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Starting a Family Child Care Program

Caring for children from other families in your home can be exciting and rewarding. It is also a tremendous responsibility, and each State has regulations that apply to child care settings. Here are some things for you to think about as you get ready to be a family child care provider:

• The need for child care in your community;
• Licensing requirements;
• Local zoning or deed restrictions;
• Liability insurance (in addition to homeowner’s insurance);
• Your business plan for starting and operating a small business;
• Costs of starting and operating child care in your home;
• Fees you need to charge to cover costs and be competitive;
• Records you may need to keep such as attendance, medical forms, payment records, and emergency contact information as required by State regulations or for taxes or for reimbursement;
• Training you must have before you can care for children and ongoing training requirements;
• Health and safety issues, including accident and illness prevention and emergency procedures;
• Curriculum and schedule of activities that meet the needs of the children;
• Appropriate use of your home’s indoor and outdoor spaces;
• Suitable equipment and materials;
• Contracts that list the rights and responsibilities of you and the parents about payment rates and policies, hours that you will provide care, and other important details; and
• Connections with community services and organizations.

The following resources will help you prepare to open a quality child care program.

Resources in Your Community

• Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) are local agencies that help parents find quality child care and child care resources in their community. Your local CCR&R can give you information about the child care needs in your community. You can ask them about the rates that other providers charge. The CCR&R will also let families know about your services. The CCR&R also has information about training opportunities and other resources. To find your local CCR&R agency, contact Child Care Aware, a national nonprofit initiative, at 800-424-2246. Information is also available in English on the Web at http://www.childcareaware.org and in Spanish at http://www.childcareaware.org/sp/.

• In some areas, family child care providers join networks that offer training and resources. The networks may also offer group benefits such as health and liability insurance. A local family child care provider association or support group can help you meet other family child care providers so that you can share information and resources with each other. To find a local group, contact the CCR&R staff in your area or contact the staff of the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) at 801-269-9338 or on the Web at http://www.nafcc.org.

Resources in Your State

• Important information about child care in your State is on the NCCIC Web site in the State Profiles section at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/statedata/statepro/index.html. When you select your State, you will find:
  • Information on Licensing Requirements, including the Maximum Child:Staff Ratios. The child:staff ratio shows the maximum number of children who can be in a staff person's care. (For example, 3:1 is 3 children to 1 caregiver.)
  • A link to your State’s Child Care Licensure Regulations. These have been compiled by the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care. You can also find your State’s regulations on the Web at http://nrc.uchsc.edu/STATES/states.htm.
  • Contact information for your State’s Child Care Licensing Agency. The agency will give you information about how to become registered or licensed. They can also send you a copy of your State’s regulations for caring for children in your home.
  • A portion of your State’s requirements regarding family child care. This includes the State’s Definition of Family Child Care. This definition includes
    • the number of children allowed,
    • the maximum number of children to one provider, 
    • whether the provider’s own children are counted, and
    • the maximum number of infants and toddlers to one provider.
    Some States license large family child care homes, which often have a larger number of children and require more than one caregiver.
  • Contact information for your State’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Administrator. CACFP may help you pay for healthy meals and snacks.
  • A link to your State’s Child Care Homepage. These Web pages often have information about programs to help parents pay for child care, training opportunities, child care quality improvement plans, and grant programs.

Links to NCCIC Information on the Web

• The Child Care as a Business topic is on the Web at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/index.html#ccbusiness. It includes the following documents:

• Funding Opportunities for Child Care (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/funding-opportunities.html);
• Fundraising (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/fundraising.html);
• Grants and Grant Writing (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/grantwriting.html);
• Empezando y Fundando un Centro Familiar de Cuidado de Niños [Starting a Family Child Care Program] (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/spanish/starfund-sp.html); and
• Starting a Child Care Center in English (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/starting.html) and in Spanish [Cómo establecer un centro de cuidado infantil] (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/spanish/starting-sp.html). 
• The Child Care Microenterprise Toolkit http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/index.html#microenterprise.
• The Child Care Workforcetopic is on the Web at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/index.html#workforce. It includes the following documents:
  • Careers in Early Childhood Education (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/careers.html);
  • Child Care Workforce Qualifications (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/qualifications.html);
  • Distance Learning in Early Childhood Education (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/distancelearning.html);
  • Early Childhood Workforce Salaries (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/salaries.html);
  • Employment Opportunities in the Early Childhood Field (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/employment.html);
  • Financial Assistance for Early Childhood Educators (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/financialassist.html);
  • Impact of Education and Training of Child Care Workers on Program Quality (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/traingimpact.html);
  • Resources on Men in the Child Care Field (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/men.html) and
  • Size of the Early Childhood Workforce is on the Web at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/sizeworkforce.html.
• The Internet Links section of the NCCIC Web site, which has links to major national child care and early education organizations, is on the Web at http://links.dev.nccic.acf.hhs.gov/internet_links/searchlinks.cgi.  

Federal Agencies and National Organizations

The following Federal agency and national organizations have information on the above-mentioned topics, as well as other child care issues, including program development and curriculum resources.

• Military Child Care Home
  MilitaryHOMEFRONT
  U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)
  World Wide Web: http://militaryhomefront.dod.mil/portal/page?_pageid= 73,44033&_dad=itc&_schema=PORTAL&section_id=20.60.500.390.0.0.0.0.
  
