Thanks Mrs Laurie and horse girl.
I would suggest that parents chose a licensed day care over an unlicensed day care. I believe that there are good unlicensed providers too.
At the end of the day it comes down to personal work ethics.
Ask a lot of questions and take time in deciding. The most important question is whether your child will be comfortable there and gets the kind of care she needs. You know your child better than anyone and chose a place that will suit your child. Ask specific questions and address all your concerns while interviewing the provider. It might be useful to let the provider tell you what he/she expects from children in a particular age. You do not want her dismissing you later saying that your child is needy.
All babies are needy and to different extents. Thats why they are dependents.
It is harder when they are under 15 months ...some babies are a lot more needy than the others and your "angel" provider might turn you down after knowing your baby needs more attention than the others.