The number of regulated child care programs has dropped substantially in the last six years from 10,705 to 5,858, a 45% drop. The greatest decline by far was for family child care programs, both licensed and certified. The number of group child care centers stayed fairly stable.
71% drop for certified family child care providers: The largest change was for certified family care providers, a 71% drop, from 5,100 to 1,474. Certified family child care providers cannot serve more than three children under age six not related to them, and must meet less stringent regulations than licensed programs. Many certified providers serve neighbors and relatives.
34% drop in licensed family child care centers: The next largest drop was for licensed family child care centers, with a 34% drop, from 3,023 to 1,983. Licensed family child care centers can serve up to eight children.
7% drop in licensed group child care centers: The number of licensed group child care centers dropped 7%, from 2,497 to 2,323. Group child care centers serve many more children than the two family child care programs combined. While there was a modest reduction in the number of licensed group child care centers over six years, the estimated number of children enrolled in these centers increased about 4%, probably due to expansion of some centers to serve more children.
Our analysis of Department of Children and Families data that licensed programs enrolled over 230,000 children as of the end of 2013, with group child care centers serving about 85% of them.
This analysis uses Department of Children and Families child care regulatory data at the end of 2007 and the end of 2013.
Readers: Do you have any thoughts about what caused these significant drops in regulated family child care?
Language Access in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s diversity is one of our greatest strengths. But when children and their families face language access barriers, they are often excluded from critical information and services, which can hinder their development and well-being.
