Opening a day care center is an exciting and rewarding venture. It provides services to families in the community and helps you to obtain your financial goals. Whether you’re considering opening an in-home daycare or commercial day care facility, understanding the certifications required is important to ensure the safety, compliance, and quality of care you will be providing.

Read on for more information about the certifications needed to achieve your dreams of opening a daycare center.

What is an In-Home Daycare?

An in-home daycare is operated out of the provider’s home residence. It offers a more personalized and home-like environment for the children it serves. These types of facilities cater to smaller groups of children and are often preferred because they allow for more individualized attention. In-home daycare is often seen as a more flexible and intimate option for families seeking daycare for their children.

Families are able to directly connect with the provider and gain insight into their children’s days as well.

What is a Commercial Daycare Center?

A commercial daycare operates out of a non-residential facility. These centers are designed to accommodate larger groups of children and often offer programs, teaching aspects, and activities that may not be available in an in-home setting.

Commercial facilities can separate according to age groups, skill levels, and usually are equipped with specialized staff to cater to different children’s needs.

The Differences Between In-Home and Commercial Daycare

While both types of day care serve the same fundamental purpose, there are notable differences:

1. Capacity: Often being larger, commercial daycare centers have room for more children than in-home. Commercial day cares can accommodate more children than in-home facilities.
2. Environment: In-home daycare centers offer a more “homey” feel while commercial structures are more like an office building.
3. Staffing: Commercial day cares have to abide by strictly enforced student to teacher ratios. This is usually higher due to credentials than in-home ratios.
4. Regulations: Both types of registered day cares have to follow state and local regulations but commercial day cares have stricter requirements due to larger size.

Certifications for In-Home Daycare

If your goal is to open an in-home daycare, you’ll need to comply with specific state and local regulations. You will need:

• Licensing: You’ll need to obtain a child care license from your state’s regulatory agency. It usually involves a home inspection, background checks, and proof of training.
• Training: There is required training in order to open a daycare. You may need child development training, health and safety clearances, and CPR/First Aid certification.
• Inspections: The state will need to ensure that your home is a safe environment for children.
• Insurance: It’s vital that you obtain the proper insurance coverage to protect not only your business, but your home, yourself, and the children you offer your services to.

Certifications for Commercial Day Care

Opening a commercial day care involves more comprehensive requirements:

1. Licensing: For a commercial daycare you’ll need to acquire a commercial day care license from your state’s child care licensing agency. This includes meeting specific building codes and safety regulations.
2. Accreditation: Accreditation is not always mandatory but obtaining credentials from places like the National Association for the Education of Young Children can build trust in your community. It says that you’ve gone above and beyond the necessary steps and are well qualified to care for children.
3. Staff Qualifications: When you run a commercial day care facility your entire staff will have to have the necessary qualifications, background checks, CPR/First Aid certification, and some type of background in working with children.
4. Facility Inspections: Your facility will need to pass strict health and safety inspections. This is also an ongoing requirement and frequency of inspection will depend on what state you live in.
5. Insurance: Insurance is important for both in-home and commercial daycare centers but commercial daycare centers will often need more comprehensive coverage that is appropriate for a larger facility and higher number of children and staff.

Every Type Of Daycare Needs Certifications

Whether your goal is to open an in-home or commercial daycare, obtaining the proper certifications is crucial to providing a safe, compliant, and appropriate environment for watching children. By understanding the requirements of your chosen type of daycare, you’ll be well on your way to launching a successful child care business that benefits yourself, children, their families, and your community.

At FDCI, we recommend looking into the laws of your state because this list is not exhaustive. Each state has different requirements, these are just the basics. What you will need varies greatly between the type of daycare you will be running as well.

If you have any questions about the certifications you need and what type of insurance is best for your daycare business, give us a call. We are happy to help with any questions you may have.