Child Care · Checklist · Reviewed July 12, 2026
Child care license, cost help, and complaint check
A first-step check for finding care, reviewing a license, seeking help with cost, or reporting a safety concern.
Why it matters
Finding care and checking safety history use different systems. Cost help and complaints use other paths. A license search is only one check.
Official first stop
Start here
Find the right public office for everyday paperwork.
First moves
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Start with the need. You may need care, a provider check, cost help, an appeal, or a safety report.
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Use Resource and Referral or MyChildCarePlan to search. Filter by location, age, schedule, language, and openings.
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For licensed care, use the CDSS facility search. Review inspections, violations, complaints, and the regional-office contact.
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Visit the setting. Ask to see the current license and reports. Watch supervision and pickup. Ask about sleep, food, medicine, emergencies, and discipline.
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For help paying, ask Resource and Referral or the county. A CalWORKs worker or child care program can explain voucher and center-based paths.
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If a subsidy agency changes or ends help, read the notice and appeal instructions. A subsidy appeal is not a licensing complaint.
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For a licensing concern, call 844-538-8766 or use the CDSS complaint path. CDSS says a complainant's name can remain anonymous unless permission is given.
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For suspected abuse or immediate danger, protect the child first and contact local law enforcement or the proper child-protection agency as well as licensing.
Watch for
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Some family, friend, neighbor, and in-home care is license-exempt. Ask what checks a subsidy program requires for that provider.
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The facility search shows a limited history and can be incomplete. Contact the regional office for more information.
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A clean search result does not promise current quality or safety. Visit, ask questions, and check the latest reports.
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A licensing complaint addresses licensed-care rules. A subsidy appeal addresses payment or eligibility. An abuse report uses another path.
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CalWORKs child care and other vouchers use different rules. Head Start, state preschool, school programs, and private tuition have other waitlists.
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Never post a child's medical, custody, or identity papers in a public complaint or send them through an unofficial link.
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If the child may be unsafe now, do not wait for an online facility record or routine complaint response.