County Program Licenses Child Care Providers At No Cost

Press release from First 5 Riverside:

July 23, 2021

Child care providers who are not state-licensed may receive training and assistance with the licensing process at no cost through a program being offered through the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) and Consortium for Early Learning Services (CELS).

Support for Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN) providers – or those who care for children in their own home – is being offered to encourage more providers to become licensed so they can receive various benefits available to them.

In addition to assisting an FFN provider in becoming licensed at no cost to them, the program offers CPR/First Aid and other preventative health training, along with program and supplies support to help offset costs.

Riverside County Supervisor and First 5 Riverside Commissioner Chuck Washington emphasized the importance of increasing child care availability “to help families get back to work as we continue to recover from the pandemic.”

He said, “Our county had a shortage of child care providers before COVID-19,” and added, “we are exploring all options to expand child care, starting with providers who have been caring for the children of friends, family and neighbors.”

Supervisor Washington, who represents families with children ages 0-5 on the county’s Children and Families Commission, said there is a strong partnership in place with the county and early child care network to help FFN providers become licensed and “strengthen the pipeline for more licensed, quality early care and education environments that prepare children for school and life.”

Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) child care providers may learn more about how to begin this process by going to http://consortiumels.org/en/family-friend-neighbor/, or by accessing the CELS site at http://consortiumels.org/en/ or the Quality Start Riverside County website at: https://qualitystartrc.org/. They may also call CELS at (951) 778-5003 or RCOE at (951) 826-6626. Information is available in both English and Spanish.

Riverside County Superintendent of Schools and First 5 Riverside Commissioner Dr. Edwin Gomez joined Supervisor Washington in emphasizing the importance of expanding child care for working families. He said, “The Riverside County Office of Education is dedicated to aligning our programs and resources to address the needs of our communities, families, and providers—especially in a post-COVID environment and in anticipation of the start of another school year.”

Parents searching for available, licensed child care near their home or work can search the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) Resource & Referral database at: https://www.rcoe.us/departments/early-learning-services/early-care-and-education/looking-for-child-care or by calling 800-442-4927.

This press release was produced by First 5 Riverside. The views expressed here are the author's own.