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REFERRAL FORM

You may request child care referrals by completing and submitting the following form. A Resource & Referral Navigator will contact you within 2 business days.

Referral Form

F.I.N.D. Care Listings Network

One of the services CVCSN provides is to help connect parents with quality child care professionals in the area. We keep a database of licensed child care providers who meet our standards as quality providers. We keep detailed information about space, availability, and hours offered in order to help parents find the best match for their children.

If you are interested in having your licensed Child Care Program added to our network, please send an email to [email protected]

Find Care for Your Child

Additional Resources for Providers

Start a Licensed Child Care Center

When child care is provided in a group setting, other than in an individual’s home, a license for a child care center is required. The State Department of Social Services Community Licensing Division has the responsibility for the licensing of child care centers under Title 22 of the California Health and Safety Code.

Discover important city or county requirements;

Education and experience requirements for your employees

How to begin the licensing process for a Child Care Center

To begin the licensing process for a child care center, contact:

Community Licensing Division
770 E. Shaw Ave. Suite 300
Fresno, CA 93710
(559) 243-4588
(Cross streets are Shaw & First)

Toy Lending Library

Explore, Discover, and Create!
Enrich a child’s world and enhance your child care business: Use Central Valley Children’s Services’ Resource and Toy Lending Library, at no cost to Fresno County residents. The Resource and Toy Lending Library is a community resource available to families, child care providers, students, educators and all members of the community.

Learn More

F.I.N.D. Care Program Orientation

LICENSED PROVIDER CHILD CARE TRAINING FOR F.I.N.D CARE REFERRALS

If you are a licensed Child Care provider and would like to be listed with F.I.N.D Care to receive free child care referrals, you will need to attend “Child Care Business Practices for Family Child Care Homes,” an orientation for new providers. This orientation is available every month. Please call (559) 456-8195

New Provider Orientation

“STEPS TO BECOMING LICENSED” — F.

I.N.D. CARE (559) 456-8195

If you are interested in becoming a licensed child care provider and want to know if this business is right for you, attend this free information packed workshop, offered in English and Spanish.

Childcare Initiative Project

Recruits and trains individuals to become licensed childcare providers in Fresno County.  For more information call (559) 456-8195.

Kaleidoscope Learn and Play Group

A simple website has been created and shared with families where they will be able to access resources such as; activities, readings, and videos!

Click here to view our website!

Our website has access to the unlisted videos that we have on YouTube (which means you can only view the videos if you have the link to it).

Check one out: Click Here to View Video

If you know of any Family, Friend, or Neighbor Caregiver who would like to connect with us as we continue to develop material, please have them reach out to Stephanie Dominguez or Iris Flores at the FIND Care Department.

What is Kaleidoscope Play and Learn?

Kaleidoscope Play and Learn Groups are held at Central Valley Children’s Services Network and is a researched-based program that promotes early learning. The 90-minute playgroup sessions are open to children ages 0-5years and their Family, Friend, and Neighbor Caregivers. Each session provides children with the opportunity to engage in social interactions with other children. Trained facilitators also demonstrate developmentally appropriate practices and activities for caregivers to take home to their care settings.

Stephanie Dominguez
[email protected]

Iris Flores
[email protected]

(559) 456-8195

Learn More

TrustLine

TrustLine is an invaluable resource for parents. TrustLine is a database of nannies and baby-sitters that have cleared criminal background checks in California. It’s the only authorized screening program of in-home caregivers in the state with access to fingerprint records at the California Department of Justice and the FBI.

Learn More

Update Your F.I.N.D. Care Listing

If you are a child care provider who is listed with F.I.N.D. Care, and you have any changes or additions, such as:

• Vacancies
• Change of address
• Increase or decrease in capacity
• Any changes within the last year

Updating ensures CSN is providing parents with information about your child care business which is accurate- help us help you- UPDATE MONTHLY!

CSN has provided an easy way to update your information. All you have to do is print and fill out the Update Information Form and mail it to:

Children Services Network
C/O F.I.N.D Care
1911 N. Helm Ave.
Fresno, CA. 93727

Click here to download the English Update Sheet.

Only need to update vacancies?

If you only need to update vacancies you can send a quick email to: [email protected]

Please write “Update Vacancies” in the subject line.
Thank you for updating your information!

