The purpose of nurseries is to provide day and night care for children under the age of three who cannot remain with their families or benefit from supervised foster care.
Nurseries are divided into two categories:
1° Social nurseries, which receive children whose state of health does not require special medical care and which come under article L. 312-1 of the Code de l’Action Sociale et des Familles ;
2° Health nurseries for children whose state of health requires care that their families cannot provide.
A nursery is deemed to be any grouping in the same home, under the conditions set out in the first paragraph of this article, of more than three children under the age of three who are not family members.