Licensed Before & After School in Albany, CA

Before & After School in Albany

As of August 2026

Albany's 22 licensed child care providers report a combined capacity of about 681 children, an average of 31 per site. The market splits evenly between formats: 11 centers and 11 family child care homes, an even 50-50 balance. Preschool-age coverage leads here, with 19 of the 22 providers serving that group, while infant and toddler care are each offered at 11 providers and school-age care at 13. CloverMap brings Albany's full roster of verified, licensed providers together in one place.

What to know about childcare in Albany

Albany's child care market is split exactly down the middle: 11 of its 22 licensed providers operate as centers and 11 as family child care homes, a 50-50 balance. That parity is unusual in this dataset and gives parents an equal starting point when weighing a center environment against a smaller, home-based one. That mix gives parents a genuine decision to make rather than a market dominated by one format. Centers tend to run structured, multi-classroom programs with dedicated staff for each age group, while family child care homes typically offer a smaller group size, more flexible scheduling, and a single consistent caregiver — trade-offs families weigh differently depending on a child's age and temperament.

Combined licensed capacity across Albany's 22 providers totals about 681 children, an average of roughly 31 per site. All 22 providers report capacity figures, so this average reflects the full local market and gives families a dependable sense of typical program size. That capacity figure reflects the maximum number of children each provider is licensed to serve at one time — not a guarantee of a current opening — so families should always confirm real-time availability directly with a provider. Still, comparing licensed capacity across providers is a useful first filter for families deciding between a large, multi-classroom program and a smaller, more intimate setting.

Preschool-age children are the most consistently served group in Albany, with 19 of the 22 providers offering that age range. Infant and toddler care are each available at 11 providers, and school-age care at 13 — a reasonably well-rounded spread across age groups for a city this size. This kind of age-group breakdown matters because not every licensed provider serves every age range — some specialize in a narrower band, such as preschool only, while others cover infants through school age at a single site. Families juggling children of different ages often find it easier to search for providers that report coverage across multiple groups rather than coordinating separate arrangements.

In Albany, as everywhere in California, licensed child care is overseen by the California Department of Social Services' Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD). A CCLD license means a provider, center or family child care home, has met the state's requirements for staffing, group size, and facility conditions. This oversight includes staff background checks, required staff-to-child ratios, facility and safety standards for the physical space, and emergency planning requirements, applied the same way to centers and family child care homes alike. Families comparing providers can treat a valid license as a baseline confirmation of these state requirements, separate from the day-to-day fit of any individual program.

Because Albany splits evenly between centers and family child care homes, families here can genuinely weigh both formats, including center options like ALBANY CHILDREN'S CENTER. With 19 of 22 providers serving preschool-age children and 13 serving school-age kids, families across most age ranges will find solid options, while the 11 providers each serving infants and toddlers still offer a workable starting point.