University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign

Child Care: Licensed Centers

Centers licensed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

three children sitting in a child care setting

DCFS uses the term “day care center.”

“Day care center” means any child care facility which regularly provides day care for less than 24 hours per day for more than 8 children in a family home or more than 3 children in a facility other than a family home, including senior citizen buildings.

Child care centers serve families and children from 6 weeks old up to 13 years of age.

Source of definition: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

Data available on IECAM

Latest data: FY2023 (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023)

Number of sites

The number of child care centers licensed by DCFS in a geographic area (for example, state or county)

Source of data: Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA)

Geographic region: These data are available by state, county, township, state House district, state Senate district, congressional district, ISBE region, IDHS region, municipality, unit and elementary school district, and Chicago Community Area.

  • Data are not available by Chicago Community Area for 2011 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by ZCTA for 2009 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by school districts for 2008 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by municipality for 2007 and earlier.

The centers included are those whose regulation status is “regulated/licensed” and whose center type is “Child Care Center,” “CCC Park/Recreation only,” or “Preschool.”

Sites that are Head Start-only or Preschool for All-only are not included in these data.

Centers that served no children and centers that served “summer only” were not counted in the number of sites.

Total licensed capacity across sessions 6 weeks - 1 year

Source of data: Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA)

Geographic region: These data are available by state, county, township, state House district, state Senate district, congressional district, ISBE region, IDHS region, municipality, unit and elementary school district, and Chicago Community Area.

  • Data are not available by Chicago Community Area for 2011 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by ZCTA for 2009 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by school districts for 2008 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by municipality for 2007 and earlier.

Note on Full-day and half-day sessions: Child care centers report capacity by individual sessions. The individual sessions included in this count are (1) Day, (2) Session 1, and (3) Session 2. These correspond approximately to full-day and half-day.

Sessions not included in this count are evening, overnight, and weekend.

The age groups included in this total capacity are (1) Infant, 6 weeks – 14 months; and (2) Toddler, 15 weeks – 23 months. Licensed child care centers do not serve children younger than 6 weeks of age. Thus these data relate to children from 6 weeks through 23 months of age.

The sum of the capacities of the individual age ranges (6 wks – 1 yr; 2 yrs; 3-4 and 5-K) is NOT the same as the total licensed capacity for a child care center. (It might coincidentally be the same in a few cases.) Differences result from the following conditions:

  • Centers have separate capacities for individual age ranges. They may fill these capacities as they see fit, as long as the total does not exceed their total licensed capacity.
  • Centers may serve children in full-day or half-day sessions. They may have a total licensed capacity of 20. In this case, they may serve 20 children in a full-day session; or they may serve, e.g., 20 2-year-old children in a morning session and 20 4-year-old children in an afternoon session. In this case, they will have two age range capacities of 20 (sum of 40) but a total licensed capacity of 20.
  • Child care centers do not necessarily report all of their sessions, and thus all of their age-range capacities, to INCCRRA.
  • In its online database, IECAM reports only half-day and full-day sessions, i.e., those sessions that are typically used to determine daytime point-in-time capacity. Sessions that are not used for such determination (e.g., summer only, before-and-after-school care, weekend care) are not included in the data.

INCCRRA notes that because of data reporting processes, some sessions may not be included in the data. Therefore the total licensed capacity reported here may not be identical to the true total licensed capacity. INCCRRA collects these data for purposes of parental referral, rather than for the specific purposes of the design of IECAM.

Total licensed capacity across sessions 2 years

Source of data: Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA)

Geographic region: These data are available by state, county, township, state House district, state Senate district, congressional district, ISBE region, IDHS region, municipality, unit and elementary school district, and Chicago Community Area.

  • Data are not available by Chicago Community Area for 2011 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by ZCTA for 2009 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by school districts for 2008 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by municipality for 2007 and earlier.

Note on Full-day and half-day sessions: Child care centers report capacity by individual sessions. The individual sessions included in this count are (1) Day; (2) Session 1; and (3) Session 2. These correspond approximately to full-day and half-day.

Sessions not included in this count are evening, overnight, and weekend.

The age group included in this total capacity is Toddler, 24 – 35 months.

The sum of the capacities of the individual age ranges (6 wks – 1 yr; 2 yrs; 3-4 and 5-K) is NOT the same as the total licensed capacity for a child care center. (It might coincidentally be the same in a few cases.) Differences result from the following conditions:

  • Centers have separate capacities for individual age ranges. They may fill these capacities as they see fit, as long as the total does not exceed their total licensed capacity.
  • Centers may serve children in full-day or half-day sessions. They may have a total licensed capacity of 20. In this case, they may serve 20 children in a full-day session; or they may serve, e.g., 20 2-year-old children in a morning session and 20 4-year-old children in an afternoon session. In this case, they will have two age range capacities of 20 (sum of 40) but a total licensed capacity of 20.
  • Child care centers do not necessarily report all of their sessions, and thus all of their age-range capacities, to INCCRRA.
  • In its online database, IECAM reports only half-day and full-day sessions, i.e., those sessions that are typically used to determine daytime point-in-time capacity. Sessions that are not used for such determination (e.g., summer only, before-and-after-school care, weekend care) are not included in the data.

