Reference question of the month: Arlington childcare

Not all reference questions that librarians receive are able to be answered by finding the information in a book. Such was the case with a recent question that was asked by a patron over the phone about a list of child care providers. I answered her in an email.

From: Melissa Jeffrey
Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 1:56 PM
To: *********
Subject: Child care

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you.

List of daycares from city’s website: http://www.ci.arlington.tx.us/health/pdf/list_cc_centers.pdf

Associations of home child care:
http://www.arlingtonchildcare.com/
http://www.choosehomechildcare.com/
http://www.mansfieldchildcare.com/providers.html

Melissa J.

Since then, I have also found the state's website that lists providers. There are four types of providers: listed family homes, registered child-care homes, licensed child-care homes, and licensed child-care centers. The main difference between the first three is the frequency of inspections by the state. From their frequently asked questions:

Licensed and certified operations must have at least one annual unannounced inspection. Registered child care homes must have at least one unannounced inspection every two years. Inspections may be more frequent than the minimum required based upon an operation's ability to comply with standard requirements. Listed Family Homes are inspected only if there is a report of abuse/neglect or if operating illegally. Agency homes are currently inspected on a random basis and when there is a report of abuse/neglect.

I believe by cross referencing the links I culled from the internet with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services database, parents can make an informed decision about their child care.