For more information, please call (559) 456-8195 or fill out our contact form

F. I.N.D. Care provides FREE child care resources and referrals to parents

Vanessa Lopez

F.I.N.D. Care Program Manager

Michelle Canales

F.I.N.D. Care Program Assistant Manager

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How to Find the Best Day Care

“Choosing a day care center is one of the most important decisions that a parent is going to make,” says Linda Hassan Anderson, senior director at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Academy. She recommends that parents look for a day care that meets the highest standard of care and nurturing of child development.

That’s because the early years are a crucial time in baby’s brain development. You want a place that will help baby—as he or she grows into a toddler and then a pre-preschooler—develop social skills, build relationships with teachers and other kids, figure out how to regulate emotions and learn a lot. Those are just some of the benefits of a high-quality day care.

Where do I start looking for a good day care?

Most moms ask for day care recommendations from family and friends—this is an excellent starting point. You might also scope out some possibilities in your area, since convenience is definitely a factor. Anywhere you consider should be a licensed facility that offers a safe and clean environment.

You can use the NAEYC search to find a local NAEYC-accredited child care center. These are considered the best of the best, since centers have to meet rigid standards to get NAEYC accreditation and must go through a long approval process. If there isn’t an accredited facility in your area, ask your center how it matches up to the standards the NAEYC uses for accreditation, offered in its “Guide for Families.”

If you’re considering home-based child care instead of a center, you can use the National Association for Family Child Care’s accredited providers search tool to find a provider that meets the highest possible standards for in-home child care.

For listings of state-licensed facilities, use the interactive map from the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), which provides inspection reports, state fact sheets and information on day care and family child care regulations.

What features are important for my child’s day care to have?

Know that there are no federal standards for day care centers and the licensing and regulations vary from state to state, so you’ll also have to do some of your own research.

Are you thinking, “Research? But it’s near my home, I can afford it and the teachers seem nice. Why do I have to do research?” Richard Fiene, PhD, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State University, says this is common thinking for parents. “If they find a place that’s convenient and affordable, they’ll put blinders on and not see certain things that are important,” he says.

Of course, feeling comfortable having your child there is very important, but Fiene recommends also gathering as many sources of information about a center as possible and using more objective standards to assess it than just a gut reaction. That’s because you also want a place that will encourage your child’s development and help him or her get ready for school.

Fiene compiled findings from over 40 years of research to identify the most important attributes of a quality day care center in his “13 Indicators of Quality Child Care” guidelines. NACCRRA used these indicators in its “Is This the Right Place for My Child?” checklist, which you can take with you and fill out when you visit a day care center. It will help you better gauge its quality. The list includes:

Constant supervision and good teacher-to-child ratios

A caregiver should watch your child at all times, even when she’s sleeping. Ask what the ratios at the center are. Ideally, there should be one caregiver per three to four infants or young toddlers, and one caregiver per four to six older toddlers or six to nine preschoolers. These ratios ensure that your child will get the one-on-one attention that’s crucial to social and emotional development.

Teachers with degrees

Teachers should be creative and intelligent, says Fiene, but they also should have education and training. So be sure to ask if the teachers and administrators have early childhood education degrees and what sort of professional development they regularly get. A good center’s staff should be required to attend training each year to sharpen their skills.

A safe and healthy environment

Find out the program’s health and safety policies and procedures. A good day care center will happily share its policies on everything from immunizations (should be up-to-date in all children) to hand washing, dealing with sick children and diaper changing. You want to be sure that each adult in the center has had a background check and is certified in CPR and first aid. There should be plans in place for a lost, sick or injured child and regularly practiced emergency plans for fires, floods and other natural disasters.

If you’re considering a family child care provider (a provider that cares for several children in their home), be sure to triple-check about safety policies. Hassan Anderson says center-based care isn’t necessarily better than home-based care but cautions that family child care providers are less strictly regulated. One scary stat: A study published in the American Sociological Review revealed that the fatality rate for children who receive child care in private homes is 16 times higher than the fatality rate for children in child care centers.

You’re on the same page

Does the day care welcome parents and their ideas? And do you know its values and agree with them? “You want a partnership relationship, and you want the staff at the day care center to represent the same core values as you,” says Hassan Anderson. Shared values and clear, frequent communication between a program and parents is vital. Parent conferences should be held so that the teacher or caregiver can share a child’s developmental progress with the parents and also communicate goals. At all times, parents should be able to visit the facility, and their input should be valued. “Parents should be able to drop in at any point,” says Fiene. If there are only designated times when parents can visit kids, that may be a red flag.

