New Provider Vent

[Nurse Jackie]

I am in the process of getting my license and trying to find out the average cost of home daycare in my area. This task has been the hardest thing ever. I took a couple classes and brought up the subject of pricing and how to find out the going rate in the area and everyone started looking up at the ceiling. Then I decided to call the resource and referral number in my area and the lady told me they don't give the prices but they could give me the number to providers in my area and I would have to contact them personally to find out. I contacted 2 via email through their website and honestly told them that I was in the process of opening a daycare and would they mind giving me the average price of daycare in the area. 1 totally ignored my email and the other one responded with a long email then at the end of the email told me to contact the county office of education. So I contacted the county office of education and guess what they told me to do? call the resource and referral number so I could get the number to local providers in my area and ask them. So then I took a different approach and called a few providers pretending to be a parent and majority had a waiting list and the others wanted me to come in for an interview. This is the problem I'm having if you have a full roster why would you have a problem telling me the average prices its not like Im taking any business from you? Sorry for the long vent

[NightOwl]

I feel your pain. Where are you located? It varies widely by area.

[Shell]

I had a similar experience. Some people see you as competition- no matter how long their wait lists are, and aren't willing to help.

I searched craigslist, which I knew would be low, to get an idea of how much cheap care is. Then I contacted a friend that's closer to our nicest city and she gladly gave me prices, since I wasn't her competition. I used that as the high end price.

Dh had a friend in town that had a child that attended a home daycare. That friend told us what he was paying, and I just put my rates a little higher.

If you don't know anyone, maybe try contacting providers in other areas that will be higher/lower due to cost of living.

I found once I was in the game a little longer, and made some provider friends, they didn't mind sharing the info. I found a few friends through CPR/ first Aid locally. Hth!

[rosieteddy]

Why not try googling the cost of childcare in your area.Or maybe call a local childcare center and ask their rates and figure your from there.Is there a support group for local providers?Join and ask there. Someone you know must have a child in care that you could ask maybe. If nothing works go for what you want to earn.I always was on the higher side ,but was full.You never know.Good luck.

[AmyKidsCo]

Call around and pretend to be a parent, then ask rates.

It's completely legal; calling as a provider is illegal, but it's OK to pretend to be a parent.

[Unregistered]

I align my fees with local daycare center prices. Our church daycare and preschool posts tuition on their website. I'm in the Kansas City area and am raising my rates this fall to between $35-40 per day depending on number of days the child will be attending per week.

[Unregistered]

I google my state average and found reports that helped. I'm right in the middle. Also check out what the department of human services pays for assistance. For instance in Oregon the state pays $3/hour for all age groups.

[Nurse Jackie]

I didn't grow up in this area so I don't have any friends locally. The friends I have or my husband have are/have stay at home moms like myself and we all have SA children I want infant- preschool age. The two classes I took recently (cpr/preventative health) were not useful because I asked and no one answered there, however I did get useful information from the teacher in other topics. I tried to join daycare provider groups in my area on Facebook but so far no one has accepted my request. Didn't take it personally because I figured maybe no one post in the group often. I think I will set a price to what I think it should be and see if I get a few bites the problem is I don't wan't to price myself to high but at the same time I don't want to be too low to where Im not making a profit. I did google prices in my area and I didn't get any help there and the ads in craigslist and the penny saver doesn't list a price

[Nurse Jackie]

I align my fees with local daycare center prices. Our church daycare and preschool posts tuition on their website. I'm in the Kansas City area and am raising my rates this fall to between $35-40 per day depending on number of days the child will be attending per week.

I haven't tried calling centers yet so Ill take you up on that

[Thriftylady]

Well I can tell you the going rate for an infant in my rural area of Ohio seems to be $20-$25 a day. But that is low compared to a lot of places I know.

[mamamanda]

I called around & just told them my dh & I are trying to decide if it would be worth it financially for me to go back to work. They shared rates w/o me having to go to an interview

[Nurse Jackie]

Thank you... I hv gotten more help from you guys then in the month I've been researching on my own. I truly appreciate the replies:hug:

[Nurse Jackie]

I called around & just told them my dh & I are trying to decide if it would be worth it financially for me to go back to work. They shared rates w/o me having to go to an interview

never thought of that good idea

[daycare]

What the heck. Rates are public information. What county are you in?? I can help you find the rates.

[NightOwl]

Youcould also search for a family home childcare providers association in your area. We have one here and it's a valuable resource. It's run by providers and they have a monthly meeting that counts towards training hours. They also send prospective clients back and forth to each other when one is full and another isn't.