contact for more information?
Contact Monique McClean, Manager of Early Learning and Child Care at mmmcclean@gov.pe.ca or by phone at 902-368-6518.