Family Child Care Program

Welcome to the world of child care.

Thank you for your interest in Family Child Care. Caring for children is a career which is both challenging and rewarding. A child care provider may be the most important influence in the lives of children, after their parents.

When you provide child care you are required to be licensed unless you meet certain exemptions. If you meet those exemptions, you do not need to become licensed. However, if you are providing care for any child and are hoping to be paid through the child care assistance program, you must first become Legally Non-Licensed in order to receive payments. This is the case even when the child is a relative. The child care providers who are exempt from licensing are those who are caring for related children, or relatives in addition to only children from one family that is not related. "Related" means a spouse, a parent, a natural or adopted child or stepchild, a stepparent, a stepbrother, a stepsister, a niece, a nephew, an adoptive parent, a grandparent, a sibling, an aunt, an uncle, or a legal guardian. Again, if you are to be paid by the county for providing care, first you must be Legally Non-Licensed. To learn more about Legally Non-Licensed child care, please contact MAHUBE-OTWA at 218-632-3600, or visit the MAHUBE-OTWA website.

Licensed Child Care

Becker County partners with Sourcewell for all family child care licensing services. Find licensing information and forms on the Sourcewell website. Are you interested in becoming licensed?  Learn more and start the process by contacting a regional licensing specialist at licensing@sourcewell-mn.gov.

Starting/Growing Your Own Child Care Program

Thinking about starting a child care program? How about growing your existing program? If so, Child Care Wayfinder is your one-stop navigation network for starting and growning child care programs. The network is staffed by local navigators to help people in their communities create, sustain, and expand licensed family child care and center-based programs by offering encouragement, support, and connection to the many resources available for child care programs. For more information please visit Child Care Wayfinder.