I’m Interested In Starting My Own Day Care Can U Give Me Tips/Advice Etc

[mdzn5440]

Hi, my name is Erica. I am currently enrolled in taking a class in December to start my own in home day care in Indiana. I am nervous. I want to be sure this is the right thing to do. I have 4 kids of my own. I want to be able to take the state vouchers and also take cash payments. Please tell me your experiences how much money it takes to get started etc. Also i have another question if you could start all over again on your day care what would you change and why? Thanks for all your help.

Erica

[Christian Mother]

Hi Erica, Welcome!!

First off...what a blessing you've chosen to open a daycare in your home. For me...my back ground has always been children. You need to make sure this is really want you want to do bc this job can be the most wonderfulness fulfilling job or it can really be stressful and heartbreaking as sometime the parents can be quiet diff.

First off. You need to find out what your state says about running a daycare out of your home. Some states require that if you run a childcare you must be lic. other state have a max on how many paid children can be in the home along with your own children. For instance...CA all daycare must be lic. for AZ you may operate a unlic. daycare with only 4 paid childcare along with 2 of your own children being home. Anymore children must be state lic. So, in that being said you must ck with your state CCNR's to find out what there rules and regulations are. Also, parents really like a provider to have there finger print clearance card and be certified in both CPR/First Aid. Parents also want to have a few back up reference and maybe a couple of current parents to contact. One of the things my parents ask about other than rates is if I give receipts so they can claim me on there taxes. Some people this would be a deal breaker for them if I didn't offer this as they want that tax break. I would strongly say to do this bc your now a biz owner and as such you get the benifit of write offs. And let me tell you...there is whole forum on here on what you can write off.
That should be to get started...then after you have those in line...I would put a special fund together to start getting supplies for your daycare when I started...I only had one 3 month infant and not much supplies for him but a pack n play. I found out quickly I needed quiet a bit of things...I got by though with a jumper and baby toys. I couldn't afford much more then that as I had no clue as to how I'd run my childcare and didn't plan. I know quiet a bit now after running at full capacity and have selected 4 wonderful families. You learn as you go..

Prepare a contract and parent hand book. http://www.supportingproviders.com/pr_02.htm
I go to this sight for samples of what contracts look like and copy and pasted and changed what I wanted. There are quiet a few people on here that have some really awesome ones and you can search on here for them...there everywhere. I'll be honest if I had done this at my interview stage and had a back bone to stick to them I would of not had problems in the beginning. But you learn along the way with what you can handle and what you can't.
The interviewing process is important make sure you set time aside to discuss the parent hand book and ask key questions like what they are looking for in care...what times they are looking for...that will set a precipitant on what price to set on care. Added note...do research of diff. daycare centers/in home on rates so you can offer a good in the middle rate.
I usually have 2 interviews. First being on the phone which I can always get a good feeling for the person and if we can communicate well. The 2nd would be to meet family to family. My family being all of us (hubby and children) this is important and they are coming into your home and my hubby does come in and out of the house often. They need to be ok with that. And that depends of course on whether your husband will be around the kids at all. Mine are. Some don't leave til just around the time my husband gets home. I would advise that when you set a date and time for interview that you never give your address til an hr before meeting time bc that will eliminate them from just not coming by at all. It leaves them to be responsible and if there serious in care they will call you to get that address and promptly come at the time you both set on. If not then they don't call at all and don't stop by and you can go about your day not having to worry about them being super late. I would watch out for those that continue to call and keep switching days and times. That just means their not as serious about finding care as you are to place them. Be selective w/your families. I know that is hard when your starting out...use your woman intuition to decern whether this family will be a good fit for you. Sometimes though we just need to get a family in the door to help with bills...just be careful of looking desperate bc some of these families are looking for just that. Establish your back bone now...bc daycare is not an easy job. There will be times your going to have to do unpleasant things you know are right but don't want to rock the boat so to speak. But if your afraid of hurting feelings or confrontation then your going to have a hard time. You'll need it when a parent is continues late and you let them side one time. Bc then they think well..she let me just that once...it couldn't be helped or what ever else excuse. Or when a child repeatedly comes sick. Now that is one I struggled with for a while til I told them bc I am a wellness daycare your child needs to always be well to be here specially since I do group care...I can not afford for other children to get sick here. Same thing applies to all parents that sort of thing... You owe it to your self to set in line your rules and expect the parents to follow them...same as your daycare kids. I am not sure if I am missing anything here...but if so someone please continue to add.. Wish the best of luck to you!!

