The OCFS Blue Card is New York’s day care enrollment form, officially numbered OCFS-LDSS-0792, that you fill out with your child’s emergency contacts, health details, and pickup authorizations and return to your childcare provider before your child’s first day. It’s a single two-sided page. You sign it, hand it to the provider, and they keep the original on-site. You never send it to a state agency yourself.1NY OCFS. Day Care Enrollment Form OCFS-LDSS-0792
Where To Get a Blank Copy
Your provider should give you a blank Blue Card during enrollment. If you’d rather have one in hand ahead of time, download the PDF from the Office of Children and Family Services at ocfs.ny.gov/forms. Search for “OCFS-LDSS-0792,” or look under day care forms. Some older paperwork references OCFS-LDSS-0707; that number is outdated, and the current form is OCFS-LDSS-0792.
Translations are posted in several languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, and Bengali, so you can request a version in the language you read most comfortably.2NY OCFS. Form Search
How To Fill Out Each Section
Every blank needs to be completed. An empty field creates problems in an emergency and can put the provider out of compliance during an inspection. Work through it in order.
Child Identification
Start with your child’s full legal name, date of birth, home address, and gender. Use the name from the birth certificate or other legal documents. Nicknames create confusion if emergency responders or hospital staff need to match records.
Parent and Guardian Contact Information
List each parent’s or guardian’s name, home address, and phone numbers. Include a workplace address and a daytime number where staff can actually reach you. If you and a co-parent live apart or work different shifts, put both sets of information down so the provider can try multiple lines before moving to emergency contacts.
Emergency Contacts and Authorized Pickup Persons
The form has separate space for emergency contacts (called when neither parent is reachable) and for people you authorize to pick your child up. Under New York childcare regulations, providers must keep the names and addresses of all authorized pickup persons on file for each child.3Cornell Law Institute. New York Comp Codes R and Regs Tit 18 416.15 – Management and Administration Anyone not listed cannot take your child from the facility. Add grandparents, neighbors, or friends you might call in a pinch, and double-check every phone number.
Medical Information
Enter your child’s physician or pediatric clinic name and phone number. List allergies, chronic conditions, and dietary restrictions clearly. If your child carries an EpiPen or inhaler, note the medication and dosage. The regulation requires providers to keep on file the name and dosage of any medication a child uses, how often it’s given, and a log of administration by caregivers.3Cornell Law Institute. New York Comp Codes R and Regs Tit 18 416.15 – Management and Administration
If your child needs medication administered during care hours, the provider will likely ask you to complete a separate medication consent form (OCFS-LDSS-7002). That’s not part of the Blue Card.4NY OCFS. LDSS-7002 Medication Consent Form
Special Needs and Services
The reverse side has checkboxes for services your child receives, including Early Intervention, Special Education, and Occupational Therapy. Check “None” if nothing applies. Checking the right box helps the provider plan accommodations. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, childcare centers cannot exclude a child based on a disability and must make reasonable modifications to include the child in the program.5ADA.gov. Commonly Asked Questions About Child Care Centers and the Americans with Disabilities Act Disclosing this information is meant to support your child’s care, not to work against enrollment (more on that below).
Consent Checkboxes and Signature
Near the bottom sit two consent statements that many parents overlook.
- Emergency medical treatment. Checking this box and signing authorizes the provider to seek immediate hospital care if a life-threatening situation arises and you cannot be reached. Skipping it can delay treatment because staff may not have legal permission to act.
- Neighborhood trips. This authorizes your child to join walks or short outings around the facility, such as a nearby park or library.
Sign and date the form after reviewing every field. An unsigned card is incomplete, and the provider cannot treat it as a valid enrollment record.
How To Submit It
Hand the completed Blue Card directly to your provider, whether that’s the facility director, the lead caregiver, or whoever handles enrollment paperwork. You do not mail it to OCFS or any state office. The provider keeps the original on-site because New York regulations require child records to be maintained at the facility and available for inspection by OCFS at any time.3Cornell Law Institute. New York Comp Codes R and Regs Tit 18 416.15 – Management and Administration Your child’s card stays in the building where care actually happens.
Keep a photocopy or a phone photo for yourself. If you ever need to update the card, dispute a detail, or enroll your child in a second program, a reference copy saves time.
Keeping the Information Current
A Blue Card is only useful if it’s accurate today. Tell your provider right away when something changes: a move, a new job, a new phone number, a different authorized pickup person, or a new diagnosis or allergy. Outdated contact information is one of the most common problems providers flag, and it becomes a real issue when staff are trying to reach you during an emergency.
Most providers will ask you to fill out a fresh Blue Card rather than cross out old details, since the form has to be legible to any staff member who grabs it in a hurry. Some allow small, initialed amendments. Either way, the provider should replace the old card in your child’s file.
The form itself doesn’t set an annual renewal date, but many providers ask parents to complete a new card at the start of each program year. Even without a prompt, review what’s on file every few months. Phone numbers and emergency contacts go stale without anyone noticing.
What ADA Protections Mean for the Disability Section
If your child has a disability, federal law shapes how a provider can use the information you disclose on the Blue Card. Under the ADA, childcare centers must conduct an individualized assessment of whether they can meet your child’s needs rather than relying on assumptions about children with disabilities.5ADA.gov. Commonly Asked Questions About Child Care Centers and the Americans with Disabilities Act A provider cannot refuse enrollment because your child needs one-on-one attention, uses adaptive equipment, or might raise the center’s insurance costs. The recognized exceptions are situations where the child’s presence would pose a direct threat to safety or would require a fundamental change to the program.
Filling in the special needs section gives the provider information to plan appropriate care. If a provider tries to use that information to turn your child away without an individualized assessment, that may violate the ADA. Programs receiving federal funding also have obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, including providing language access for families who don’t speak English.6Department of Justice. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964