All the Comforts of Home

Quality, Availability, Affordability and Accountability

• Multi-age care, so siblings can stay together

• 15% lower cost than facility based care

• Options for hourly, evening, weekend & flexible care

• Weekly home monitoring & oversight

• Offers developmentally appropriate curriculum

• Unannounced inspections to ensure a safe, healthy environment for your children

• Providers receive ongoing training and professional development

FCC is Your Child’s Home Away from Home.

Are you interested in running your own childcare business? Are you creative, energetic, and do you love working with children?

Own your Own Business & Make a Difference by Providing Quality & Affordable Child Care 

Benefits:

• Expedited background check clearance process

• Paid training

• Opportunities to increase your salary with training & education

• Business that moves when you move

• Stay at home with your children & earn a salary at the same time

A career in Family Child Care awaits you!

How can I become a certified FCC provider?

To become a certified FCC provider, you must complete a local background check; agree to have inspections conducted by the Fire, Safety and Preventive Medicine Offices; as well as attend a minimum of 38 hours of training.  The training includes child abuse identification and prevention, first aid and Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training.

1.    Complete FCC Application (DA Form 5219).  Submit application to the local FCC office for processing.

2.    Family Interview-conducted in the home of the applicant.  All family members should be present for the interview.

3.    Background checks-Investigations are completed on the applicant, military sponsor, and children or any bono fide resident in the home 12 years of age and older.

4.    Orientation Training- Minimum one week.

5.    Home Inspections- Fire, Safety, Health and Sanitation proponents.

6.    Provisional Certification!  Open for Business!

An explanation of the Family Child Care ten hour rule

1. At Child and Youth Services, we provide safe child care for military Families – at Child Development Centers, and in Family Child Care (FCC) settings, where certified providers offer child care in their on-post homes.

2. The Army has a responsibility to balance the ability of families to rely on one another to meet their short term child care needs with protecting the safety and well-being of children.

3. It is not — and never has been — the intent of CYS to eliminate such “good neighbor” favors.
 

4. There is a difference between caring for children a few hours a week and providing child care services on a regular basis.

Know the Rules
A 10-hour child care limit has been established by the Department of the Army to protect children from being in unregulated child care settings on a regular basis.

This means any Family member living in government quarters providing child care for more than 10 child care hours per week on a regular basis must be certified as a Family Child Care provider.

“10 Child Care Hours means 1 child for 10 hours per week, 2 children for 5 hours per week, etc.”

“Regular Basis” means routinely, for an extended period of time.

SO …
If you care for your neighbor’s child all day, 5 days per week for 9 hours per day, that is a total of 45 child care hours. You must be a certified FCC provider.

OR …
If you care for 6 different children per day, 5 days per week, even if it’s only an hour per day each, that is STILL a total of 30 child care hours. You must be a certified FCC provider.

It pays to be a certified FCC provider! Certified FCC providers receive FREE training & support, FREE referrals, FREE materials & equipment AND qualify for child care subsidies!

Become a certified FCC provider today!
Contact your local CYS FCC Office.

Transferring your FCC business from one post to another is a snap!

Don’t stress over a PCS move! A few steps can get you set up as an FCC provider at your next duty station.

Here’s what to do:

• First, make sure your future garrison has an active FCC program. If it does, you may be able to transfer your business.
• Submit an FCC Transfer Request to the losing garrison’s FCC director/administrator, who will review and send it on to HQ, IMCOM G9 CYS.
• Receive initial email or phone contact from the gaining garrison’s FCC director/administrator less than 30 days after they receive your inbound transfer.
• Continue to stay in touch until you arrive and are set up as an FCC provider.

Meanwhile, your gaining garrison’s FCC director/administrator submits a transfer work order ticket to the supporting CDE office. A background check administrator also coordinates with the losing garrison for your file, determines whether re-verification is needed, and issues an updated Background Verification Checklist to the gaining installation.

We want to make the transfer process as easy as possible for you. Because of that, we’re implementing this guidance across all IMCOM garrisons and spreading the news to all current and newly on-boarded FCC providers.

Announcing new bonuses for FCC Providers!

We’re offering two new bonuses to qualified FCC providers:

Relocation Bonus: Up to a $1000 relocation bonus will be provided to FCC Providers who successfully relocate their home business to a gaining installation. Providers will receive payments over a twelve month period. Payments will begin upon home certification and enrollment of at least two children who are unrelated to the provider. Payments will be disbursed monthly with an initial payment of $120 and $80 thereafter (for the next eleven months). If the home closes or certification is lost during this time, all remaining payments will be forfeited.

Recruitment Bonus: Up to a $1000 recruitment bonus will be provided to FCC Providers who successfully open their homes. Providers will receive payments over a twelve month period. Payments will begin upon home certification and enrollment of at least two children who are unrelated to the provider. Payments will be disbursed monthly with an initial payment of $120 and $80 thereafter (for the next eleven months). If the home closes or certification is lost during this time, all remaining payments will be forfeited. This is a one-time incentive. 

Talk with your local CYS for more details!

So you want to be an FCC Provider (PDF)

Family Child Care Fee Card 17-18 School Year (PDF)

The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) is focused on promoting the social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age 5.

CSEFEL is a national resource center funded by the Office of Head Start and Child Care Bureau for disseminating research and evidence-based practices to early childhood programs across the country.

The Pyramid Model provides guidance for early childhood, special education and early intervention personnel, early educators, families and other professionals on evidence-based practices for promoting young children's healthy social and emotional development. The goal of the CSEFEL Pyramid Model Implementation in Army Child and Youth Programs is to ensure that staff members are well-equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote the social and emotional development of children and address challenging behavior.

Resources

The Teaching Pyramid (PDF)

The Pyramid Model provides guidance for early childhood, special education and early intervention personnel, early educators, families and other professionals on evidence-based practices for promoting young children's healthy social and emotional development. The goal of the CSEFEL Pyramid Model Implementation in Army Child and Youth Programs is to ensure that staff members are well-equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote the social and emotional development of children and address challenging behavior.

Fostering Healthy Social and Emotional Development in Young Children Tip Sheet (PDF)

Parents and families play an important role in nurturing their children’s social and emotional development. Supporting children’s social and emotional development can be both rewarding and challenging at the same time.

Social-Emotional Competence of Children (PDF)

There is growing evidence that social-emotional development is associated with better outcomes at home, at school, and in the community. Social-emotional development represents a child’s growing ability to interact with others, to form attachments and relationships, to identify and regulate emotions, and to feel confident exploring the environment.

The Backpack Connection Series was created by TACSEI to provide a way for teachers and parents/caregivers to work together to help young children develop social emotional skills and reduce challenging behavior.

Fort Belvoir CYS Programs are sending Backpack Connection Series home monthly. Each Backpack Connection handout provides information that helps parents stay informed about what their child is learning at school and specific ideas on how to use the strategy or skill at home.

The Backpack Connection Series includes handouts in four categories:

• Addressing Behavior
• Emotions
• Routines and Schedules
• Social Skills

Read the Backpack Series topics any time!

 Learn more on the CSEFEL website.

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) provides aid to child and adult care institutions and family or group day care homes for the provision of nutritious foods that contribute to the wellness, healthy growth, and development of young children, and the health and wellness of older adults and chronically impaired disabled people.

Through CACFP, more than 4.2 million children and 130,000 adults receive nutritious meals and snacks each day as part of the day care they receive.

Resources

• CACFP non-pricing letter (PDF).
• Menus coming soon.