[TreesPlayhouse]

Starting my Daycare also

Thank you for the wonderful advice Christian Mother!

I am also starting my daycare and I have tons of questions as well. I am so excited to get started. My biggest question right now is what rate to charge. I need to get my paper work back to the state to finish my registration. I have a sheet on how much they pay but I am confused. If I ask more than this is the proper thing for private pay? I want to be fair to myself. The state rate seems rather low. The lady on the phone said it was higher but I can't buy into that.

I traded my car for van over the weekend so I can get 5 children into my car should I want to go to the zoo or park.

I found out my job is going to let me go so I decided to do daycare as my daughter and I have talked about it for a long time. My background checks are done now just looking at the rate.
Any suggestions?
Thank you for the link to the contracts. This forum is awesome! I am learning so much! Tree

[Heidi]

As far as rates go, they vary greatly accross the country, and even accross each state.

I am in WI. In Madison or Milwaukee, people pay $180-$250 a week for infant care. In Juneau County, the rate is closer to $100-$120.

If you take subsidies, the state will pay their max. In our state, we simply charge the parents the difference. So, even if our rate is higher than the state max, in theory, we get our full rate. Assuming parents can "afford" the difference.

Other states may have rules against that, so you need to check with your local Resource and Referral. They are a great resource!

I would never ever do daycare for anyone again without a deposit of one weeks tuition, and payment IN ADVANCE at the beginning of each week. Some providers even get a whole two weeks. I have never gotten ripped off since I started taking a deposit. If they can't afford the deposit, chances are they will always struggle to pay you. As tough as it is, you have to have the attitude from the beginning that this is a business, not a charity. That would be my #1 piece of advice!

[laundrymom]

What part of Indiana?

[Christian Mother]

Thank you for the wonderful advice Christian Mother! Thank you!! I appreciate that very much!! A lot of what I've learned is just growing in the biz. I've made mistakes but the ladies here have helped me stay accountable but also true to my self and biz.

I am also starting my daycare and I have tons of questions as well. I am so excited to get started. My biggest question right now is what rate to charge. I need to get my paper work back to the state to finish my registration. I have a sheet on how much they pay but I am confused. If I ask more than this is the proper thing for private pay? I want to be fair to myself. The state rate seems rather low. The lady on the phone said it was higher but I can't buy into that. Because I am not state lic. I couldn't advise you on this however; bbo has really good advise on that. I believe that by what the state pays if you've set a weekly rate for your self have the parents make up the diff. in pay. I agree in having a deposit and also first wks payment upfront. I don't do this as that was what I used to get my clients in the door. No extra fees. My parents in turn provide me with snacks, art supplies, wipes, diapers, things the daycare really needs and they don't once complain about it. Their really just wonderful!!

I traded my car for van over the weekend so I can get 5 children into my car should I want to go to the zoo or park. I'm jealous!! I am upside down in my lexus sedan. I love my car but it will not fit 4 car seats and booster...!! Another pray I am hoping the Lord figures out for me. He says that if I ask I will receive. So I'm putting my trust in Him that He will provide.


I found out my job is going to let me go so I decided to do daycare as my daughter and I have talked about it for a long time. My background checks are done now just looking at the rate.
Any suggestions? Have you taken your CPR class and First Aid. I would def. get that also. Remember this is a tax break also so what ever you pay into your biz it can be a tax break. Just keep good records and keep your receipts!! As far as the rate you should offer. I say start calling around at other daycares and daycare centers. Don't lie about what your doing. Be honest and tell them what your doing and why your calling. You'll find that they might even be able to pass biz over to you. Or even visa versa. That will be a good indication as to what you should ask for in pay. Most in home daycares get paid about $2 an hr if not $2.50. I make $125 a wk for full time care...that is $25 a day for up to 10 hrs. Anything that is less then 5 hrs is $5 an hr.

Thank you for the link to the contracts. This forum is awesome! I am learning so much! Tree

Your very welcome!! I am glad I can help!! Feel free to message me anytime if you need help with anything!!

[TreesPlayhouse]

Please do not be jealous of my van as that is exactly what I have been doing is putting my trust in God and asking for peace in my heart and guide me to the direction He wants to lead me.
My work has posted my job in the newspaper and my boss who quit told me about it. I do not think I want to go back to the corporate world right now as I am 53 yrs and I am really bitter right now to corp bosses. I did confront the corp boss today and he said he had no idea what I was talking about. Funny his wife who is also in charge did not call to say I do not know what I was talking about.

