| The original licensing law which was passed in 1919 placed the licensing
authority with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The Department administers the licensing law as a preventive program to assure that out-of-home
care for children and maternity patients will not be exploitive, unsafe, or unhealthy. The
main purpose of the law is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of children receiving
care away from their parents and home. It is also a consumer protection law assuring parents
that the care they are paying for meets minimum standards of good care.
Registration
or Licensure (depending on the number of children in care) is required
regardless of the motivation for providing care, and whether or
not there is advertisement of or payment for services. The essential
fact is that a child or children receive care away from their own
homes.
Basis and purpose of child care regulations |
Child Care Facility Requirements |
Policy Regulation Exceptions 
- Child Care Centers and Preschools
- Licensed Day Care Homes and Group Day Care Homes
- Registered Family Day Care Homes
Frequently Asked Questions (.pdf)
KDHE
contracts with local health departments (some are multi-county)
to provide local regulatory services for:
- Registered Family Day Care Homes
- Licensed Day Care Homes
- Group Day Care Homes
- Child Care Centers
- Preschools
- Head Start Centers
- School Age Programs
Inclusion of Children with Special
Needs in Child Care Environments
|