Information for Providers

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You are on this page: Information for Providers

Welcome child care providers!

The Division of Child Care Services maintains this page as a key resource list for child care providers. We are confident that the information and the links provided on this page will be helpful and informative.

Orientation materials for prospective child care providers can be found on the Orientation for Child Day Care page.

Important Information for Child Care Providers on …

Community Conversations - 2024

Every other month, the NYS Office of Children and Family Services, Division of Child Care Services, hosts a virtual meeting for providers, to address current initiatives, provide important updates and share valuable information with regard to child care. Interpretation for these meetings are available in Spanish. Providers are encouraged to submit questions and topics to ocfs.sm.dccsinfo@ocfs.ny.gov, with the subject line of “Community Conversations”.

Pack 'n Plays for Family Based Providers at No Cost

Promotional image from the Safe Sleep in NYS Flyer of an infant smiling while laying on its back in a crib.

The Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is pleased to continue to support safe sleep in child care by offering Pack ‘n Plays to family-based child care providers at no cost!

All licensed/registered family and group family day care programs as well as home based legally exempt programs are eligible to request a pack ‘n play crib and one fitted sheet at no cost. Group family day care programs are eligible to receive two pack ‘n play cribs.

To request a Pack ‘n Play for your program, please complete the form found here: Pack and Play Request (office.com) / Solicitud de Pack ‘n Play (office.com). Once approved, your Pack ‘n Play will be shipped directly to your program within 2-3 weeks.

Thank you for your help in ensuring that all children enrolled in your program sleep safely: alone, and on their back, in a safety approved crib with a fitted sheet.

For additional information and resources on safe sleep, please visit the New York State Department of Health website found here: Safe Sleep For Baby (ny.gov)

Valuable Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility (DEIA) Resources!

OCFS has created a DEIA Toolkit to support child care programs and families.

The Toolkit includes materials, available in a variety of languages, to intentionally weave DEIA into your child care community.

The Toolkit includes:

Check out the DEIA Toolkit.

2023 NYSDOH Information for Flu Education Amendment OCFS

Dear Provider:

Attached is the annual flu education amendment announcement for child care programs. Please post the information about flu and the benefits of flu vaccination.

Please note:

Please see the Health and Safety section of this page for more information, documents, and Spanish translations of flu education amendment materials.

General Info

Child Care Assistance Program

Emergency Planning

Health and Safety

NY Alert

Child care programs can receive notifications on severe weather, transportation, AMBER and missing children, consumer protection, public health and sex offender re-location by signing up for NY Alert.

New York State Department of Health, Information for Flu Education Amendment

Linked below is the annual flu education amendment announcement to child care facilities reminding that it is time to post information about flu and the benefits of flu vaccination.

Also linked is the DOH publication Parents: Fight Flu at Home and School, in two sizes in both English and Spanish. Please note: The publication is available in several more languages on the Department of Health web site.

Common questions we've received in the past regarding this information:

Do I have to use the document provided?

No, it is provided for your convenience as an example of material that is acceptable to post.

Can I post to our website, send to all parents electronically, or hand parents hard copies as a way to fulfill this requirement?

Doing all of these things is wonderful and goes beyond what is required. In this case "posting" means a hard copy placed in plain view of parents in your program.

Does this amendment mandate that parents must get their child vaccinated against influenza?

No. This mandates only that child-care programs have to post the information where parents see it. The New York State Department of Health and the CDC recommend that all people 6 months of age and older get vaccinated as soon as vaccine is available.

If you have any further questions, please reach out to your regulator for assistance.

Información para la Enmienda de Educación sobre la Influenza (Gripe) del Departamento de Salud del Estado de Nueva York

A continuación, se encuentra el anuncio de la enmienda anual de educación sobre la influenza a los centros de cuidado infantil que recuerda que es hora de publicar información sobre la influenza y los beneficios de la vacunación contra la influenza.

También se provee un enlace a la publicación del Departamento de Salud, Padres: Combatan la gripe en casa y en la escuela, en dos tamaños en inglés y español. Tenga en cuenta que la publicación está disponible en varios idiomas más en el sitio web del Departamento de Salud.

Preguntas comunes que hemos recibido en el pasado con respecto a esta información:

¿Tengo que utilizar el documento proporcionado?

No, el documento se proporciona para su conveniencia como un ejemplo de material aceptable para publicar.

¿Puedo publicar en nuestro sitio web, enviar a todos los padres electrónicamente o entregarles copias impresas como una manera de cumplir con este requisito?

Hacer todas estas cosas es maravilloso y va más allá de lo requerido. En este caso, "publicar" significa colocar una copia impresa a la vista de los padres en su programa.

¿Exige esta enmienda que los padres deben vacunar a sus hijos contra la influenza?

No. Esto exige únicamente que los programas de cuidado infantil tengan que publicar la información donde los padres la vean. El Departamento de Salud del Estado de Nueva York y los y los Centros de Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC por sus siglas en inglés) recomiendan que todas las personas a partir de los 6 meses de edad se vacunen tan pronto como la vacuna esté disponible.

Si tiene más preguntas, comuníquese con su regulador para obtener ayuda.

Licensed and Registered Child Care

2023 Child Care Market Rate Survey

The 2023 Child Care Market Rate survey closed on November 13, 2023 and responses are no longer being collected.

Every few years, the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) conducts a survey of the price of child care across the state of New York. This information is very important. It helps us to update payment rates for the Child Care Assistance Program (formerly known as Child Care Subsidy Program), so they reflect local prices.

In September 2023, all child care providers were sent an electronic survey invitation by email that contained a link to the 2023 Child Care Market Rate Survey. The survey was open for eight-weeks and closed on November 13, 2023.

Market Rate Survey Resources
Market Rate Survey Questions (Reference Only)

Do not complete this form. Do not return to OCFS.
This survey can only be submitted online using a custom survey link that will be emailed to valid child care providers/programs. This document shows all possible questions on the survey. If you complete the survey online some of these questions will not appear, depending on your answers to other questions.

No complete este formulario. Tampoco lo devuelva a OCFS.
Esta encuesta solamente se puede llenar en línea utilizando el enlace personalizado que se le enviará a los proveedores/programas válidos. Este documento enseña todas las preguntas posibles de la encuesta. Si completa la encuesta en línea, algunas de estas preguntas no aparecerán dependiendo de su respuesta a otras preguntas.

Nutrition

Provider Training

Program Development

Program development is an integral part of child care programming. As a child care providers, you have a huge responsibility to positively influence the minds of the children in your care. There is a vast array of resources, networks, professional training, and useful tools for self-evaluating and enhancing your skill sets as a child care professional below:

Reporting Child Care Fraud in New York State

Report child care fraud committed in New York State involving:

To report visit the OCFS Report Child Care Fraud page to submit the form or call 844-863-9317, Monday through Friday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm.

Social-Emotional Development

Contacts

Information on Day Care Hearing Rights Following Enforcement

The following documents detail your right to a special hearing as a day care provider should you receive an enforcement letter from OCFS.

Refer to the Special Hearings pages for more information.

Enforcement Letter - Right to a Hearing
De Novo Enforcement Letter - Right to a Hearing

Other Resources

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