Choosing Child Care
Here are some quick links and information when looking for a child care program that fits the needs of your child.
Helpful Links
Healthy Kids, Healthy Care
A website with information for parents with children in child care.
Helpful Information
When considering a child care provider for your child, here are a few things to consider:
- Visit several Child Care homes or centers. Does it look safe? Do the teachers enjoy talking and playing with children? Do they talk with each child at the child’s level? Are there plenty of toys and learning materials within a child’s reach?
- Do the children sound happy and involved? Do the teachers speak in cheerful and patient tones? A place that is too quiet may mean not enough activity. A place that is too noisy may mean that there is a lack of control.
- Count the number of children in the group. Then count the number of staff members caring for them. A program is able to focus attention on your child, if the teacher to child ratio and size of group is low.
- Ask about the background and experience of the provider. Child care providers with special skills may be able to offer more to your family. Ask how long the staff have been with the program. If the staff have been with a program for a long time it may be a sign that the program is responsive to the staff’s needs as well as the family’s needs.
And if you have any questions or concerns, discuss them with the provider as soon as possible.
Other things to consider:
Is the child care program regulated?
Depending on the type of child care you need you may want a program that is regulated – which means that the program has basic health and safety criteria they need to meet.
Is the child care program accredited or have a quality rating?
Child Care programs can become accredited. Accredited means they have demonstrated to a national organization that they go above and beyond the basic child care regulations. Accreditation is an investment by the child care program in the quality of the child care they provide. There are several types of accreditation for the different types of child care programs. They include:
- • National Association of Family Child Care (NAFCC)
- • National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
- • National Afterschool Association (NAA)
- • National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA)
Vermont also has a quality rating system for child care called STARS (STep Ahead Recognition System). Programs that participate in STARS are stepping ahead — going beyond the regulations to provide professional services to meet the needs of children and families. Programs receive one to five stars based on points earned in five areas of child care. The five areas of child care are:
- • regulatory history
- • qualifications and training
- • families and community
- • program assessment
- • administration
Parents are encouraged to ask child care programs about specific STARS achievements. It can be interesting and informative to discuss areas of strength as well as plans for continued improvement. For more information about STARS please visit www.starsstepahead.org.
Quick Resources
Click here to see the types of child care options in Vermont and basic regulation requirements. (PDF format)
For a complete list of regulations, visit Vermont’s Child Development Division’s website at www.cddvt.org.
To find out if a program has had any violations on the regulations in the past two years go to www.brightfuturesinfo.org or call Vermont’s Child Care Consumer Concern Line at 1-800-540-7942
