Child Care

Licensed Child Care Providers

The safety and health of the children you will care for is the main focus of Child Care Licensing. This is accomplished through the Wyoming Child Care Licensing Rules.

PUBLIC NOTICE: The Department of Family Services will be taking public comment on their Child Care Development Fund 3-Year State Plan beginning May15, 2021 through June 15, 2021. There will be 2 opportunities to provide public comment on the proposed plan, Tuesday, May 25, 2021, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm and Thursday, May 27, 2021, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Comments may also be submitted in writing to: corrine.livers@wyo.gov OR nichole.anderson@wyo.gov. The proposed Child Care Development Fund 3-Year State Plan will be available here on May 15, 2021.

Child Care Licensing Contacts 

Considering becoming a Licensed Child Care Provider in Wyoming?  Watch this short informational video to get you started! Click here

Who Needs to be Licensed? 

If you are caring for more than two children who aren’t related to you, you might have to be licensed. If you do not meet any of the exemption reasons below, then you need to apply for a license. If you do not meet one of the exemptions listed above and are caring for children, you are required by Wyoming law to be licensed. It is considered a crime to operate a child care facility without a license if you are not exempt. If you are not sure whether or not you are exempt from licensing requirements, contact the Child Care Licenser for your county. The exemptions are:

• A legal parent’s or legal relative’s care of a child.
• Occasional care of a neighbor’s or friend’s child if the person providing the care does not regularly engage in the activity.
• Parents exchanging care on a cooperative basis.
• Child care provided by a person employed to come to the home of the child’s parent or guardian.
• Child care facilities providing care for no more than two unrelated children.
• Child care facilities supervised by the state, and local government, school district, agency or political subdivision thereof.

Licensing Rules and Types of Child Care Facilites

• Family Child Care Home – to provide care for 3 – 10 children in your own home without additional staff;
• Family Child Care Center – to provide care for a maximum of 15 children in your home or another building in which you do not reside with one additional staff when more than 10 children are present; or
• Child Care Center – to provide care for 16 or more children with adequate staff to meet the staff:child ratio requirements.
• Child Care Licensing Rules

How Do I Get Licensed?

You can request an application for Child Care Certification from the Child Care Licenser for your county or download a copy of the application. You will need to submit the following information with your application:

• Child/abuse neglect Central Registry checks from Wyoming and each state lived in the last 5 years results; click here
• National Sex Offender Registry check and Wyoming and State Sex Offender Registry checks from each state lived in the last 5 years; click here
• Instructions for review of National criminal history; click here
• Fingerprint Cover Letter; click here
• Click here for TB screening form
• Local zoning approval if it is required where you live;
• Documentation from a licensed health care professional that the applicant has no diagnosed conditions that would impair their ability to provide child care; click here for Physician’s Statement form
• Proof of required education, training or experience; and
• A $50.00 application fee. (Check or money order made payable to the Department of Family Services).

Additional documentation needed:

• Sample attendance record form
• Sample child record forms
• Sample staff record forms (if applicable)
• Emergency Preparedness Plan

Before your application is complete, you will be required to complete Pre-Service Training.

Once all of the items above are completed and submitted to the Child Care Licenser, the following inspections of the facility must be completed:

• Fire inspection
• Health and Sanitation inspection
• Child Care Licensing inspection

How do I renew my license:

Generally, licenses are issued for a period of 12 months.

• Child Care licenses must be renewed on or before the license expiration date. If the license expires because renewal requirements have not been met, the provider can no longer provide licensed care and payments from the Child Care Subsidy Program or the CACFP Food Program may be jeopardized.
• Renewal Inspection
• Annual Training

Emergency Preparedness

• Wyoming Child Care Disaster Response Guidelines and Disaster Plan for Licensed Child Care Facilities
• Emergency and Disaster Plan
• Child Care Crisis Response Guidelines Flip chart  Word
• Wyoming Emergency Preparedness Plan for All Facilities  Word

How does the Department of Family Services monitor child care facilities? 

