Opening a day care can be an exciting and profitable endeavor that provides essential services to the families in your community. It can also bring you extra income when you need it. However, it’s not all fun and games. There are several steps, insurance requirements, rules, and regulations that a person needs to consider before opening an in-home or commercial day care.

Read on for more information on how to open a day care and you’ll be well on your way!

Home Day Care

Making the decision to open a home day care involves transforming a portion of your home into a safe and child-friendly environment. Since you’ll be operating from home, the requirements may not be as stringent and in a smaller capacity, but they are just as important as a commercial venture.

Before opening your home to little ones, you need to understand the specific requirements to do so. Keep in mind that it can vary by state or region so be sure to look into your particular area first.

Licensing and Regulations

Your first step will be to obtain a license from the local or state government. This process includes:

• Home Inspection: Someone will be sent to inspect your home and give you advice about what you need. They may point out dangers or items that need attention before becoming licensed. Be sure to ask them any questions you may have and seek advice on questionable areas like outlets. They may know of some great tools to help you on your way.
• Background Checks: Anyone looking to operate a day care will need to submit to a background check. Not only that but anyone who lives there, any volunteers you may have, and any substitutes who will help you run your day care. There is also a re-screen every five years. The background checks are mandatory.
• Licensing Capacity: There are regulations on how many children can be in your care at one time. This mitigates accident risk as well as ensures that you don’t become overwhelmed.
• Health/Safety Training: Any person who will be working with the children will need CPR and First Aid training. Other requirements may also include safe sleeping, fire extinguisher training, and shaken-baby training.
• 30-Hour Course: Any employee working 40 hours or more a month must complete the 30 Hour Family Child Care Home Training course.

What Insurance Do You Need for an In-Home Day Care?

When you’re working with people’s children, insurance is critical for your protection and theirs.

There are 3 different types of insurance to consider. Liability, property, and auto.

• Liability: This protects against accusations of abuse or neglect, legal fees if they pop up, accidents that result in injuries, medical fees, or swimming accidents.
• Property: This type of insurance protects you from financial difficulties if your home, assets, or other areas of your property are damaged by a child in your care.
• Auto: If you choose to provide transportation auto insurance covers you in the event of an accident or injury while you’re driving. This will typically be separate from your existing auto policy as those do not usually cover transportation for business purposes.

Commercial Day Care

Opening a commercial day care is a more extensive undertaking than an in-home facility. This type of day care operates in a non-residential commercial space and often accommodates more children than a home.

Because of this, requirements of opening a commercial day care are more regulated.

Licensing and Capacity

Just like a home day care, commercial facilities have to meet strict licensing requirements. This may include:

• Zoning approvals: Your city will need to make sure you’re allowed to operate a day care in that jurisdiction.
• Safety Inspections: Whether you purchase an old facility or build a new one, there will be incredibly strict safety inspections to make sure your facility meets all code requirements and is safe for little ones.
• Staff-To-Child Ratios: Home day cares have this too but there are strict laws that state how many children can be looked after by one person. If you’re even one child over, there will need to be another teacher in the room.
• Background Checks: Before becoming employed, each person will need to undergo and pass a background check. This is for anyone who is employed by the facility regardless of whether they work with the children or not.
• Health and Safety Training: CPR and first aid training are the minimum requirements but employees should go through more extensive training if available. That would include shaken baby syndrome training, safe sleep, and fire extinguisher training.
• 40-Hour Course: Depending on your state, this may or may not be a requirement. In the state of Florida, each day care employee is required to go through a 40-hour child care facility training.

 

What Insurance Does A Commercial Day Care Require?

Just like home day care, insurance is vital for commercial day care. The right insurance policy can cover a range of issues from property damage to injury claims. They also cover business interruption. Because commercial day cares are larger and house more children, they are inherently more risky. Comprehensive coverage is the only thing that can protect you and your business. These insurances are:

• Liability: This covers children if they are injured or have an accident while at the facility. Check your policy to make sure it covers off-site accidents as well, such as in the event of a field trip accident.
• Property: Day care facilities are very expensive to buy and maintain. You’ll want to ensure that your commercial property insurance covers all aspects so you don’t come out of pocket for major damages.
• Auto: If you or your employees will be helping transport children to and from their homes or school, you’ll need specialized auto insurance.

When choosing insurance, be sure to partner with a company that knows the ins and outs of day care insurance like FDIC.

If You Operate a Day Care in Florida, We Can Help

Opening a day care is an exciting adventure, but once you learn about all the responsibilities, regulations, and requirements, you may be a bit overwhelmed.

Whether you’re opting for a home-based or commercial business, remember that the ultimate goal is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for children and their families. At the center of this is adequate insurance. Insurance takes all your hopes and goals, and wraps them in bubble wrap so that instead of worrying about the next accident, you can sleep easy knowing you, your business, and the kids are protected.

With the right preparations and adherence to the rules, your day care will be thriving in no time. Call us today for more information on the policies you may need to open your business. We are happy to help.