INCCRRA notes that because of data reporting processes, some sessions may not be included in the data. Therefore the total licensed capacity reported here may not be identical to the true total licensed capacity. INCCRRA collects these data for purposes of parental referral, rather than for the specific purposes of the design of IECAM.

Total licensed capacity across sessions 3 and 4 years and 5 to K

Source of data: Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA)

Geographic region: These data are available by state, county, township, state House district, state Senate district, congressional district, ISBE region, IDHS region, municipality, unit and elementary school district, and Chicago Community Area.

  • Data are not available by Chicago Community Area for 2011 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by ZCTA for 2009 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by school districts for 2008 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by municipality for 2007 and earlier.

Note on Full-day and half-day sessions: Child care centers report capacity by individual sessions. The individual sessions included in this count are (1) Day; (2) Session 1; and (3) Session 2. These correspond approximately to full-day and half-day.

Sessions not included in this count are evening, overnight, and weekend.

The age groups included in this total capacity are (1) Preschool, 3 to 4 years (i.e., 36 months up to but not including 60 months); (2) Preschool, 5 years to K (i.e., 60 months up to but not including 72 months; may include some kindergartners).

The sum of the capacities of the individual age ranges (6 wks – 1 yr; 2 yrs; 3-4 and 5-K) is NOT the same as the total licensed capacity for a child care center. (It might coincidentally be the same in a few cases.) Differences result from the following conditions:

  • Centers have separate capacities for individual age ranges. They may fill these capacities as they see fit, as long as the total does not exceed their total licensed capacity.
  • Centers may serve children in full-day or half-day sessions. They may have a total licensed capacity of 20. In this case, they may serve 20 children in a full-day session; or they may serve, e.g., 20 2-year-old children in a morning session and 20 4-year-old children in an afternoon session. In this case, they will have two age range capacities of 20 (sum of 40) but a total licensed capacity of 20.
  • Child care centers do not necessarily report all of their sessions, and thus all of their age-range capacities, to INCCRRA.
  • In its online database, IECAM reports only half-day and full-day sessions, i.e., those sessions that are typically used to determine daytime point-in-time capacity. Sessions that are not used for such determination (e.g., summer only, before-and-after-school care, weekend care) are not included in the data.

INCCRRA notes that because of data reporting processes, some sessions may not be included in the data. Therefore the total licensed capacity reported here may not be identical to the true total licensed capacity. INCCRRA collects these data for purposes of parental referral, rather than for the specific purposes of the design of IECAM.

Total licensed capacity

Source of data: Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA)

Geographic region: These data are available by state, county, township, state House district, state Senate district, congressional district, ISBE region, IDHS region, municipality, unit and elementary school district, and Chicago Community Area.

  • Data are not available by Chicago Community Area for 2011 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by ZCTA for 2009 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by school districts for 2008 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by municipality for 2007 and earlier.

The total licensed capacity for a child care center is NOT the sum of the capacities of the individual age ranges (6 wks – 1 yr; 2 yrs; 3-4 and 5-K). (It might coincidentally be the same in a few cases.) Differences result from the following conditions:

  • Centers have separate capacities for individual age ranges. They may fill these capacities as they see fit, as long as the total does not exceed their total licensed capacity.
  • Centers may serve children in full-day or half-day sessions. They may have a total licensed capacity of 20. In this case, they may serve 20 children in a full-day session; or they may serve, e.g., 20 2-year-old children in a morning session and 20 4-year-old children in an afternoon session. In this case, they will have two age range capacities of 20 (sum of 40) but a total licensed capacity of 20.
  • Child care centers do not necessarily report all of their sessions, and thus all of their age-range capacities, to INCCRRA.
  • In its online database, IECAM reports only half-day and full-day sessions, i.e., those sessions that are typically used to determine daytime point-in-time capacity. Sessions that are not used for such determination (e.g., summer only, before-and-after-school care, weekend care) are not included in the data.

Total licensed capacity is not the same as enrollment. The number of children enrolled may be more or less than the total licensed capacity.

This number reflects total capacity for all children 0 through 5. For total capacity by children 0 and 1; by children 2; and by children 3, 4, and 5, see “Total capacity across sessions 0 and 1 year,” “Total capacity across sessions 2 years,” and “Total capacity across sessions 3 and 4 years (and 5 to K).”

INCCRRA notes that data for some centers are not included. Therefore, the total capacity reported here may not be identical to the true total capacity. INCCRRA collects these data for purposes of parental referral, rather than for the specific purposes of the design of IECAM.

Yearly differences in data definitions / descriptions

For past years, there are some differences in the data definition/description, compared with the most recent year. These are indicated here.

Geographic region: Data by some regions are not available for earlier years.

  • Data are not available by Chicago Community Area for 2011 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by ZCTA for 2009 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by school districts for 2008 and earlier.
  • Data are not available by municipality for 2007 and earlier.