Licensed Daycares in Imperial, CA

Daycare & Childcare in Imperial

As of August 2026

Of the 5 licensed child care providers in Imperial, only 5 are centers, while 18 are family child care homes — about 78% home-based, one of the more home-heavy markets in this dataset. Combined licensed capacity totals roughly 472 children, an average of 21 per site. Coverage across age groups is unusually deep here: 22 of the 23 providers serve preschool-age children, and 19 each serve infants and toddlers. CloverMap compiles all 23 of Imperial's licensed providers into one searchable, verified directory.

What to know about childcare in Imperial

Imperial's child care market runs mostly through family child care homes: 18 of the city's 5 licensed providers are homes, with only 5 operating as centers, putting home-based care at about 78% of the total. For families, that means most searches here will surface smaller, in-home settings rather than larger center programs. That composition means most searches here will surface smaller, in-home settings before large centers. Family child care homes typically involve a single caregiver managing a small, mixed-age group in a residential setting, which can suit families who want more scheduling flexibility and a lower adult-to-child ratio than a classroom-based center typically offers.

With an average licensed capacity of about 21 children per site, Imperial's total reported capacity across all 23 providers comes to roughly 472 children — a smaller-scale market overall, consistent with a supply built mostly around family child care homes rather than larger centers. As with any licensed capacity figure, this number represents the ceiling a provider is permitted to serve rather than a live vacancy count, so families should treat it as a starting point for comparison rather than a guarantee of an open seat. Contacting providers directly remains the best way to confirm current availability.

Age-group coverage in Imperial is especially broad: 22 of the 23 providers serve preschool-age children, and 19 each serve infants and toddlers, with 18 serving school-age kids. That means the large majority of Imperial's providers care for children across a wide age span, which can simplify searches for families with children of different ages. Because staffing requirements are generally most stringent for infant care, the number of providers serving that age group often trails the numbers for preschool or school age — a pattern that shows up across most California cities, not just this one. Families with children spanning several age brackets may want to prioritize providers that report coverage across multiple groups at once, since that can simplify daily drop-off and pickup logistics.

Licensed child care providers in Imperial, as throughout California, are regulated by the California Department of Social Services' Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD). A CCLD license confirms that an operator — center or family child care home — has met the state's requirements for staffing, group size, and facility conditions. That licensing process includes background checks for staff, minimum staff-to-child ratios, facility and space requirements, and emergency preparedness planning, applied consistently regardless of whether the provider is a center or a family child care home. A license doesn't disclose day-to-day details of a specific program, but it does confirm the operator has cleared the state's baseline requirements to legally care for children.

Parents searching in Imperial should expect most options to be family child care homes, including providers like IT'S A SMALL WORLD, rather than large centers. With 22 of 23 providers serving preschool-age children and 19 each serving infants and toddlers, families with children spanning several ages have a strong chance of finding a single provider who can serve the whole family.