Finding the Best Caregiver for Your Children

Finding the best child care for your child may seem difficult. There are so many elements to consider. CDSC’s CCR&R services can help make your decision easier by taking the guesswork out of choosing child care. Whether you are looking for a child care center, preschool, family child care home, summer program, special needs program, or school-age program, we help you make an informed decision. We provide you with information about quality indicators, types of child care programs available in your community, state licensing regulations, and information about child care subsidies to help pay for child care.

When you call our CCR&R department, a parent counselor will provide you with referrals to child care programs that best meet your child care needs. We have data on licensed and registered programs in New York City. The referrals are free of charge. You have the option to receive your customized consumer education referral packet by mail, email, fax or regular mail.

You can also do your own search for child care here

Child care referrals are available 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday thru. Friday at (718) 398-6738 ext. 8536 (English, Spanish and Haitian Creole), ext. 8530 (English and Spanish) or toll free at 1-888-469-5999 (English, Spanish, Chinese, and Haitian Creole), online anytime, or by completing the Request Form and submitting by email, fax, or regular mail (instructions are included on the form).

Quality Educational Information that you will receive: 

• Contact information to check the complaint history of a program
• Referrals to New York State licensed/registered providers
• Financial assistance
• Accredited Child Care Information
• Choosing the right care for your child

Referral Follow-up

Within a month of receiving a child care referral, the Parent Counselor will contact you to follow-up on the referral process. The information you provide will enable us to improve the level of service and let us know if any changes are necessary. This follow-up can be emailed to you in a link or sent by mail.

Contact Child Development Support Corporation (CDSC) with any questions and speak to a parent counselor by calling 718-398-6738, or emailing Childcare@cdscnyc.org

Parent Education & Advocacy

Through various partnerships and collaborations, CDSC offers a wide range of resources free of charge to parents. Parents have access to workshops, hundreds of suggestions for fun, learning activities to do with their children, the latest information on child development, parenting issues, regulations on child care, and current legislation and policies affecting young children.

Parents are also encouraged and guided to advocate on a local and national level to help raise awareness of the importance of quality child care on the early development of children.