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| California
Daycare business Question |
Question:
My wife and I just had a baby.
My wife was trained, in Norway, to
teach music to children.
She is considering working in child
care (both for our baby and to make
money).
I have searched the net for: Child-care,
regulations, california, simplified
(the key word being simplified, because
the regulations codes come up and
they are all in legalese).
Certainly, if my wife does decide
to do this, she will have to answer
to all the regulations. But
until then, can someone suggest how
I can find a list of the basic requirements
the state puts on a person who runs
a child care center out of their home?
Just the basics like: state certification,
and what is required how much college
training (if any) health care issues
such as home cleanliness, etc.
We just want to start discussing this
and we need to know the reality of
the possibility of her doing this.
Answer:
It wasn't that hard to determine the
basic requirements:
- At least 18 years of age -
At least 15 hours of training on preventive
health practices, plus CPR/First Aid
- A brief statement confirming
that the applicant is financially
secure to operate a family child care
home for children - Evidence
that the small family child care home
contains a fire extinguisher and smoke
detector device which meet standards
established by the State Fire Marshal
- Criminal background check
for provider and support staff, plus
all adults living in the home -
Home inspection from Fire Marshal,
unless one has a "small"
daycare
- Application fee - State
licensing inspection of home prior
to accepting children - Telephone
service, toys, equipment, materials
and supplies - Written disaster
plan - $300,000 in liability
insurance
You'd have to ask your local licensing
agent regarding specifics.
Having posted these links and the
basic stuff, let's get into some other
details. First, you need to
decide if you're running a center
-- which implies more than one employee
-- or a family daycare
home, which generally means only your
wife would be the caregiver. The
difference is very important because
a center often has requirements for
staffing and supervision that family
providers do not have to deal with.
There are also differences in
adult-child ratios: family providers
often care for more children in a
mixed age group whereas employees
in a child care center have a maximum
number of children per adult and per
group.
Next, consider these general links
on starting daycare
business.
There are many others web pages out
there with more information, but this
is a good start.
Finally, call your local state office.
This is good in so many ways
-- it introduces you to the state
licensing specialists, it gives you
information about child care need
in your area, and it often provides
valuable training. They'll likely
have an orientation meeting for you
and your wife to attend. You'll
probably both need to go because you're
both adults associated with the daycare
business, even if you never actually
work there. If there's an orientation
meeting, you'll get equipment lists,
budget suggestions, a copy of the
regulation, and other details to help
prepare you for this change.
Your home may need remodeling to accommodate
child care laws. Stuff like
sinks, toilets, exits, and playgrounds
are things that the state may look
for when evaluating a daycare license.
You'll need cribs if you care
for babies, changing table, learning
centers, art supplies. Meals are another
option that many providers include.
If you go for an actual center, that's
a whole can of worms altogether --
think long-term investment and planning.
Opening a center is not something
one can do piecemeal or haphazardly!
But most people go for the home
option because it's not as involved
as running a center, but it's definitely
not easier!
Now, please keep this in mind there's
a LOT of work involved with starting
and running a daycare,
as many of these ladies will tell
you, and it's not a business
in which one will make a lot of money
or have a lot of free time. This
is not to scare you away from doing
daycare
-- it's an important, valid career
choice -- but some people aren't prepared
for the demands that the job requires
or think that it's an easy to way
to make a lot of money. It isn't.
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