Becoming a Child Care Provider

For state licensing, each owner or operator of a center licensed by the department must receive and ensure that each staff member receives and completes four hours of ongoing training every 12 months after the staff member’s date of hire.

“Training” means continuing education in child development areas relating to child care. Child care providers participating in the Idaho Child Care Program (ICCP) are required to complete a series of free online courses designed to cover a variety of health and safety topics for providers in Idaho. 

For state licensing, the training will count if the staff member takes the training after their hire date. It will be credited for the licensing period in which the training was taken and will only count one time. Providers licensed by their city should check with the city to determine if trainings will meet local ordinances.

The IDAPA standards require each owner, operator, and applicant seeking licensure for a daycare center, group daycare facility, or a family daycare home must submit evidence that is satisfactory to the department that owners, operators, staff, and all other individuals 13 years of age or older who have unsupervised direct contact with children or are regularly on the premises have successfully completed and received a clearance for a department criminal history and background check under the provisions of sections 39-1105 and 39-1113, Idaho Code.

A background check clearance completed within the last three years can be transferred to a new employer. When using a transferred department criminal history check clearance for licensing, the transferred clearance must be an enhanced clearance and the new employer must also ensure that a new Idaho State Police name-based record check is completed with no disqualifying crimes found.

For more information, read our Criminal History Compliance Facts and Guidelines document. 

Proof of liability and fire insurance and a copy of your approved Fire Safety Inspection must be submitted with the license application. 

Your city or county may have local ordinances which cover building codes, electrical codes, and planning and zoning codes. Proof of compliance with local ordinances must be submitted with the license application. Check with your city and county to determine what compliance requirements are in place for licensed child care providers. 

Certifications in pediatric rescue breathing, infant-child CPR, and first aid treatment must be submitted with your license application. Certification needs to be completed through a course offered by a certified instructor. Online courses are not accepted.

After the public health district receives the referral from the customer support specialist that you are ready for your health inspection, you will be contacted by your public health district to complete the required inspection.

 

It's important to keep good records about staff, the children who have attended, and the children currently attending a facility for at least 12 months. Read the complete list of record requirements to find out what kind of information you must keep on file to be in compliance for your license.