Opening a Family Day Home

If you are caring for children in your home, you may want to be licensed as a family day home.

If you have questions about opening a family day home, call the Child Care Services Unit, Health and Social Services at (867) 667-3002 or 1-800-661-0408.

Benefits of being licensed

There may be benefits to being licensed as a family day home under the Yukon Child Care Act. Some of these benefits are:

  • Parents who use your service may qualify for the child care subsidy program to help meet the costs of child care
  • Your name will be on a list of child care providers given to parents seeking child care
  • There are funding options available to day home providers to help meet the health and safety needs, to assist in purchasing toys and equipment, and to meet ongoing operation and maintenance costs
  • Access to the information available through the Child Care Services Unit about programming and other issues which may arise
  • A newsletter which provides information on play ideas, materials, nutrition, games, discipline and other child-related topics

Family Day Homes and the Law

If you are caring for four or more children in your home on a regular basis and you receive compensation for doing so, then you must be licensed under the Yukon Child Care Act. If you care for three or fewer children, you have the option of being licensed although you are not required by law to do so.

According to the Yukon Child Care Act, a licensed family day home may care for the following:

  • Up to four children if all are infants under 18 months
  • Up to six preschool children when no more than three are infants
  • Up to eight preschool children were none are infants

The caregiver's own preschool children are included in calculating the number of children that can be cared for. For example, a provider with one preschool child and one infant may care for four additional children if not more than two of them are infants. The caregiver's school-age children are not included in the calculation.

If there is another person available to help the caregiver, the family day home may provide care for up to four school-age children in addition to the number of pre-school children permitted by law.

Steps to obtain a license

  1. Contact the Child Care Services Unit for a licensing package. There is a variety of materials available to help you set up a good environment for children.
  2. The following information is required for your application:
    • Three references
    • Inspections for health, fire and safety purposes
    • RCMP check
    • Medical check
  3. Staff from the Child Care Services Unit is available to help you set up a family day home. Child care coordinators can advise you on setting up policies on discipline, hygiene, emergency procedures. They can also provide resource materials and help with programming ideas.
  4. A licence is issued for a year. A child care coordinator will visit your home periodically to ensure standards are being met, as set out in the Yukon Child Care Act and regulations, as well as to provide support and consultation. A licence must be applied for on a yearly basis.

Things to consider when caring for children

  1. Physical facility: Is the home safe and clean? Are there enough toys for all children? Are they in good repair, readily accessible and suitable for the ages of the children being cared for? Is there a quiet area where a child can play alone and an open space where children can play together? Is there an accessible, safe outdoor play area? Are the children safe and protected, but given room to explore?
  2. Daily routines: Are routine times set for eating and resting? For outdoor and indoor play, for quiet and active time? Is there a set of rules that is consistent and reasonable?
  3. Activities: You will need to provide a variety of play opportunities for the children you are caring for in your home. Here are some suggestions of things you may want to include:
  • Table toys such as puzzles and games
  • Musical movement - records, tapes, songs
  • Blocks, large and small, toy people, trucks and animals
  • Dress-up clothes for imaginative play; props like dishes, dolls, mirrors
  • Arts and crafts - paper, paint, crayons, scissors, playdough, readily available to children
  • Science and nature - planting seeds, cooking , outdoor exploring
  • Books and stories
  • Vigorous activities like climbing, swinging and running

You can apply for funding to help you purchase some of the