Child Care Licensers are located across the state and are responsible for a caseload of licensed programs in one or more counties. At a minimum, the Child Care Licenser conducts one unannounced and one announced site visit to each licensed facility each year. In addition to the regular visits, a Child Care Licenser may visit a facility for a variety of reasons including:

• Pre-licensing visits for new programs
• Complaint investigations and non-compliance monitoring 
• Technical assistance
• Follow-up visits

Documents & Forms for Child Care Providers 

Background Check Information and Forms

Helpful Tools

Suspension & Expulsion Policy Tool Kit

Licensing FAQ’s

Non-licensed Child Care Providers

We are currently developing our Non-licensed Child Care Providers section. While we are in the process of building this section, we encourage you to visit our Contact Us & Locations page and find an office nearest you for the latest information.

Background Checks

We are currently developing our Non-licensed Child Care Providers section. While we are in the process of building this section, we encourage you to visit our Contact Us & Locations page and find an office nearest you for the latest information.

Pre-Service & Provider Training

Professional development refers to the ongoing training and education that gives child care providers, directors and staff the knowledge and skills they need to provide high quality early care and education for young children.

Provider Training and Professional Development

The Statewide Training and Resource System (STARS)

The Statewide Training and Resource System (STARS):

STARS approves all training and trainers for licensed child care providers. STARS also awards training credits to the provider after he/she has completed an approved training and maintains a record of completed training for all individuals working in licensed child care facilities.
STARS is able to assist child care providers, directors, and staff with accessing training, printing certificates, and training questions.

Please visit STARS for available on-line training to meet the training requirements listed in Chapter 4, Section 9.

The Department of Family Services contracts with Align to administer these programs. For more information contact the STARS program at 1-800-400-3999 or visit their web site at: http://www.wyregistry.org

Pre-Service training for new providers, directors and staff

Pre-Service training for new providers, directors and staff:

1. Safety and health of children
2. Fire Safety
3. Sanitation procedures
4. First Aid and CPR
5. Medication administration
6. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
7. Safe sleep practices
8. Blood borne pathogens
9. Recognition and reporting of suspected child abuse or neglect
10. Shaken Baby Syndrome
11. Nutrition
12. Transportation of children

Facility staff orientation:

1. Facility policies and procedures
2. Child Care Licensing Rules

Staff Pre-Service Training and Facility Orientation: All staff prior to assuming responsibility for unsupervised direct care of children or within 3 months of the staff’s start date shall complete the pre-service training and the facility staff orientation.

First year training credit requirements: 16 training credits total:

• Eight (8) credits of training in Early Learning Guidelines and Early Learning Foundations; and
• Eight (8) elective training credits in the area of early learning, early childhood, and/or child development.

Child Care training credits required each subsequent year, after the first license:

1. Eight (8) elective training credits in the area of early learning, early childhood, and/or child development; and
2. Eight (8) core credits of total training shall include all of the following areas:
   1. Blood borne Pathogens
   2. Fire Safety
   3. Sanitation
   4. Recognition and reporting of suspected child abuse or neglect
   5. Emergency Preparedness
   6. Sudden Infant death Syndrome (SIDS)
   7. Safe Sleep
   8. Shaken Baby Syndrome
   9. Transportation

All staff shall have Infant Child CPR and First Aid training and certification shall be kept current. 

Infant/Toddler training

Infant/Toddler training:

• All staff working with infants or toddlers shall complete a minimum of four (4) hours of specialized infant or toddler training every two years.
• Whenever four (4) or more infants are present:
  • One (1) staff shall have the Infant/Toddler Director Credential.
  •  At least one (1) staff person working directly with infants or toddlers shall have a minimum of eight (8) training credits of specialized training in the care of infants or toddlers every two years.

Fire Extinguisher Training

Fire Extinguisher Training