Opening a Family Child Care Home: Action Steps

Once you’ve done your research, you can begin taking steps towards starting your family child care home. The sections below provide vital information and helpful resources for every step of the way.

Prepare a Budget

Preparing a budget gives you a picture of whether your projected income from your business will cover your expected expenses. You will need to think about how many children you plan to serve, tuition fees, staffing costs, start-up costs such as application fees, equipment, materials, marketing, and other items you may need to purchase before your child care is even open. Use the budgeting worksheet below to help you think through how much cash you expect to come into your business compared to the amount of cash you expect to spend. Your business plan will help you define how much money you will need to start your business. You may be eligible for loans or grants to get you started.

Explore Funding Opportunities

• The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a food reimbursement program that allows qualified child care providers to be reimbursed for a portion of their child care food costs.
• The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is a federally funded grant to states to support child care subsidies. Our State by State Resources Map can connect you to your local program.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers a wide variety of information on loans, grants, and other funding opportunities for small businesses.
• Existing family child care homes can review CCAoA’s Cash Options for Providers During the Pandemic resource for information on financial assistance to support your business during COVID-19.

Pandemic Consideration: When preparing your budget during the pandemic, be sure to include the cost of extra cleaning and safety supplies, such as bleach, paper towels, sanitizing wipes, masks, gloves, smocks, and thermometers.

Find a Location

Once you have determined there is a need for family child care in your area, you are ready to think about finding a location for your child care business. Check with your state licensing office to learn more about the specific requirements for family child care homes in your area. Some states require you to live in the home in which you provide care. Before you open your home to children or buy or rent a home for your family child care business, check your local zoning laws and covenants.

Check Zoning Laws

Zoning laws may limit small businesses in your community. They can set restrictions and charge fees for permits for the businesses they do allow. Local governments pass zoning laws to make sure businesses fit in the local community and can be used to keep most business activities out of residential areas. These laws may affect where you can locate your child care business. If zoning laws do not allow businesses, you cannot open a business unless you get a variance (an exception to the law). This is true even if a child care program meets all state licensing requirements. Check with the local government in your area or call your local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency to find out about zoning regulations.

Check Restrictive Covenants

Housing developers can include restrictive covenants in deeds and homeowners’ association agreements. These covenants may limit business activity in homes in the community. Your homeowners’ association will have information on any restrictions. If you rent your property, check with the property owner or your community’s homeowners’ association about any rules. If covenants do not allow businesses, you cannot open a business unless you get an exception. This is true even if a child care program meets all state licensing requirements. Finding a Location

Evaluate Your Space

Once you’ve found the perfect location, you need to evaluate the space surrounding your location to make sure it is suitable for child care. Even if you are planning to use your own home, you will need to meet your state’s licensing requirements and health and safety standards. Each state has different regulations, so check with your local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency and your state licensing agency for more information. Evaluate Your Space

Develop Policies and Procedures

It is important to write down the policies and procedures you will follow in your family child care business and share them with families. It is also important to make sure your policies and procedures reflect the Code of Ethical Conduct for the early childhood field. Your policies and procedures will address a number of important topics and will help keep your business running smoothly. Many states require you to provide your written policies to families. Check with your state licensing agency or your local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency to find out what your policies should include.

Family Handbook

• • Mission and philosophy of your program.
  • Description of your program, including your operating hours and the ages of children you serve. When developing your operating hours, think about the typical work schedule of the families in your program and your own family schedule and commitments.
  • Information on whether your program is part of your state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) or nationally accredited.
  • Information on when tuition payments are due and your policy regarding late payments.
  • Description of the curriculum and daily schedule for children.
  • Description of family involvement activities.
  • Required forms for families to complete such as the registration form, health forms, medication administration forms, emergency contact information, and field trip permission forms.
  • Information on policies regarding communication with families, guidance and discipline, drop-off and pick-up procedures, emergency closings, fee and payment arrangements, food and nutrition, program closings, and transportation policies.
  • Description of your disaster and emergency plans – this manual from the National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness can help you develop your plan.

  Pandemic Consideration: Consider the following COVID-19-related additions to your Family Handbook: drop-off and pick-up procedures, daily health screenings and temperature checks, updated sick policies, no visitor policy, tuition policy during temporary closures, etc.

  Staff Handbook

  The staff handbook outlines the expectations you have for your employees. If you want the handbook to be a binding agreement between you and your employee(s), make sure you review it with each staff member. Consider having them sign a document stating they read and understand the contents.

  The following topics are often included in staff handbooks:

  • Mission and philosophy of your program
  • Benefits and pay scale
  • Job descriptions, evaluation procedures, and hiring and termination policies
  • Information on child abuse prevention, identification, and requirements for reporting
  • Child behavior and guidance policies
  • Health and safety procedures
  • Family communication and involvement
  • Professional development requirements

  Pandemic Consideration: Consider the following COVID-19-related additions to your Staff Handbook: daily health screenings and temperature checks, PPE requirements, sick leave policy to care for a loved one due to COVID-19, staff retention during temporary closures, etc.

  Hire Staff

  Most states have requirements regarding minimum education and experience qualifications for child care providers and ratio requirements. It is important to contact your local Child Care and Resource Referral (CCR&R) agency or your local licensing agency to understand the minimum qualifications needed to be a child care provider.

