Licking County Children & Families First encourages parents to visit ChildCareSearch.Ohio.gov to find before-school and after-school care.
With many children heading back to school this month, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) and Ohio Department of Education (ODE) remind parents to visit ChildCareSearch.Ohio.gov when searching for before- and after-school care for their children. Families can search for child care providers by county, city, zip code, program type and Step Up To Quality rating. Step Up To Quality is Ohio’s five-star tiered quality rating and improvement system, which recognizes programs that exceed minimum health and safety standards and promote children’s learning and development.
Programs listed at ChildCareSearch.Ohio.gov serve children of all ages, including infants and preschoolers. All child care programs in Ohio serving more than six children—or more than three children under age two—must be licensed. ODJFS and county departments of job and family services are responsible for licensing and inspecting nearly 3,000 family child care homes and more than 4,000 child care facilities throughout the state. ODE is responsible for licensing schoolage child care programs operated by public schools, educational service centers, community schools, boards of developmental disabilities and chartered nonpublic schools.