Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services, Child Care Licensing Unit

Child Care Center Licensing — State Department of Children and Youth (Franklin County)

A licensed child care center — the commercial business type the 'childcare' industry covers — is licensed directly by the State of Ohio: the Ohio Department of Children and Youth's Licensing and Certification page publishes the center-licensing rules as OAC Chapter 5180:2-12 ('Licensing of Child Care Centers'), and childcare licensing transferred to that department from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services; this record carries no fee. The Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services (FCDJFS) does operate a Child Care Licensing Unit, but its own pages describe its role for Type B Family Child Care Homes — small, in-home providers — where FCDJFS receives applications, runs background checks and conducts home inspections, then forwards a licensure recommendation to the state, which keeps final licensing authority; that is a different provider category from a childcare center. FCDJFS also determines Publicly Funded Child Care eligibility and certifies In-Home Aides, which are subsidy and administrative functions, not commercial licensing. A childcare center serving food on-site separately needs an FCPH or Columbus Public Health food license, listed separately, from the food-safety regime.