  Provider Qualifications

  • Minimum age, usually 18 years
  • High school diploma or equivalent
  • Initial and ongoing training

  Provider Training Options

  You may want to earn additional qualifications in order to prepare yourself to work with children. Child Care Aware ® of America recommends all family child care providers and staff have at least 40 hours of initial training, including CPR, first aid and other basic safety and health training, and training on child development; and 24 hours of annual training. Check out trainings provided through your local Child Care Resource and Referral agency and local universities if you are interested in or need additional training hours.

  You may also want to think about earning a degree or credential in the early childhood field. One option is the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. The CDA is a nationally accepted early childhood credential awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition. There are different options to earn your credential, including taking classes with an instructor or online.

  Staffing Needs and Ratios

  The minimum number of staff you need depends on the ages and number of children in your program. Your state licensing regulations will have very specific requirements on:

  • Staff-to-child ratios, or the number of staff needed for a specific number of children
  • Group size, which is the maximum number of children allowed in the group
  • The number of usable square feet in your home, which dictates how many children you can serve

  Best practice recommendations for ratios and group size for a small family child care home (one caregiver present):

  • No more than two children under the age of 2 present at one time.
  • If there are two children under 2 years old present, no other children can be enrolled.
  • If there is one child under the age of 2 present, there may be up to three children ages 2 and older enrolled.
  • If there are no children under the age of 2 present, there may be up to six children ages 2 and older enrolled.

  Even if you are not planning to hire staff for your family child care business, there may be times where you are unable to provide care to the children if you are ill, have a family emergency, or are on vacation. You will need a qualified substitute provider to come to your home or a qualified backup provider home where parents can bring their children.

  Check with your local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency and your state licensing agency to learn more about specific ratio and group size requirements in your state.

  Pandemic Consideration: Many states have required or recommended smaller ratios and/or group sizes during the pandemic. Be sure to take this into consideration when evaluating your staffing needs. For information on your state’s current operational guidance for child care, visit our State by State Resource Map and click on your state.

  Market Your Program

  Developing a marketing plan will help you think about why families should choose your program over other child care providers in your community. It also gives your program a sense of identity or brand. Contact your local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency for help in creating your marketing plan. Many CCR&Rs offer trainings specifically on this topic.

  Know Your Mission

  Think about what makes your program unique and how it can meet the needs of children and families. What benefits beyond the hours of operation and the ages of children you plan to serve will you offer to families? Think about how your program will meet the needs of children and families.

  Understand the Child Care Market

  Use the findings from your needs assessment to help you answer questions about the need for family child care in your area, which age groups need care, and where parents live and work.

  Know Your Competitors

  It’s important to know who else is providing family child care services in your area. If possible, visit other child care programs to get a sense of what they offer to children and families. Use this resource to help you compare the programs in your area. Comparing Programs

  Target Your Audience

  Consider all the ways you can reach parents in your community. Think about where parents are likely to look for information, and reach out to other businesses to get the word out about your program. Also, think about what type of families would benefit the most from your program. Ask your local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency for help in reaching your target audience.

  Develop Strategies

  Think about the different strategies you can use to attract parents to your program. You may want to create a logo or a sign in front of your child care business for prospective parents, develop a social media presence, and distribute brochures/flyers about your program. Whatever strategies you develop, think about the budget you may need for each strategy. Marketing Strategies Budget and Timeline

  Set Objectives

  Implementing your marketing plan is a big step, but you also need to evaluate your plan to know what types of strategies work for you.

  Create the Plan

  Your marketing plan should highlight the unique aspects of your program, including your strategies to attract families to your program and your marketing budget. You should market your program whether you are just opening or if you have been open for years. Marketing Plan

  For the best results, be sure to download and save the resources provided above. Doing so will allow you to complete the forms from your computer or mobile device.

  These resources and more are also available in our Family Child Care Provider Resources E-Book.

  CCR&R Search

  Looking for child care? Your local CCR&R agency can help you find options near your home or work.

  State by State Resources

  Find your state’s resources for child care, financial assistance, health and social services and more.

  Búsqueda de CCR&R

  ¿Está buscando cuidado de niños? Su agencia de CCR&R puede ayudarle a encontrar opciones cerca de su hogar o trabajo.

  Recursos de Acuerdo a su Estado

  Encuentre recursos en su estado de cuidado de niños, asistencia financiera, servicios sociales y más.

  Providers

  • Technical Assistance for Child Care Providers
  • Opening & Running a Child Care Center
    • Child Care Center: Do Your Research
    • Child Care Center: Action Steps
    • Child Care Center: Program Structure
    • Child Care Center: Program Practices
    • Family Child Care: Do Your Research
    • Family Child Care: Action Steps
    • Family Child Care: Program Structure
    • Family Child Care: Program Practices

    Proveedores

    • Asistencia técnica para proveedores
    • Desarrollo del cerebro para programas de cuidado infantil
    • Asistencia financiera para proveedores
    • Para los centros de cuidado infantil
    • Para los hogares de cuidado infantil
    • Capacitación y educación

    Child Care Aware® of America is a not-for-profit organization recognized as tax-exempt under the internal revenue code section 501(c)(3) and the organization’s Federal Identification Number (EIN) is 94-3060756.

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