# Money and running your business (childcare.support)

Licensing fees, help paying for care, grants, and filling your openings.
Official information for California child care providers. Each item links to the official page; read it before acting.
Web page: https://childcare.support/money-and-business/

## Start here
- Licensing Fees (California Department of Social Services, Online service): https://cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/Community-Care/Licensing-Fees. Pay your annual licensing fee online by card or by check, and read which fees CDSS charges and why.
- Financial Assistance (California Department of Social Services, Resource page): https://cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/cdss-programs/community-care-licensing/child-care-licensing/resources-for-providers/financial-assistance. Pointers to state and federal child care funding and to help with starting or expanding a facility.
- California Work Opportunity and Responsibility for Kids (CalWORKs) Child Care (California Department of Social Services, Web page): https://cdss.ca.gov/CalWORKs-Child-Care. Help paying for child care for families who get or used to get CalWORKs cash aid and are working or in county-approved Welfare-to-Work activities; the family chooses the provider.
- My Child Care Plan (California Child Care Resource & Referral Network, Online service): https://mychildcareplan.org/. The R&R agencies' site where families look for child care; licensed providers can claim a profile to advertise openings.
- Find Child Care (California Child Care Resource & Referral Network, Web page): https://rrnetwork.org/family-services/find-child-care. The R&R Network's page where families look for child care through their local R&R.

## Free online courses (CECO)
From California Early Childhood Online, funded by CDSS. A CECO account is needed to take a course.
- Leadership in Family Child Care Settings (8 modules/11 hours total; in English, Spanish): https://www.caearlychildhoodonline.org/en_modulecatalog.aspx?moduleId=1156. Lessons: Introduction to Leadership in Early Learning and Care; Financial Practices for Family Child Care Professionals; Marketing and Advertising; Family Child Care Program Development and Administration; Balancing Home and Work; Hiring and Managing Employee; Cultivating Family and Community Partnerships and Engagement; Family Child Care Leadership and Advocacy

## Also on this site

### Webinar notes (2)
- Child Care Provider Webinar, 2025 Q4 (CDSS Community Care Licensing, 2025-12-09): https://childcare.support/t/cdss-2025-q4/index.md
- Child Care Provider Webinar, December 2024 (Q4) (CDSS Community Care Licensing, 2024-12-10): https://childcare.support/t/cdss-2024-q4/index.md

### Rules, each checked against its official source (4)
- Family child care license fees (Health & Safety Code §1596.803(a)): https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&sectionNum=1596.803. Full rule: https://childcare.support/rules/index.md
- Quality Counts California (QCC): https://qualitycountsca.net/about/. Full rule: https://childcare.support/rules/index.md
- CDSS QCC grants: Quality Improvement, Workforce Pathways: https://cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/child-care-and-development/quality-improvement-initiatives/quality-funding-announcements. Full rule: https://childcare.support/rules/index.md
- Child Care Infrastructure Grant Program (closed) (Welfare & Institutions Code §10310): https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/child-care-and-development/infrastructure-grant-program. Full rule: https://childcare.support/rules/index.md

### Notices from CDSS (PINs), newest first (6)
- PIN 26-12-CCLD (2026): New Facility Management System (FMS) Late FEE Review Guidance: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/CCLD/PINs/2026/CCLD/PIN-26-12-CCLD.pdf
- PIN 25-19-CCLD (2025): Estimated SSI/SSP Payment Standards Effective January 1, 2026: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/CCLD/PINs/2025/CCLD/PIN-25-19-CCLD.pdf
- PIN 25-04-CCLD (2025): Fee Waivers in Response to the January 2025 Fires and Windstorm Conditions in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/CCLD/PINs/2025/CCLD/PIN%2025-04-CCLD.pdf
- PIN 23-20-CCLD (2023): Estimated SSI/SSP Payment Standards Effective January 1, 2024: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/CCLD/PINs/2023/CCLD/PIN-23-20-CCLD.pdf
- PIN 20-26-CCLD (2020): Estimated SSI_SSP payment standards effective January 1,2021: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/CCLD/PINs/2020/CCLD/PIN%2020-26-CCLD.pdf
- PIN 20-10-CCLD (2020): Waiver of Administrator Certification Program Fees, License Fees, and Home Care Aide Registration Fees as a Result of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/CCLD/Pins/2020/CCLD/PIN_20-10-CCLD.pdf

## Everything else for this task (5)

### Money and fees (2)
- California Department of Education (cde.ca.gov, Resource page): https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re. Labeled on the CDSS page as the California Department of Education. This page blocks automated checks, so we have not described it; open it directly. [CDSS links this over http; we link the secure https address; Described from its label on the CDSS page, not from the destination itself; This page blocks automated checks, so we could not confirm it today. Open it directly.]
- Head Start California (Head Start California, Web page): https://headstartca.org/. The statewide Head Start association. Head Start is a federally funded program for low-income children ages 0 to 5 and their families.

### Finding families for your openings (3)
- California Child Care Resource & Referral Network (California Child Care Resource & Referral Network, Web page): https://rrnetwork.org/. The statewide network of local child care resource and referral agencies (R&Rs); its zip code search finds your local R&R. [CDSS links this over http; we link the secure https address]
- Parent’s Guide to Choosing Child Care (California Department of Social Services, PDF): https://cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/030119%20Parent's%20Guide%20to%20Choosing%20Child%20Care_Revision%20Safe%20Sleep.pdf?ver=2019-03-28-145656-110. A CDSS guide for parents on choosing child care: licensed and license-exempt options, TrustLine, and signs of quality care.
- Parent’s Guide to Choosing Child Care - Tip Sheet (California Department of Social Services, PDF): https://cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/CCL/POP-Fact-Sheet.pdf. A short tip sheet for parents on who licenses child care and what licensed facilities must do.

Links last checked September 28, 2026. How each one was checked: https://childcare.support/checked/