St. Joseph County, IN Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

636 defines a child care home as a residential structure where at least six children, not counting the provider's own children, receive care from a provider while unattended by a parent, for regular compensation, for more than four but less than 24 hours in each of ten consecutive days a year, excluding intervening weekends and holidays, referencing IC 12-7-2. That definition splits into a Class I home, serving up to 12 children combined full- and part-time at once, and a Class II home, serving up to 16.

2-4. 106(A)(3) extends the identical listing to the R: Single-Family District, in both cases conditioned on the home being the operator's own primary residence. 072, including that section's ban on business signage, do not apply to it since it isn't classified as a home occupation. 2, independent of this zoning classification. Once a provider serves more than 16 children, or the operator no longer lives at the property, the use shifts to a child care center, which is not automatically a permitted residential use and would need its own zoning approval.