St. Louis County Day Care Home License
Application Summary

A Day Care Home License is required in unincorporated St. Louis County for any person using his/her residence to care for more than four children other than children residing on the premises. A maximum of ten children, including the operator's children under the age of thirteen, may be cared for in the day care home. Exceptions to this number include "overlaps" for a maximum of two hours during any 24-hour period due to shift changes or before/after school care which may not exceed 1/3 the number of children otherwise permitted. Due to emergency school closings, additional children equal to 1/3 the number of children otherwise permitted in the day care home may be accommodated.

Day care homes shall not be operated under any of the following conditions:

  1. The day care home is operated by a person who will not personally provide day care service to the children in attendance at the day care home.
  2. The day care home is operated by a person who does not reside in the residence where the day care home is to be located.
  3. The day care home is operated in a structure which may not lawfully be occupied as a residence under the Zoning Ordinance.
  4. Day care is being provided for more children at one time than such operation is licensed under this chapter or state law to care for on the specified premises.
  5. There are less than 750 square feet of contiguous, compact outside play area on the premises available for outside recreation of the children, regardless of the number of children that are in attendance at the day care home at any one time. The property used in calculating whether the minimum outside play area required is satisfied cannot be common ground, public property, or any other property where possession is in fact shared with other residents or where other residents have the right to use the property.
  6. The operation of the day care home is in violation of any County ordinance affecting health and safety.
  7. The operator, an employee, or any person regularly present on the premises has committed an act demonstrating a lack of fitness to care for children, including child molestation or abuse, theft, fraud, or any other act of moral turpitude unless the director finds the conduct of such person subsequent to such act has been such as to demonstrate fitness to care for children.

Control of the children within the day care home is the responsibility of the day care home operator. Thus, the operator shall not permit:

  1. Excessive noise which would annoy a person of ordinary sensibilities;
  2. Children to trespass on property where there is not permission for the children to enter;
  3. Operation of the day care home to damage property of others;
  4. Operation of the day care home to cause the property on which the day care home is operated to deteriorate.

A copy of the State day care license shall be provided upon the request of the Director of Planning or the Director of Public Works or their designated agents.

Applicants are advised that conditions may be imposed by the Director of Planning to preserve the residential character of the neighborhood. Conditions may include, but are not limited to, fences, hours of operation, parking, and number of children.

If operation of a day care home would result in violation of structure setback requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, a variance from the Board of Zoning Adjustment will be required prior to day care home operation. The applicant is advised this entails a separate process coordinated through the Department of Planning.

Upon receipt of the application and the required site plan, neighbors within 300 feet of the day care home will be notified. A petition for license review may be filed by the neighbors and will be considered after the day care home has been licensed for a minimum of ninety days. If the Director determines that the petition is sufficient, a hearing shall be conducted before the Home Day Care Commission.

If at any time during the license year changes occur which alter any information required in the application, such information shall be transmitted in writing to the Director of Planning. This includes, but is not limited to, new employees or other adults regularly on the premise, construction or other improvements/conditions required on the site plan, and initiation/alteration of "overlap" hours of operation.

If the Director believes that the day care home is being operated in violation of any County ordinance or conditions of the license, the license may be revoked or suspended. If the licensee believes this action is made in error, an appeal may be filed with the Home Day Care Commission.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Application Form

    1. Name, address, phone, and social security number of the person applying to operate a day care home.

    2. Total area of the lot must be indicated in square feet or acres, and the square footage of outside recreation area must be stated.

    3. The maximum number of children who will attend the center at one time must be indicated. If an overlap period is planned, this should also be indicated on the application.

    4. List the names, addresses, phone numbers, and social security numbers of all proposed employees and all adults who reside or will be regularly present on the premises.

    5. Addendum Items

      1. Provide a site plan of the day care home site drawn to scale which meets the following requirements:
        1. Outboundary dimension of the lot.
        2. Any off-street parking.
        3. Structures on the lot including dimensions of the structure, fences (indicating the height and construction material of the fence).
        4. The location of any bodies of water on the premises or on lots abutting the premises, whether such bodies of water are natural or man-made.
        5. The location of the play area satisfying the minimum play area space requirements.
        6. Cliffs, retaining walls, or other abrupt changes in grade on the premises or on abutting lots.
        7. High tension wires on the premises or abutting lots.
        8. Other man-made features of the premises affecting the suitability of the premises for a day care home, such as sandboxes, storage sheds, etc.

      2. Provide a copy of the application for State Day Care Home Licensing or a copy of the actual state Day Care Home License.

      3. Provide authorization for the Director of Planning to request the Superintendent of Police of St. Louis County to conduct a complete record check of reach proposed employee and all adults who reside or will regularly be present on the premises. Forms for these authorizations are available from the Department of Planning. If the person who is the subject of the record check appears in person at the Department of Planning, then notarization of the form is not needed. If the form is mailed to the Department of Planning, then the form must be notarized.