Provider Applications

Licensed child care refers to programs that are granted a license by the Department of Human Services (DHS) after demonstrating an ability to comply with state licensing regulations to legally care for four (4) or more unrelated children.

All provider types must fill out an online application and be approved to operate in Rhode Island. Within the application, a provider can also choose to apply to become a Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)-approved provider. For more information about CCAP, please visit the CCAP page here. 

The universal application is found on our new licensing system of record, Rhode Island Start Early System (RISES). Please note, you must first complete the online orientation process and create a workforce registry profile on RISES prior to applying for a license. More information on enrolling in an orientation to either become a family child care or center based provider can be found here.  To find out more about RISES, click here. 

Rhode Island has many different types of providers: child care centers, school age programs, and family child care programs.

Child Care Center & School Age Programs

Child care centers are usually located in commercial buildings. Centers are larger and care for more children than family child care providers. They are usually divided into groups or classrooms of similarly aged children.

Child care centers typically have multiple staff members who are overseen by an administrator or director. They may be privately operated for profit by chains or individual owners or operated by nonprofit agencies such as churches, public schools, and government agencies.

Family Child Care

Family child care homes are known by many different names around the country. In Rhode Island, family child care is used to describe a small group of children (up to 12) being cared for in a residential building such as a house, apartment, or condo unit. It is a requirement that the provider must live in the home or on the property that is licensed for care. 

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1199 NE represents health care workers in the New England area and is the selected union representative for family child care providers participating in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP).

License Exempt Child Care 

License-exempt care is another avenue to providing care for Rhode Island children. These types of providers must be a relative to the child who is enrolled in their care and who also participates in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). License-exempt providers are not authorized to serve more than six (6) related children. If the license-exempt provider is caring for their own children under six (6) years of age, this would be included in the maximum number of allowable children in care.

Requirements for a DHS-approved licensed-exempt provider include: 

• Current Rhode Island residency;
• Twenty-one (21) years of age or older;
• Current, working phone;
• Living in a different household from the child for which you receive CCAP payments;
• Proof of a stable residence (cannot be a boarder in someone’s household);
• List of all individuals living in the household.

To apply to a licensed-exempt child care provider, please email the Office of Child Care Provider Management Team at DHS.ChildCare@dhs.ri.gov.