I think I want to charge $125 or $130. I do have my first class on information coming up on Nov 16th and then I can register for more classes. I have to do CPR and Mandatory Reporter within the first two months.
I am really looking forward to learning so much and being a great daycare!

[Christian Mother]

Please do not be jealous of my van as that is exactly what I have been doing is putting my trust in God and asking for peace in my heart and guide me to the direction He wants to lead me.
My work has posted my job in the newspaper and my boss who quit told me about it. I do not think I want to go back to the corporate world right now as I am 53 yrs and I am really bitter right now to corp bosses. I did confront the corp boss today and he said he had no idea what I was talking about. Funny his wife who is also in charge did not call to say I do not know what I was talking about.

I think I want to charge $125 or $130. I do have my first class on information coming up on Nov 16th and then I can register for more classes. I have to do CPR and Mandatory Reporter within the first two months.
I am really looking forward to learning so much and being a great daycare!

I am with you that it's hurtful and upsetting to find out you've lost your job over the newspaper. And to top it off your not getting direct answers from your own employer. My own husband was just laid off of work 3 wks ago. He's been with the company for 12 yrs. He started from the bottom and worked all the way up to Production Management. They let him go bc he was told to come up with a plan in less then 24 hrs to save the company. He's been telling the owners for yrs why they where losing money and what they could do to bring up productivity..but they wouldn't listen to a word he offered. Now bc of his many yrs and diff. position he'd learned quiet a bit about the company not to mention he had the respect of all his employees. But it created problems bc the higher ups felt that listen to the peoples voice and concerns didn't produce product. So they wanted him to be hard on his men. Men where forced to come in if a parent passed away due to cancer or a brother passed away from a car accident. There where some unethical things going on in that company. My husband believes that if you treat people with compassion and respect you earn there trust and want to work hard. Between the fact he made quiet a good pay check and how he ran things for the company they let him go and did so by escorting him out the door as if he was a criminal. His workers still call to see how he is doing and if he's found work or to tell him any of the latest at his old job. The men there are not happy. It's sooo very sad. But, my husband feels peaceful about what has happened. The stress has diminished quiet a bit and he is doing side work to get us by. He's a lot happier and I am thankful that. God has ever under control. We just have to trust in Him that where he puts us is for our own good. We need to listen to Him, trust in Him, and when we are scared question Him and ask him to explain to us why we are where we are. I believe this new adventure your partaking in will bring you many blessings. Daycare is an absolute dream for me. I never thought I would be able to be a biz owner, to be able to stay home and raise my children, and to train up His Godly Children..which he's in trusted in my care. That verse...Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Palms 37-4 it's one I think of that reminds me to look to God to take care of me.

[TreesPlayhouse]

You have given me so much blessing in such a short time. Thank you so much as you have not idea what your kind words have done to my soul this evening. Teresa

[mdzn5440]

thanks everyone

i live in nw indiana whoever asked me where i live. thanks i have my class on the 9th hopefully i will learn lots of things there too.
i have been looking online for high chairs, cribs, are playpens aloud in daycares?? anyways. i am gonna be great.
thanks for all the advice

[laundrymom]

i live in nw indiana whoever asked me where i live. thanks i have my class on the 9th hopefully i will learn lots of things there too.
i have been looking online for high chairs, cribs, are playpens aloud in daycares?? anyways. i am gonna be great.
thanks for all the advice

I'm in Indiana too. Not too far from you I bet. I can get to Fair oaks farm in about an hour. If you need help wading through the regs let me know. I've been lic here since 94. And been a provider since 87. Welcome!

[Sprouts]

Great websites for forms

Here are some more websites with free forms

http://www.thedaycarelady.com/form.htm

http://www.childcarelounge.com/printables/printable-forms.php

http://www.juliefcc.com/Forms.html

Good luck!

[TreesPlayhouse]

I am excited to begin my new chapter in my life. I am also looking on line for toys and books and things. You are all so awesome with your wonderful advice.

[mdzn5440]

still need so much help!

Hi everyone, this site is amazing, thanks laundry mom Ya i dont live to far from that farm either, we may even be close, and I may be able to meet you sometime! LOL. Anyways, I have attended my first class. I have my second class in the end of January. I also have the sleep study class this month too. I have a few questions. I am looking for a 2nd home to purchase. I am not going to do the daycare out of my home. Is it ok for me to get licensed first and then have the state lady check my home can I do that?? Should I wait till I go to 2nd class before I start jumping the gun? What about backround check who do I contact for that? Also the food program should I contact them before I am licensed???

[Qpmomma]

OP, I'm in Indiana too! Do you plan on being licenced?