Starting a new Day Care in Florida

[Solimar]

My husband and I are planning on opening a day care within the next three months in the Tampa bay area. We have purchased the start up kit and would like to speak to someone that is currently operating a day care in the area. Most of our training was done a long time ago (within the 5 years) in NJ. Now we have to complete the evaluation which must be done in a day care setting so we are not sure how to go about satisfying that requirement as we are not working in the field. We have been foster parents for the past eight years (licensed with DCF for four years) and would like to know if that can be used as current experience. I have left two messages for the licensing contact but have not received a call back. In addition, we have researched some schools to obtain our certifications however we are not sure which is out best option. Just looking for some guidance.