  MilitaryHOMEFRONT is the official Department of Defense Web site for reliable quality of life information designed to help troops and their families, leaders, and service providers. The Military Child Care Home Web page provides a review of Federal legislation and DoD policies on child care and identifies strategies and actions installation commanders can implement to ensure affordable, quality child care is available for DoD families. Military Family Child Care (FCC) provides in-home care by certified providers. There are over 9,000 FCC providers. These providers deliver critical services to service members who work shift work, work extended hours or weekends, or want a home-based environment for their children. All FCC providers go through rigorous background checks, must be licensed, and are encouraged to achieve accreditation as determined by the NAFCC together with the DoD or other process approved by the Service.
• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
  800-827-5722
  World Wide Web: http://www.sba.gov
  
  The mission of the SBA is to maintain and strengthen the nation’s economy by aiding, counseling, assisting, and protecting the interests of small businesses. They also help families and businesses recover from national disasters. Information about starting a small business is on the Web at http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/index.html. Information about financing a small business is on the Web at http://www.sba.gov/financing/index.html. SBA’s Online Women’s Business Center is on the Web at http://www.onlinewbc.gov/index.html.
• Child Care Law Center (CCLC)
  415-394-7144
  World Wide Web: http://www.childcareaware.org/en/
  
  CCLC has information on a variety of legal issues including liability and insurance issues, zoning and deed restrictions, contracts, and materials about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
  800-424-2460
  World Wide Web: http://naeyc.org
  
  NAEYC is a nonprofit professional organization of more than 103,000 members dedicated to improving the quality of care and education provided to our nation’s young children. For a list of NAEYC publications for family child care providers, go to the Search page of the NAEYC Online Store on the Web at http://naeyc.org/shoppingcart/search.aspx. Search by subject for family child care.
• National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC)
  5202 Pinemont Drive
  Salt Lake City, UT  84123
  801-269-9338
  World Wide Web: http://www.nafcc.org 
  
  NAFCC is a national membership organization that works with the more than 400 State and local family child care provider associations. They can refer you to local family child care associations and support groups. NAFCC has publications and technical assistance to promote training, professionalism, and leadership development. In addition, NAFCC accredits family day care homes that offer high-quality child care services. NAFCC Accreditation standards cover the following content areas: relationships, environment, activities, developmental learning goals, safety and health, and professional and business practices.
• National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST)
  Wellesley Centers for Women
  781-283-2547
  World Wide Web: http://www.niost.org
  
  NIOST works to improve the quantity and quality of out-of-school time programs throughout the country. NIOST focuses on education and training, community development, consultation, research, and public awareness and policy. NIOST serves children, parents, out-of-school time program staff, school principals and supervisors, community leaders, and government officials.
• National Network for Child Care (NNCC)
  World Wide Web: http://www.nncc.org/homepage.html
  
  NNCC operated the Cooperative Extension system, which uses the expertise of many of the nation’s leading universities in the areas of child care and early childhood development. NNCC offers an Internet source of over 1000 publications and resources related to child care.  Links to articles on Child Care Business Management are available on the Web at http://cyfernet.ces.ncsu.edu/cyfdb/browse_2pageAnncc.php?subcat=Child+Care+Business+Management&search=NNCC&search_type=browse.
• Redleaf National Institute (RNI)
  10 Yorkton Court
  St. Paul, MN 55117-1065
  651-641-6675
  World Wide Web: http://www.redleafinstitute.org 
  
  RNI helps improve the quality of family child care by helping providers successfully manage their businesses. RNI also offers support to trainers, tax preparers and organizations (Family Child Care Associations, Food Program sponsors, child care resource and referral agencies, and family child care military coordinators) who help providers with their business.  The Institute offers training, telephone and e-mail assistance, publications, and help in handling IRS audits.  Publications available from RNI include:
  • Getting Started in the Business of Family Child Care is available in English on the Web at http://www.redleafinstitute.org/index.cfm?page=elibrary&category=articles&subcat=gsnewyr.
  • Provider Handouts on subjects such as:
  • Contracts;
  • Food Program and Food Expenses;
  • Money Management and Retirement Planning;
  • Promoting Your Business;
  • Record Keeping and Taxes; and
  • Reducing Risks.
  Selected handouts are available in Spanish and in Hmong. These resources are available on the Web at http://www.redleafinstitute.org/Index.cfm?section=BL&Page=BL06#mkting.

Publishers

• Child Care Information Exchange (CCIE)
  800-221-2864
  World Wide Web: http://www.ccie.com
  CCIEis a publishing house that has promoted the exchange of ideas among leaders in early childhood programs worldwide through its magazine, books, training products, training seminars, and international conferences. Child Care Information Exchange is a bi-monthly magazine for administrators of early childhood programs.
• Redleaf Press
  800-423-8309
  World Wide Web: http://www.redleafpress.org
  Redleaf Press is a leading nonprofit publisher of curriculum, management, and business resources for early childhood professionals. Redleaf Press distributes approximately 500 high-quality titles at any given time. Redleaf Press is a division of Resources for Child Caring, a nonprofit child care organization.
• School-Age NOTES
  614-855-9315 or 800-410-8780
  World Wide Web: http://www.schoolagenotes.com
  This newsletter provides monthly ideas, strategies, and curriculum activities for working with school-agers. A quarterly resource catalog has materials on discipline, science, health, administration, activities and games for school-age programs, and descriptions of models programs with contacts.

Health and Safety Resources

• Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs, 2nd Edition (2002), by the American Public Health Association (APHA); the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP); and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a comprehensive set of health and safety standards for providing quality child care. This resource is on the Web at http://nrc.uchsc.edu/CFOC/PDFVersio0/National%20Health%20and%20Safety%20Performance%20Standards.pdf.

Updated June 2006