A List of Things to Do for a Home Day Care for Kids
If you enjoy working with children, are educated in child development and want to start a home business, opening a day care center is a useful way to make money doing what you love. There are several things to take care of such as licensing, deciding what ages to accept and setting up a day care center, before opening for business.
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Research
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Find out all you need to know about opening a daycare business. Talk with friends or family that own or work at a daycare facility to get the feel of the work environment. Visit the National Association for Family Child Care website for free publications and to learn about providing daycare. Typically, owning a daycare center involves much more than simply watching children for a certain amount of time. Know if a daycare is the right business for you.
Laws and Regulations
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Find out your state laws about opening a daycare from your official state government website. Most states require licensing, first aid certification and insurance. Most licensing requirements largely depend on the number of children enrolled in the daycare program. If your daycare center needs licensing, fill out the necessary forms and pay the fees to obtain a license. As the licensing process and fees vary by state, contact your local government for specifics. Take first aid classes and purchase insurance. There are many insurance providers with various rates depending on your needs. A simple internet search will provide you will all the information needed to decide what provider is best for you.
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Children and Rates
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Decide how many children you will accept, the preferred ages and the daycare rates. The amount of children enrolled in the daycare at one time largely depends on the available space and licensing requirements. Daycare prices largely depend on the ages you are willing to accept. Keep in mind that working with infants and toddlers may require additional staffing for the added care. Middle aged children need attention but will require less hands-on care than smaller children.
Staffing
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Depending on the size of your daycare center, extra staffing may be a necessity to satisfy state licensing laws. Some states require a certain ratio of staff to children, such as one staff member for every four children. Hire staff members with a strong educational background in child development and no less than one year of childcare experience.
Contract and Parent Handbook
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Create a contract and a parent handbook. Contracts are essential for daycare's. The contract should clearly state the various policies, rules and regulations of the daycare. Many daycare's also create parent handbooks that contain all of the daycare policies in writing such as fees, hours of operation, vacation days, late charges illnesses and trial periods. Always require a signature from the parents on the contract.
Miscellaneous
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Other important things to do include promoting the business, choosing an educational curriculum, creating a daily schedule and nutritional plan, purchasing toys and equipment, setting up the daycare per state regulations and reviewing your options for enrolling in government-funded programs.
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References
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