How to Become a State Certified Child Care Provider
When you open a day care center, your state requires you to get licensed. The licensing process is rigorous, and it covers many different aspects of owning a child care business. When you obtain your license, you are, in essence, certified by your state. This provides assurance to parents that you provide high-quality child care. It means you have undergone child care training, a background check, and that your child care facility meets minimum safety, fire and health standards set by your state.
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Instructions
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Contact your state's day care licensing department. Visit the TLC Child Care Resources website for each state's contact information. See Resources for the link. Visit the department's website and familiarize yourself with general requirements for opening a child care center in your state, such as the type of child care centers the department licenses and how many children you can have in each type. Some licensing offices provide a potential providers' toolkit that gives step-by-step instructions of how to open a child care center in each state. Request a copy from the licensing office or download it from the office's website.
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Attend a licensing orientation if your state's licensing department offers one. In some states, orientation is mandatory. At these orientations, you will learn about the licensing process in your state, and opening a child care center in general. You will also be able to ask questions.
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Make sure that you meet minimum age and education requirements for child care center owners in your state. For example, a Texas provider who "provides care in her own home for compensation,
for three or fewer children unrelated to the caregiver ages birth through 13 years" must be at least 18 years old, according to state regulations.
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Get a copy of your state's child care licensing requirements. It may be on the department's website. It is usually a very long document encompassing rules about health, safety, staffing and program requirements. Read this document cover to cover, and then consider reading it again. If your center and its staff do not measure up to these minimum standards, you will not earn state certification as a child care provider.
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Scout out and rent or purchase a suitable child care facility. Keep minimum standards in mind, especially the required number of toilets, sinks and square feet per child. Ensure the building meets zoning, building code, fire, safety, and sanitation requirements. You can also operate out of your home, but make sure you meet all licensing requirements for home child care centers.
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Obtain appropriate furnishings, toys and materials for each age level for which you plan to provide care. Again, refer to your copy of state minimum standards to ensure compliance.
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Get the necessary building, sanitation, safety, and fire inspections required by your state's minimum standards. Be sure to include copies of these in your application packet, if required.
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Fill out and return your licensing application. Make sure you use the correct application for the type of center you want to open. Provide any required supporting documentation, such as background check authorizations, written business policies, floor and playground layout plans, nutrition plans and menus, staffing organization and job descriptions, descriptions of your child care programs, budgets, building inspections, transcripts of child care classes or credentials you may have and any application or licensing fee.
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Complete a site visit from your state licensing representative. This visit to your center ensures compliance with all applicable licensing requirements. The inspector will focus on how you organize personnel files, whether you have posted written policies as required, how teachers interact with children and whether you meet health and safety requirements.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit child image by Renata Osinska from Fotolia.com
