Many families may wonder what does it mean to be licensed. Any person caring for more than four unrelated children, whether in their home or in a commercial building, must have a license through the State of Missouri.

The governing agency is the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Section for Child Care Regulation.

All licensed programs are monitored by the child care licensing office, department of sanitation, and the fire marshall's office.

The following links are for the licensing manuals for family home providers,group homes and centers, and licensing exempt programs.

http://wherefamiliesgrow.org/licenserulebook.pdf

http://wherefamiliesgrow.org/licensingfamily.pdf

http://wherefamiliesgrow.org/exemptrules.pdf

The Department of Health and Senior Services

Section for Child Care Regulation

149 Park Central Square Ste. 116

Springfield, MO 65801

895-6541