Licensed Infant Care in San Dimas, CA

Infant Care in San Dimas

As of August 2026

San Dimas's child care landscape leans strongly center-heavy, with 19 of its 23 licensed providers operating as centers and just 4 as family child care homes — about 83% center-based. Combined licensed capacity across these 23 providers totals roughly 1,082 children, an average of 47 per site. Thirteen providers serve preschool-age children and 9 each serve infants and toddlers. CloverMap lets San Dimas families browse every verified, licensed provider in the city in one searchable list.

What to know about childcare in San Dimas

San Dimas's 23 licensed child care providers are heavily weighted toward centers: 19 operate as centers and only 4 as family child care homes, putting center-based care at about 83% of the local total. That leaves families with a smaller but still real option in the 4 family child care homes for those who want a more home-like setting. Larger centers like these typically offer structured daily schedules, dedicated outdoor play space, and multiple staff members organized by classroom, while the smaller number of family child care homes in the mix can appeal to families who want a lower adult-to-child ratio and a more home-like setting. Neither format is inherently better for every child — fit often comes down to a child's temperament and a family's schedule.

Licensed capacity across San Dimas's 23 providers totals about 1,082 children, averaging roughly 47 per site — a relatively large average that reflects the center-heavy composition of the market, since centers typically hold more licensed capacity than individual family child care homes. 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.

Thirteen of San Dimas's 23 providers serve preschool-age children, the largest age-group total in the city. Infant and toddler care are each offered at 9 providers, and school-age care at 8. Families with a preschooler have the widest set of options, while those needing infant care are working with a somewhat smaller pool. 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.

As with all California cities, child care licensing in San Dimas is overseen by the California Department of Social Services' Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD). A CCLD license means an operator — whether running a center or a family child care home — has met the state's staffing, group-size, and facility requirements to legally provide care. 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.

Given the strong center orientation in San Dimas, most searches here will surface larger, classroom-based programs like DOVE DAY SCHOOL rather than in-home options, though the 4 family child care homes remain worth checking for parents who prefer that format. With 13 of 23 providers serving preschool-age children, that group has the deepest bench, while the 9 providers each serving infants and toddlers offer a smaller but workable starting point.