Day Care Requirements

There are minimum standards and day careand requirements.
requirements which have been set byThe government through its agencies monitors
government regulatory agencies for child careday care providers to ensure that the
services providers. The areas covered includerequirements are being met. They use inspectors
health and safety, child protection, special needs,and consultants who visit day care centers and
number of adult carers per child, type of care,inspect their programs and facilities for compliance
staff qualifications, food standards, learning andwith regulations to ensure that they meet the
play. Day care or child care providers usually haveminimum day care requirements and standards.
to meet these requirements before they can beMost of the visits are unannounced. The
licensed or registered.information gathered during these visits is
If you're starting or plan to start a day caredocumented and is available for the public to see.
center, you should first find out what the daySo if your day care service gets good reports
care requirements are for your state. Day caredemand for places at your center may be very
requirements are there to ensure that daycarehigh.
programs are meeting the minimum standards forRemember every state has their own day care
child care. Many care providers aim to voluntarilyrequirements so if you're interested in opening a
exceed the required minimum standards. To findchild care center the first step is to find out from
out more information about day careyour state what the requirements and regulations
requirements in your state call 1-800-598-5437.are. You may find it helpful to consult some of
This is the number for the National Resourcethe many books available about starting a
Center for Health and Safety in Child Care anddaycare business. This will give you step-by-step
Early Education. They have information aboutinstructions on what to do.
individual states' Child Care Licensure regulations