A focus on learning and development

Look for a well-organized space that’s stocked with a rich variety of age-appropriate materials and toys. Ask the staff about the daily and weekly schedules. There should be lots of activities like art, music, outdoor play, reading and dramatic play. Reading should be included in the program’s schedule at least twice a day.

High standards and desire to improve

Some states offer different approval levels for child care programs, such as registered or licensed. Look for a licensed facility, since they’re required to meet high standards.

Also, some states offer quality ratings; if yours does, try to find a highly rated facility. Seek out a program that’s always looking for new ways to improve. Does the administration ask parents and staff to evaluate the program? Do they have outside evaluators observe the program? Is there a training plan for staff professional development? If the answer to those questions is yes, chances are that the program is dedicated to providing a high level of care.

There’s a waiting list. How do I get us in?

Many day care centers have waiting lists, especially NAEYC-accredited centers, since less than 10 percent of centers have the designation. “These programs often have long waiting lists — plan ahead and get on the waiting list well in advance”, says Fiene. Then, be sure to stay in touch. Make frequent contact with administrators so you and baby don’t fall off the radar.

“If someone says bad things about you, be patient.” Refugee children about studying in Russian schools

Recently, the head of the Human Rights Council, Valery Fadeev, allowed the introduction of quotas for migrant children in Russian schools. At the same time, even now it is not at all easy for them: teenagers are forced to learn Russian on their own, waste years, and then study with the kids. Journalist Alexandra Zakhvatkina spoke with four children from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, whose families turned to the Civic Assistance Committee* for help with getting into a Russian school.

All interviews were conducted in Russian.

* NPO “Civil Assistance” is included in the register of foreign agents by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

“I was teased because I am 14 years old and I am in the 5th grade”

Khasibullah D., Afghanistan, 14 years old. I entered the school in Balashikha in the second grade, now I graduated from the fifth grade

At first they didn’t want to take me to school at all. Then they said that they would be admitted to the first class. I didn’t want to, and in the end they took me to the second one. I learned Russian before school. There are few Russian children in our school – mostly Kyrgyz and Tajiks.

At first it was difficult for me to learn Russian. I learned to write, but it was difficult to understand some new words that the teacher says. She treated me like everyone else.

At school I communicate with many people, I am friends with a classmate – he is my neighbor. It happens that they tease – what to do. I was teased about the fact that I am 14 years old, and I am in the 5th grade. I am the oldest there.

Curricula in Afghanistan and Russia are different. Many new items appeared here – for example, the world around. My favorite subject now is Russian, because I study additionally with the volunteer Yulia. Sometimes I already forget my language, Farsi. Mom says something, but I forgot this word. Even with my sister, I sometimes speak Russian. The younger sisters study at the same school, but they didn’t take my brother – I don’t know why. We don’t really meet with sisters during breaks: they have their friends, I have mine.

I like the math lesson the least of all, because the teacher treats me like that… If I missed a test—for example, I was sick—she gives me another day to write it, but I didn’t go through this topic. I recently had a pain in my leg, and I missed the test. She gave it to me to write on Friday – but the other guys who missed it didn’t. I think: “Okay, I’ll write.”

I think teachers treat me worse than others

Sometimes it hurts, sometimes not. If I do something wrong, then my parents will be immediately called to school. And other guys, even if they fight, they don’t say anything. And I would like to go to a sports school: I like to play football. I used to play for Balashikha in the city team, now I play with friends in the yard. If they took me to the football team, I would go to the training camp with them in the summer. But they told me that for this you need to be a citizen of Russia, so they don’t take me.

I would advise you to be sociable and not be afraid to approach people. You need to listen to the teacher – do as they say. If someone says bad things about you, be patient. You can’t endure it – tell your parents, they will protect and help. Tell your teacher too, you have to trust him. And if it doesn’t work out, you need to change the school.

“The guys called me names that I’m not Russian”

Mohamad Haj H. , Syria, 13 years old. I went to the first class in Yegorievsk, near Moscow, now I graduated from the seventh grade

I went to first grade in 2017, we came to Russia like in 2011, I was small. I went to kindergarten here, so I already knew Russian well by school. The teacher of social studies and history said that in colloquial speech you cannot distinguish me from Russian. We speak Arabic with my parents at home, although they also know Russian.

