Licensed Preschool in Fontana, CA

Preschool in Fontana

As of August 2026

Fontana's provider mix looks a lot like Corona's next door: 58 family child care homes and 54 child care centers make up the city's 112 licensed providers. Preschool coverage is especially strong, reaching 88 percent of providers. Combined licensed capacity totals 3,716 children. All providers are licensed through the California Department of Social Services' Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD), and CloverMap consolidates Fontana's full roster for parents to compare.

What to know about childcare in Fontana

Fontana's child care roster is nearly evenly split between formats, with 58 family child care homes and 54 child care centers among 112 licensed providers. That balance means Fontana families searching broadly will find both smaller, residence-based programs and larger classroom facilities in roughly equal numbers. Parents new to licensed child care often assume one format is inherently better, but the right fit usually comes down to a child's temperament and a family's daily logistics: center hours may align more predictably with a standard work schedule, while a family child care home can sometimes offer more flexible drop-off and pickup arrangements.

Combined licensed capacity across the 112 reporting providers is 3,716 children, averaging about 33 per provider, a mid-range figure consistent with the roster's even split between centers and family child care homes. It's worth remembering that a licensed capacity figure describes how many children a provider is permitted to enroll, not how many openings exist on a given day. Actual availability shifts constantly as children age out or families relocate, so this citywide number is best used as a planning benchmark rather than a guarantee of a specific opening.

Preschool coverage stands out in Fontana: 98 of 112 providers, or 88 percent, serve preschool-age children, one of the higher rates in this batch. Infants and toddlers are each served by 66 providers, 59 percent, and 64 providers, or 57 percent, serve school-age children. For families mapping out care across several years, knowing which providers serve multiple age bands up front can simplify the search considerably, since a single provider that follows a child from infancy through the preschool years spares parents the work of re-searching and re-enrolling at each stage.

Every Fontana provider is licensed through the California Department of Social Services' Community Care Licensing Division. CCLD sets the same baseline staffing, group-size, and safety standards for family child care homes and centers alike. A license is not a ranking or endorsement of one provider over another; it simply confirms the operator has met the state's threshold requirements to legally operate. Parents researching further should treat a CCLD license as a baseline credential, then judge day-to-day fit through a tour, a conversation with staff, and their own sense of the environment.

With preschool options this widespread and the format split close to even, Fontana parents have flexibility to choose based on preference, a center like CHILDREN'S COURTYARD, THE represents one path, with a comparable number of family child care homes offering the alternative. CloverMap lets Fontana families filter by format, capacity, and age group served. Starting a search by deciding on format, then filtering by the age group a child currently needs, tends to narrow the list to a manageable number faster than browsing every listing one by one.