CHILD CARE REFERRALS

Do you need help finding quality child care?

GOOD NEWS, WE CAN HELP!

The Nurturing Center is here to help you find the best child care option for your family.  If you are looking for child care for your family, select an option below to receive a list of licensed child care facilities.  We look forward to linking our families and friends with quality child care providers in northwest Montana.

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Option 1: Search online on your own with 24/7 access.  Select the city and a list of providers will populate below the map.

Option 2: Contact our Referral Specialist at (406)756-1414 or email us at referrals@nurturingcenter.org

TIPS FOR CHOOSING QUALITY CHILD CARE

• Take your time when selecting a child care provider

• Schedule a time to meet with a potential child care provider, ask plenty of questions to ensure that the provider you are meeting with will meet your family’s needs.  Here is a checklist to help you when choosing quality care.

• Look up the provider’s licensing history

• Visit Montana’s Licensed Provider Search and Inspection Results to review provider’s license history, license inspection reports and complaints.

•  Contact the Nurturing Center for assistance

• Using the child care referrals program and our knowledge of providers in Northwest Montana we are able to help you select a child care provider.

TYPES OF CHILD CARE FACILITIES

There are multiple types of child care facilities available to meet you and your child’s/children’s needs.

Family Home is a private residence in which care is provided for 3-8 children on a regular basis and is considered Registered

Group Home is a private residence or other structure in which care is provided for 9 to 15 children on a regular basis and is considered Registered

Center is an out-of-home place in which care is provided to 16 or more children on a regular or irregular basis and is considered Licensed

Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN) is a Registered provider which may provide care in a child’s home or in the provider’s residence for a sibling group of any size or no more than 4 unrelated children

Relative Care Exempt Provider is a provider that may care for either a sibling group of any size or no more than 2 children from separate households. “Relative care” means the child is the brother, sister, first cousin, nephew, niece, grandchild, or great grandchild of the person providing childcare and includes a child in a step, foster, or adoptive relationship. This provider type is considered ‘License Exempt’ and is for Best Beginnings Childcare Scholarship payment purposes only.

 

• Montana’s Best Beginnings STARS to Quality Program is the quality rating improvement System [QRIS] for licensed and registered early childhood care and education settings in Montana.  This program is a voluntary 5-star quality rating improvement system, which uses research based standards to drive quality improvement in the early childhood care and education settings in Montana.  View a list of facilities in the Best Beginnings STARS to Quality Program.