​​​​​​A licensed provider cares for children in a facility. Child care is a service families need to go to school or work. Children need a safe place where they can learn while their primary caregivers are away from their home.

Getting Started 

Licensed Type 1

Child Care Aware staff meets with new providers on a regular basis. At the initial meeting, you will receive information to guide you through the process. Contact the Kentucky partnership for early childhood services, use the drop-down list to find a health and safety coach in your area and inquire about scheduled Getting Started meetings for new child care providers.

The Getting Started meeting is recommended but not required to apply for a child care license. To apply without technical assistance, mail your application directly to the Division of Regulated Child Care:

If you are thinking about owning and operating a child care program. Child Care Aware has created the Starting Your Child Care Business brochure to help you decide if this is the right career for you.

Child Care Aware

Child Care Aware contains specialist within the field to assist early childhood professionals in all aspects of starting your business. There are many levels of support depending on what your needs are. The following are the levels of support that you could receive from their assistance:

Health and Safety Coaches

Health and safety coaches are the point of entry. They will go over regulations and what will be needed to proceed to the next step.

They will help you with a walkthrough of your proposed center and help you collect the documents needed to go through the background check and application process. Then, they will help you through the licensing process and let you know what is expected from the Division of Regulated Child Care.

To ensure you can provide the safest environment for the children in your care, the health and safety coach will continue to help you through your journey by providing technical assistance and professional development.

Quality Coaches

Quality coaches are specialist from the early childhood field that focuses on enhancing the environment and skills to excel in the learning atmosphere of every child in care. Quality coaches are responsible for helping you understand Kentucky’s All STARS quality improvement rating system and the incentives for providing quality care. They also are responsible for observing and modeling best practice to help you give the best attention possible. They will help you obtain a higher education by connecting you with the professional development coach who can increase your scores and the quality of care you provide.

Professional Development Coaches

Professional development coaches work with you to improve your education in the early childhood educational field. They can help you obtain your child development associate certificate all the way up to your bachelor’s degree in early childhood education with financial awards and incentives.

Food Program​

The Federal Child and Adult Food Program provides aid to child and adult care institutions and family or group day care homes to provide 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 persons.  

CACFP provides reimbursement for meals and snacks served to small groups of children receiving nonresidential day care in private homes that are licensed, registered or approved to provide family child care.

CACFP targets higher levels of reimbursement to low-income areas and to providers and children most in need. The reimbursements make the cost of child care more affordable for many lower-income families. Health and safety standards, training and monitoring make CACFP an essential part of quality child care.