Should I Contact My Licensing Agent?? Want to Go Upstairs :)

[SunflowerMama]

Ok the way my house is setup the upstairs is PERFECT for daycare. It's a huge open playroom and I have our play kitchen, dress-up and everything for my girls up there and that's where they play when the dcks aren't here.

According to my state rep. I can only have my daycare on the first floor. There just isn't the room down there but I've converted a spare bedroom into the daycare room with a few things in our living room.

I want to ask my rep if there is any sort of petition or thing I could request to be allowed to have the dcks upstairs during the day. My kids are all walkers and all but one are over 3 years of age. The fire marshal was here and said it was fine but then my rep said it didn't matter what they said.

What do you guys think? You think there's anyway she would make an exception or should I just drop it. I really need that space though.

[Carole's Daycare]

I would as your licensing agency. Here, my two story home originally I only had the downstairs licensed, as the upstairs was family only. When I re-licensed, I let her know I wanted to be able to allow school agers to play upstairs, or to put a playpen for baby naps in the upstairs office- and she inspected that area and made sure it met all requirements and added it. The trick if you use the upstairs also is, in my case- bedrooms that are not subject to surprise inspection/not daycare should be locked- and anywhere you have kids needs 2 OPEN /UNBLOCKED exits- so a playroom needs an open, safe door, and the window needs to stay unblocked- and of course fire alarms, extinguishers etc. Any upstairs bathroom will need all the same childproofing etc. Perhaps they originally said no because it doesn't meet requirements in some aspect, and find out specifically what needs to be done. I'm sure each state is different- maybe they want special safety windows because some poor child fell out a window somewhere. I doubt your state never licenses any 2nd floor daycare space.

[melskids]

could you put your family area upstairs in that playroom and then devote the whole downstairs to daycare space? just a thought......

[MarinaVanessa]

I guess it's different in every state. I live in CA and when my home was inspected I included my bedrooms (except my brother-in-laws) as daycare space. I said that if a child was sick and needed to be picked up that I would be using the master bedroom to lay the child down in and have him/her watch tv in there while the rest of us waited and played in my child's room next door. She inspected both spaces and approved them and they are included as DC space. I just have to keep all of the kids on the same level at the same time and keep a gate at both the top and bottom of the stairs and keep them closed. Yes this means that these rooms are open to inspection but I have never had someone look in drawers or anything or even in closets.

[AnythingsPossible]

My guess as to why you can't use the upstairs would be because of the exit issue. If there is an easily accesible exit way from upstairs, it shouldn't matter much. I would contact my licensor and tell her I have been thinking of moving daycare space upstairs because the set up would work better for everyone. If she says no, I would ask her why, and if the reasons aren't safety or state rule related and she just doesn't like the idea, I would go to her supervisor.
As for being afraid to ask for fear it would then be on her "radar" you shouldn't be using the space anyway if it isn't approved. If something would happen while you were upstairs and shouldn't be, you would have serious liability issues. Just my opinon.