New Jersey Family Child Care Licensing: Eligibility

This post is part of our series on New Jersey family child care licensing. For more on licensing in New Jersey, see the following posts :

New Jersey Family Child Care Licensing: An Overview
Types of Licenses
The Licensing Process
Training Requirements
Home Requirements

FIND CHILD CARE NEAR YOU

If you’re planning to open an in-home preschool in New Jersey, you will have to meet certain eligibility requirements. These requirements will differ slightly depending on the type of license you’ll be applying for.

Family Child Care (FCC) eligibility

To be eligible for a Certificate of Registration to open a family child care you must

• Be at least 18 years of age;
• Be of good character and reputation, with sufficient knowledge, intelligence, stability, energy and maturity to maintain a family child care home and to care for children;
• Be insufficient physical, mental and emotional health to care properly for children to be placed in the home;
• Reside in the family child care home; and
• Demonstrate to the satisfaction of the sponsoring organization and the Office of Licensing that you comply with all applicable requirements of the Manual of Requirements.

Family, Friend, Neighbor (FFN) Eligibility

To be eligible for the Family, Friend, and Neighbor license (FFN, also known as Approved Homes), you must be selected by a parent who is currently enrolled and covered under Work First New Jersey (WFNJ) or New Jersey Cares for Kids (NJCK).

After you have been identified as the parent’s child care choice, your local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency in your county will contact you to schedule a face-to-face orientation at which time you will receive the application packet and all necessary paperwork to complete. Your local CCR&R agency will inform you of FFN requirements which may include but are not limited to:

• The FFN provider must attend 18 hours of pre-service training sponsored by the Division of Family Development (DFD) or your CCR&R, which covers important health and safety topics.
• The CCR&R will inspect your home to ensure your home complies with local, state and federal requirements for health, fire and building codes; as well as meets all Family, Friend, Neighbor (FFN) requirements and DHS/DFD child care subsidy program requirements.
• The FFN provider must submit disclosures of any criminal convictions and consent forms for Child Abuse Record Information (CARI) background checks for everyone living or working in your home who is 14 years or older.

Sources:

• State of New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Family Development: How to become a Provider
• Chapter 54 Manual of Requirements for Family Child Care Registration
• Rutgers Southern Regional Child Care Resource and Referral Agency
• Child Care Connection