Although it has yet to be determined whether her operation was legal, The New York City Bureau of Day Care claims the caretaker, who advertised on a social networking website, was running an informal child care service, one that can legally be operated out of the home as long as no more than three children are permitted into the program.
   Some parents may wonder why anyone would agree to place their child in a day care establishment that is neither inspected nor granted a permit by the city bureau. The answer could be chalked up to one of economic necessity: Khan reportedly charged just $25 a day.
   “The cost of infant care has grown 20 percent in the last four years,” said Betty Holcomb, policy director at Child Care, Inc., a nonprofit resource for New York City families. “The cost of child care continues to rise, even as a family’s income shrinks.”
   A middle-class family of three, which, by New York standards is considered one that earns approximately $55,000, will spend a little more than half their annual income on child care, Holcomb said — which is an extravagance when compared with the amount spent on college tuition, which the nonprofit reported is slightly more than 10 percent of a middle-class family’s adjusted gross income.
   Add to this the fact that the city’s school cuts are expected to be felt in after-school programs next year, which will reportedly affect the working parents of more than 500,000 city youths, according to the Partnership for After School Education, and many parents are clearly faced with a problem.
   Frank Cresciullo, assistant commissioner for the NYC Bureau of Children, said there is a solution: parents have the tools to do their homework and make informed decisions about child care.
   The bureau is directly responsible for permitting over 10,000 child care providers in the city, Cresciullo said. Its trained professionals regularly visit and inspect its licensed centers to make sure window guards are in place, electrical outlets are covered and overall conditions are safe, as well as to evaluate the centers’ educational and physical fitness programs.
   The bureau lists each of its licensed day care centers, by borough, on its website, nyc.gov/html/doh/html/dc/dc.shtml, which also provides contact information and data on the permit expiration date, age group of charges and maximum number of children each center accepts.
   The bureau separates day care centers into four groups: school-age programs, which encompass no more than 20 children ages five to 13 in a non-home site; family day care, which takes six or fewer children ages six weeks to 12 years and is set up in a caretaker’s home; group family day care, also cared for at a home, which takes no more than 12 children ages six weeks to 12 years; and group day care, an option for parents who prefer a day care center to home care. Groups are allowed to accept no more than eight children under a year old, 10 children between one and two years old, 15 three-year-old charges, 10 four-year olds and 25 five-year-old children.
   The site also offers useful tips for choosing child care services. For more information, visit its website or call 311.
    
   Tips for Parents
   Give yourself as least three months to find a service.
   Call 311 or visit nyc.gov/health for names of licensed sites in your neighborhood.
   Ask if the service is licensed. All out of home child care services for seven or more children under 6 years of age must be licensed by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of Child Care.
   Things to look for during your visit: is the staff friendly to the children? Does the staff discipline the children in an appropriate way? Does the staff eat with the children? Are the toys and play equipment clean, in good repair and within easy reach of the children? Are all child care areas at the service free of cigarette smoke?
   —Courtesy of NYC Bureau of Child Care