Licensed Family Child Care
Review the information below to help you prepare for your application to ExceleRate Illinois through the Licensed Family Child Care (FCC) pathway.
- All Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) licensed family child care programs are recognized at the ExceleRate Licensed Circle of Quality, which indicates the program holds a valid and current IDCFS issued license. No application is needed for the Licensed Circle of Quality.
- Programs must prepare for and apply to ExceleRate Illinois to be considered for a Circle of Quality above the Licensed Circle of Quality and must be IDCFS licensed for a minimum of one full year.
- Programs must work with their licensing representative to clear pending and substantiated violations from the previous 12 months prior to application. Programs may verify violations by going to the IDCFS Sunshine website or calling the IDCFS information line at (877) 746-0829.
- Bronze, Silver, and Gold Circles each have pdf training requirements (479 KB) for the site administrator &/or teaching staff.
- Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) Specialists are available to provide technical assistance and consultation when helping licensed child care centers prepare.
Where should a Program Start?
The first step is to review the
pdf
Licensed Family Child Care Overview Chart
(709 KB)
(available in
pdf
Spanish
(711 KB)
) and review each of the Circles to see where your program would like to apply. All Family Child Care providers who are interested in applying for a Circle of Quality will be required to take the Licensed Family Child Care ExceleRate Orientation. Please use the
pdf
Required Training Grid
(479 KB)
(available in
pdf
Spanish
(488 KB)
) to review what trainings are required at each Circle of Quality. If you have questions about required training email us at
What can Licensed Family Child Care do to prepare for the application process? Check out these pdf Licensed Family Child Care helpful tips ( (834 KB) available in pdf Spanish (844 KB) ).
There are two paths to reaching a Circle of Quality
- The Accreditation Path - If you choose this path you are able to use your accreditation status to show evidence for many of the ExceleRate Illinois standards. Please review the pdf NAFCC crosswalk summary (364 KB) for details and the additional requirements for alignment with ExceleRate Illinois.
- The Assessment Path - If you choose the assessment path, download and print the pdf Getting Ready for the Silver Circle of Quality (416 KB) (available in pdf Spanish (423 KB) ) or the pdf Getting Ready for the Gold Circle of Quality (404 KB) (available in pdf Spanish (386 KB) ) document to begin your process.
As part of this process you will need to conduct a self-assessment using the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale-Revised (FCCERS-R), as well as an overall program self-assessment using the Business Administration Scale 2nd edition (BAS).
If applying for the Silver Circle of Quality, you must be working with a CCR&R Specialist on FCCERS-R and BAS self-assessment as well as Continuous Quality Improvement Plan (CQIP) development. Please reach out to your CCR&R specialist for assistance.
Below are additional Helpful Tips to assist you when planning for the application process, as well as General Frequently Asked Questions to help your program along the way.
To apply to ExceleRate Illinois you must complete the Licensed Family Child Care and Group Home Application and appropriate supplement based on the Circle of Quality you choose.