Suggestions Anyone

[altab52]

Okay I am currently the owner of a family childcare home located in North Carolina. I am licensed for 5 preschoolers and 3 school age children. My problem is of those 5 preschoolers 3 are my own children. So my first option was to try to do a center in a residence but the overall cost my be to big. The second idea was to do shift times and allow my 1 year old twins to return to the home on the second shift but I don't know if that is allowed.

Basically if anyone has a center in a residence can you tell me how much the upfront cost was and what you had to do in your home.
Also if the shift idea would work

Thanks

[snbauser]

I live in NC and I was a CIR for about 3 1/2 years. I'd be happy to answer any questions I can for you. The upfront costs will vary greatly depending on your local ordinances. BTW check with your city and then your county zoning first as there are many who will not allow it. My county allowed it although I was the first one to go through the process on the county level and I had to jump through a lot of hoops including hiring someone to do a study to prove that me using my home as a business would not negatively impact housing prices and traffic and I had to get the approval of my immediate neighbors before I could go in front of the zoning board and request a special use permit. You will basically have to follow almost all stand along center rules - fencing, pull/manual fire alarms, door handles, sink temperatures, , sanitation, fire, etc.
For me I will tell you the most expensive things after I got the special use permit approved (that alone cost me over $400)

fence (licensing doesn't require one for FCC but it is required for CIR. I didn't have one so had to get one put in),

pull alarms (this varies depending on your local fire marshall. Some will allow you to use an alarm system that has an emergency button. Others will require you to install the red pull handles in each room used. Some will require them to be monitored. Others will not),

sink temperature - your kitchen sink must be 120* or more and must be inaccessible to the children while your handwashing sinks must be between I think 98-108 but I can't remember for sure. Since your house probably only has 1 water heater, this requires installing temperature regulators on all sinks used for handwashing.

door handles - all doors leading to the outside must have door handles that are either push bars or single lever that the children can open in an emergency regardless of whether the door is locked

I know there is a lot more but those were the biggest things I can think of. In addition you will need a lot more training - infectious disease training, playground safety training, fire training, etc. All of your employees must be trained just like any center teacher. Honestly, after paying all the additional expenses, salaries, benefits, taxes, etc I didn't make a whole lot more with 12 kids than I did with 5 and it was a whole lot more work. But I did not have to count my kids on those numbers because they were school aged. I did enjoy the larger group and I think it was a good draw for parents because they got the true preschool experience with a much smaller group. I would probably still be a CIR except that we moved from an unincorporated area and I am now inside city limits and it is really difficult to do it with this city.

[Controlled Chaos]

Keep in mind your kids will age out make sure any huge business Decisions will be good for you and your family in the long run. I have a 1, 3 and 5 year old so I understand. I have a license for 8, so right now I can only take 6 in addition to mine (the 5yo doesn't count). But the overhead and extra licensing rules of a center seems like a loss in the long-term. Just my thought.