WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CENTER-BASED, FAMILY HOME, REGISTERED FAMILY HOME, OUT OF SCHOOL TIME, ABC, and HEAD START?

Child Care Center means any childcare facility conducted under public or private ownership on a profit or nonprofit basis providing direct care and protection for children. Child Care Centers must meet minimum licensing requirements set by the Division of Child Care licensing unit.

A Child Care Family Home is when children are cared for in a caregiver’s family residence or some other suitable family type residence. A home requires licensing when one {1} or more persons care for six (6) or more children from more than one (1) family at the same time. A maximum of sixteen (16) children may be cared for with a Child Care Family Home license.

Registered Child Care Family Home is allowed in which five (5) or fewer children are cared for in the caregiver’s family residence or some other suitable family type residence.

Out-of-School Time The “Minimum Licensing Requirements regulate these facilities for Out-of-School-Time Facilities.” These facilities are center-based child care programs that care for school-age children only.

Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) is a state-funded preschool program for income-eligible 3 and 4-year-old children. You may find ABC Programs in any licensed child care facility, community organization, or school district. ABC Programs operate on a 7 hour day, 170 days per year schedule. Some programs have wrap-around child care that allows children to arrive earlier or stay later.

Head Start is a nationwide, federally funded program designed to foster the healthy development of young children from low-income families to help them prepare for Kindergarten.