Child Care & Early Education

Florida Family Child Care Home — Rules & Operations Prep

A complete study-preparation course for anyone opening or operating a Florida Family Child Care Home (FCCH) or Large Family Child Care Home. It covers the rules and day-to-day operations tested in the state's Family Child Care Home introductory training and competency exam, organized under Rule 65C-20, Florida Administrative Code, and the definitions in Chapter 402, Florida Statutes. You will learn how a family child care home differs from a licensed child care facility and a large family child care home, whether your county registers homes with DCF or licenses them locally, and the required training and competency exam. The rules domain drills the material candidates miss most: the capacity and age-mix limits (including a maximum of four infants under an infants-only group, three infants plus others for a total of six, six preschoolers, or ten children with strict sub-limits), how the operator's own related children under age 13 count toward capacity, substitute and second-caregiver rules, Level 2 background screening for household members 12 and older, home environment standards, records and enrollment forms, inspections, and the two-caregiver Large Family Child Care Home path. It then covers health, safety, and nutrition in a private residence — childproofing, safe sleep and reducing SIDS risk, medication and illness, pets and firearms storage, pools and water safety, emergency preparedness and evacuation, nutrition and food safety, and transportation — followed by child abuse and neglect, including indicators, the mandatory-reporting duty, the Florida Abuse Hotline (1-800-962-2873), and good-faith immunity and confidentiality. Further domains cover child growth, development, and positive guidance for mixed-age home settings, and the business and professionalism of running a home program: record-keeping, contracts and policies with families, tax and financial basics, continuing education and credentials, and living the mandatory-reporter role. Every lesson has plain-language content, comparison tables, exam traps, and a knowledge check, with a randomized mastery check for each domain, a full-length 60-question mock exam weighted toward rules and health and safety, and a spaced-repetition flashcard deck of high-yield facts. This course is independent exam-preparation and general education only. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). It does not replace the official DCF Family Child Care Home introductory training or the DCF competency examination, and completing it does not by itself authorize you to operate a child care home. Always verify current requirements, hours, and forms with DCF or your local licensing agency. Free.

6domains / modules
41lessons
312practice questions
211flashcards

Included with membership

Start this course →

What you'll study

Orientation — Family Child Care Homes in Florida

FCCH Rules & Regulations (Rule 65C-20)

Health, Safety & Nutrition in the Home

Child Abuse & Neglect

Child Growth, Development & Guidance

Business & Professionalism

Practice and exam readiness

Related courses

Create a free account to preview lessons. Browse all courses.