Carolyn's Play House

Carolyn's Play House
Carolyn Marx Fletcher, Director
10-42 Jackson Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101

917-324-2862
carolynsplayhouse@yahoo.com

What Is Group Family Day Care?

Day Care Types

Carolyn’s Play House is licensed by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (NYSOCFS) as a group family day care center. A group family day care center like Carolyn’s Play House takes place in someone’s home (as opposed to a separate business in a commercial space) with the childcare given by the provider and one or more assistants. Based on the available space, your child becomes part of a small group of up to 12 mixed age children, with a child/student ratios ranging up to 6 to 1 for older children (at CPH the ratio is usually 3 to 1). Each supervising adult must be screened by and registered with NYSOCFS, as must each adult family member.

A family day care center also takes place in someone’s home with the provider as the sole caregiver, without an assistant. Depending on the age of the children, up to 5 children of mixed ages (of which 2 may be under 2) can be accommodated by the care giver. The provider must be screened by and registered with NYSOCFS, as must each adult family member.

A child day care center takes place in a commercially rented space and generally provides day care for a much larger number of older children (sometimes starting at 2 but usually 3 yrs. old and ranging up to 5 yrs of age). The children are segregated usually into same-age groups with the number of children limited only by space and by a child to teacher ratio ranging up to 9-1 (depending on age). Child day care centers are more like regular schools and as such are regulated by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and by the NYC Board of Education.

Why Choose Group Family Day Care?

Most parents who choose group family day care want a warm, small group, homelike environment for their children’s first school-like experience (often the first non-parent social group experience) instead of a larger, institutional day care center where commercial rents and other overhead can generally dictate the maximum child to adult ratios (up to 6 to 1) allowed by the NYSOCFS. Since a group family day care center can have one or more state-registered assistants, each child is less dependent on one person being “on” for the entire morning, afternoon, or an entire day as in a provider-operated family day care residence. Also, as assistants/substitutes are allowed, a group family day care center can respond more flexibly than a family day care center when teachers are ill or otherwise unavailable.

A group family day care center also generally provides more flexibility in terms of scheduling than a larger child day care center for parents who want a part-time schedule to fit their work and personal needs.

For more information, go to www.ocfs.state.ny.us.