Licensed Toddler Care in Bronx, NY

Toddler Care in Bronx

As of August 2026

The Bronx's child care landscape reflects two different regulators working side by side. Of the 3,691 licensed and registered providers CloverMap tracks in the borough, most are home-based programs registered with New York State, alongside a smaller set of center-based programs permitted by the city health department and a further group of school-age programs. Among the 247 providers carrying a Google rating, the average comes to 4.3 stars, with 115 rated 4.5 stars or higher. A further 113 providers hold QUALITYstarsNY ratings, giving Bronx families an added quality signal alongside reviews.

What to know about childcare in Bronx

Of the borough's 3,691 total providers, 352 operate as center-based programs permitted by the New York City Health Department (DOHMH), while 3,026 are home-based programs registered with the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), and 313 are school-age child care programs also registered through OCFS. That mix means roughly 82 percent of Bronx options are home-based, with center-based programs making up close to 10 percent and school-age programs another 8 percent or so. For parents, this translates into a borough where smaller, home-based settings are the most common starting point, though larger center-based programs are readily available for those who prefer that setting.

Ratings coverage in the Bronx is modest relative to the full provider count: 247 providers, roughly 7 percent of the total, carry a Google rating. Among those rated, the average lands at 4.3 stars, and 115 - just under half of all rated providers - are rated 4.5 stars or higher. Because the majority of Bronx providers don't yet carry a public rating, a strong reputation among the rated group is a useful data point, but it shouldn't be read as a verdict on the many unrated homes and centers nearby.

Beyond star ratings, 113 Bronx providers hold a QUALITYstarsNY rating, New York's statewide quality rating and improvement system. That's a sizable share of the rated group and a signal worth weighing alongside reviews, since QUALITYstarsNY reflects a structured quality assessment rather than parent sentiment alone.

The two-regulator structure can be confusing for families new to the search. DOHMH permits and oversees center-based child care programs within city limits, while OCFS licenses or registers home-based providers and school-age programs across the state, including those operating in the Bronx. Both are legitimate, government-backed pathways to operating legally - the difference is about setting and oversight body, not about which one to trust more. CloverMap lists providers from both regulators in one place so Bronx parents don't have to check two separate systems to see their full range of options.

Given how home-heavy the Bronx's provider base is, a productive search often starts by deciding whether a home setting or a center setting fits your family better, then filtering from there. Providers like WILLIAMSBRIDGE OVAL sit among the borough's center-based options, and comparing a handful of centers against a handful of homes - checking ratings where available and QUALITYstarsNY status - tends to surface a shortlist quickly, even with thousands of total listings to sort through.