Child Care Facts

The state profile below includes demographic information about the children, families and child care in California, as well as contact information for the state agencies involved in child care.

2000 Total Population:	33,871,648
2000 Children 0-4 years old:	2,486,981
2000 Children 5-9 years old:	2,725,880
2000 Children 10-14 years old:	2,570,822
2000 Total Children Under 18:	9,249,829
Children under 5 as percent of population:	7.3%
Children under 18 as percent of population:	27.3%
Census 2000 Profiles of General Demographic Characteristics Source: U.S.Census Bureau, 2001
State Median Income:	$63,100
State Median Income Estimates for Four-Person Families (for Federal Fiscal Year 2002)Source: Federal Register: March 22, 2001(Volume 66, Number 56, pp. 16060-16061)
1997 Estimated Poverty Rate (all ages):	16.0%
Children Under 5 in Poverty 1997:	679,921
Children Under 5 Poverty Rate 1997:	26.0%
Source: 1997 State Poverty Estimates Released November 2000 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates Program, U.S. Census Bureau
Licensed/Regulated Child Care Centers:	14,139
Source: 2002 Child Care Center Licensing StudyThe Children's Foundation
Percent of Children under 6 with working parents:	53.0%
Percent of Children ages 6-12 living with working parents:	44.0%
Percent of Children under age 13 living in low-income families with working parents:	17.0%
1995 Estimates (data shown above reflects 5-year averages of U.S. Census Bureau data from 1993 to 1997) Source: 1998 Kids Count Data Book The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Number of children participating in Head Start, FY2000:	95,280
2001 Head Start Fact Sheet

For additional statistical information on indicators of child well-being in the state, visit the Annie E. Casey "Kids Count" Web site at http://www.kidscount.org.

Child/Staff Ratio Requirements

Licensing standards are subject to change through administrative or legislative action. For a complete listing of this state's child care licensing requirements, please visit the Web site of the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care at http://nrc.uchsc.edu or call 800-598-KIDS.

Family Child Care Homes

Type of Home	Ratio	Notes
Small FamilyChild Care Home	6-8 to 1	Family members under 10 years included in ratio Group size and ratio vary based on age of child in care
Group/Large Family Child Care Home	8 to 1	Family members under 10 years included in ratio Group size and ratio vary based on age of child in care
Source: 2000 Family Child Care Licensing Study For additional information, contactThe Children's Foundation725 15th Street, NW, #505, Washington, DC 20005-2109Phone: 202-347-3300, Fax: 202-347-3382 http://www.childrensfoundation.net/

Child Care Centers

Age of Children	Child: Staff Ratio	Group Size
6 weeks	4 to 1	NR
9 months	4 to 1	NR
18 months	6 to 1	12
27 months	6 to 1	12
3 years	12 to 1	NR
4 years	12 to 1	NR
5 years	12 to 1	NR
6 years	14 to 1 / 28 to 2	NR
7 years	14 to 1 / 28 to 2	NR
8 and 9 years	14 to 1 / 28 to 2	NR
10 years and older	14 to 1 / 28 to 2	NR
Key: NR = Not Regulated; U = Unspecified; PRH = Prohibited For school-age programs, one teacher and an aide are required for every 28 children; 29 - 42 children require 2 teachers and 1 aide; 43 - 56 children require 2 teachers and 2 aides. January 2002 Data compiled by the Wheelock College Institute for Leadership and Career Initiatives from licensing regulations posted on the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care's Web site. For more information regarding this data, contact:The Wheelock College Institute for Leadership and Career Initiatives200 The Riverway, Boston, MA 02215 Phone: 617-879-2211 Fax: 617-738-0643 E-mail: institute@wheelock.edu Web: http://institute.wheelock.edu

Contact Information

Child Care Subsidy Agency
California State Dept. of Education
Child Development Division
560 J Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95814-4785
Phone: 916-324-8296
Fax: 916-323-6853

For a complete listing of State Child Care and Development Fund Contacts, see: http://nccic.org/dirs/devfund.html.

Head Start
State Collaboration Office
California Department of Education
Child Development Division
Head Start - State Collaboration Office
560 J Street, Suite 220
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-323-9727
Fax: 916-323-6853
Web site: http://www.cde.ca.gov/cyfsbranch/child_development/CHSSCOview.htm

Child Care Licensing Agency
Central Operations Branch
Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division
744 P Street, Mail Stop 19-50
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-324-4031
Fax: 916-323-8352
Web site: http://ccl.dss.cahwnet.gov/docs/childcare/Provider/ccc.htm

For a complete listing of State Child Care Regulatory Offices, see: http://nccic.org/dirs/regoffic.html.

State Child Care Resource & Referral Contact
California Child Care Resource & Referral Network
111 New Montgomery Street, 7th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: 415-882-0234
Fax: 415-882-6233
Email: info@rrnetwork.org
Web site: http://www.rrnetwork.org/

Child Care Food Program Agency
California Department of Education
Attn.: State Director, Nutrition Services Division
P.O. Box 944272
560 J Street, Room 270
Sacramento, CA 95814-2342
Phone: 916-323-7311
Fax: 916-327-0503
Web site: http://www.cde.ca.gov/nsd/ccfp/

Office of Child Support Enforcement
California Department of Child Support Services
744 P Street, Mail Stop 17-29
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-654-1556
Fax: 916-653-8690
Web site: http://www.childsup.cahwnet.gov/Default.htm

Child Abuse Reporting

To report suspected child abuse in California, call any state licensing office, any law enforcement office or any child protective office in any of the county social/health/welfare offices.

For national child abuse information, call the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (staffed 24 hours daily with professional crisis counselors): 1-800-4-A-CHILD or 1-800-2-A-CHILD (T.D.D)

For more information, visit one of the following State pages:

State Homepage:
http://www.state.ca.us/state/portal/myca_homepage.jsp

State Child Care Homepage:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/cyfsbranch/child_development/

Child Development Division's Care About Quality Web site:
http://www.careaboutquality.org

For a complete listing of State Child care Home Pages, see:
http://nccic.org/dirs/statehp.html.

To find a child care resource and referral agency (CCR&R) near you, call the State CCR&R Contact listed above or contact Child Care Aware at 800-424-2246.