It was a bit difficult at first, but okay. In elementary school, teachers didn’t tell me anything, but I myself noticed: somehow they underestimated me, they underestimated my grades. Now teachers are strict with everyone – it doesn’t matter where the student is from.

Most of all I like computer science – I like working with technology. “Conversations about important things” no longer take place, before there was one lesson a week, for about six months. It was interesting there: they talked about the laws, what they must comply with and what they must not. There are tours, but I don’t like them: they show historical buildings, but I prefer modern, tall skyscrapers.

There were fights in high school – the guys called me names that I was not Russian, I also somehow called them names, they didn’t like

They always call names when there are no teachers around. It rarely happened that the teacher saw and separated. I remember we once fought for 10-15 minutes until they separated us, it was right at school. I was afraid that this boy’s mother might write a statement, but in the end they began to sort it out, and he turned out to be guilty.

I have two friends, I am always with them. They don’t pay attention to the fact that I’m not Russian. I explained to them that it does not matter, I am not different from them. I said: “If you fly to another country, the same thing will happen to you.” They understood. The parents of my friends also communicate normally with me.

In summer I want to pick berries with my friends: strawberries, blueberries. Sometimes for home, sometimes for sale. We have one aunt there, we can collect and sell it to her. I used to try to sell myself: people are sitting near the city, selling, I looked – why shouldn’t I try too?

“He is from Ukraine, don’t offend, he will study in your class”

Oleg T., Ukraine, 15 years old. He graduated from the ninth grade in the city of Elektrogorsk near Moscow, before that he studied in the Kharkov region

We arrived in Moscow in May 2022, we used to live in the Izyumsky district, 350-400 people studied at our school – from our village and neighboring ones. For a while I still studied remotely at my [Ukrainian] school, but it turned out to be a very big workload, and we wrote an application for home schooling.

I was admitted to a school [near Moscow] without problems, even in the eighth grade at the very end of the school year. The teachers helped, told where everything was in the school.

The schools themselves are very different: we sit in the same class and sit. And here you need to constantly go around the school to different rooms. It’s more convenient when you just sit in the classroom. If you don’t know what lesson is next, they told you, you took out a textbook, and that’s it.

The first lesson was physics. Getting to know the class was exciting – I’m not a very sociable person. The teacher introduced me: “He is from Ukraine, don’t offend, he will study in your class” – something like that.

Didn’t notice any particular reaction from the children. They even asked in class what, who, where. There was no harassment, except perhaps as a joke, old jokes like “say” scorch “. I became friends with several people, consider immediately. Normally adapted only closer to winter. I got used to writing in Russian relatively quickly, at first I wrote in Ukrainian automatically, instead of “and” – i. Now I can say that I have joined a new class.

I plan to work part-time in the summer. I enrolled in a youth center, I will paint borders, plant flower beds – they will pay for it.

The advice I can give is to be more sociable and ask more questions: people love to be asked something. I did just that: I asked what kind of lessons, where and how. He came up and said hello, there is already some kind of interaction with people. If you are shy, you need to overcome yourself.

“After the first day at school, I didn’t want to go there anymore”

Ferdavs A. Afghanistan, 17 years old. At the age of 14, I entered the fifth grade of a school in the city of Vidnoye near Moscow, now I have completed the eighth grade

Until the eighth grade, I studied in Afghanistan. In Russia, they didn’t immediately take me to school: I didn’t have documents, and then because of my lack of knowledge of the Russian language.

At first, studying was difficult. When I came to school, I didn’t speak Russian, but I went to language courses, then a volunteer came to our house.

Teachers rarely asked me in class: they understood that I did not know Russian. If I couldn’t answer, I got the appropriate mark. It was very difficult. After the first day at school, I didn’t want to go there anymore.

At first, I communicated only with my sister: she is in my class and older than me. The younger sister is in the 5th grade, the younger brother went to kindergarten, now he is in the 2nd grade, everything is fine with him.

I played football with my friends on the street – this first of all helped me learn the language I mostly play with my peers: everyone in the class is younger than me. At first, classmates were surprised [that I was older], then they got used to it. Now we communicate well with classmates, recently we went with a class to the Theater Museum on Paveletskaya – I liked it, it’s worth a visit.

School subjects in Russia and Afghanistan are generally the same, but there boys and girls study separately. The girls studied until lunch, and we – after, we didn’t see each other at school, it’s impossible. And in Russia, everyone studies together – this was, in principle, expected: we knew that in other countries, children study together.