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As we see a continued downturn in the economy the prospect of starting a home daycare is becoming more a reality as more mothers find themselves without job and staying home with their children. There have been more than 1,000,000 job cuts this year, which is a five-year high. With more families finding a parent at home the possibility of generating a secondary income from a home daycare business is allowing American families the financial relief they may be seeking.

An unemployed parent that previously earned half the household income can find some relief in providing childcare from their homes with fulltime infant care fees ranging from $4,000 to $10,000 a year in a family child care setting. Standard weekly fees range from $250 to over $500 per child per week.

More then 11 millions children under the age of 5 are in some form of child care setting a portion of the week. The average pre-school aged child spends 36 hours a week in daycare or non-parental care. A recent check of what training needed to operate a family home daycare, only 12 states required special training with most only requiring a high school diploma. Texas for instance requires small family child care homes that care for 1 to 3 children to be listed with the state. No inspections are conducted and there are no standards to meet. Small family child care homes caring for 4 to 6 children plus 6 SAC (School-Aged Children) children are required to be registered and meet state requirements. Workers must be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or equivalent. Review our Definition of Licensed Family Child Care Homes summary for more information.

Courses are available through online learning centers such as Penn Foster that can accredit when required and a certification can provide a business with an extra advantage of expertise. Most parents that choose a daycare expect caregivers to have some sort of training in providing for their children.

Property and liability protection are another concern and this could be covered under a homeowner’s insurance which would reduce the expense of operating your daycare. Be aware that some insurance companies may be reluctant to extent property coverage to an “at home” business. In our Daycare.com Forum, Jacky stated “Some insurance companies might have a completely opposite reaction than mine and drop you all together from their coverage even for thinking about home daycare because they feel that home daycare is too big a risk.” Daycare.com suggests you contact your insurance agent to see if your current coverage will protect your home daycare business.

Consider if a family home daycare would be a benefit to you at this time. It would not only provide your family the security of being at home it also gives you control of your child’s learning, added income and also provides a much needed service within your community. As daycaremom1998 wrote recently in a forum post “I opened my daycare 10 years ago, and I went from a corporate job to my daycare. First, I told all my neighbors and friends about what I was planning on doing. I filled several slots using this as my neighbors already knew me and it was going to be extremely convenient for them.“

Parents and guardians look for childcare near their place of employment or residence and would also travel further distances in order to meet their childcare needs and expectations.

Daycare.com provides a way to promote your daycare through our searchable national database. For a same monthly fee you have access to the public using the internet. We also suggest you use our forum in meeting others in the daycare field whom provide experienced comments and posts.

Number of child care workers (excludes self-employed providers) (I)- 572,950
Number of child care workers in family child care homes (II) - 650,000
Number of child care workers who are paid relatives of the child (III) - 804,000
Number of child care workers who are paid non-relatives, but regulated (IV)- 298,000
Average earnings of child care workers (V) - $9.05per hour ($18,820 annually)
Average earnings of pre-school teachers (VI) - $12.45 per hours ($25,900 annually)
Percentage of caregivers in family child care homes who are women - 99%
Percentage of caregivers in child care centers who are women - 97%
Number of states where teachers in child care centers do not need any training before working in a classroom - 28
Number of states where teachers in family child care homes do not need any training before working in a classroom - 17

I - Derived from 2006 data collected and reported by the 2006 Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. They do not include preschool teachers and assistant teachers."
II - Center for the Child Care Workforce, Washington, D.C. Human Services Policy Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. Estimating the Size and Components of the U.S. Child Care Workforce and Caregiving Population: Key Findings from the Child Care Workforce Estimate, Executive Summary. (Preliminary Report, May 2002.)
III -Ibid
IV - Ibid
V - Derived from 2006 data collected and reported by the 2006 Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. They do not include preschool teachers and assistant teachers.
Ibid. Does not include special education teacher.
Center for the Child Care Workforce, Washington, D.C. Human Services Policy Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. Estimating the Size and Components of the U.S. Child Care Workforce and Caregiving Population: Key Findings from the Child Care Workforce Estimate, Executive Summary. (Preliminary Report, May 2002.)
Ibid
National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. We Can Do Better: NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Standards and Oversight. February, 2007.
National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. Leaving Children to Chance: NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Standards and Oversight of Small Family Child Care Homes. February, 2008.


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