The Mount Vernon-Lisbon Childcare Solutions committee held a forum on opening in-home daycares.
The forum was led by members representing the Iowa Child Care Resource and Referral (ICCRR) organization.
Devan Kress with ICCRR said that the difference between a registered and non-registered in-home daycare is the number of non-related children who can be at the center. Non-registered can house five or less kids, while registered can have up to eight kids in the home.
Kress noted that being registered opens a lot more options.
All childcare providers need to take mandatory reporters classes, as well as first aid and CPR certification, which needs to be infant or pediatric focused.
Providers also need three letters of reference from non-family members.
There are currently financial incentives to help bolster childcare in the state that providers would qualify for.
One of the things that Kress and others tried to help people understand – that the Health and Human Services office will need to do a visit to the home. They aren’t looking to stop providers, but help them make sure they are doing what is the safest for children and the providers.
“They are working to protect and keep children safe,” Kress said.
The biggest issues that trip new providers are safe sleep practices for infants and having more kids than the ratios allows.
ICCRR will work with new providers, including a walkthrough to help them be prepared, as well as help with any paperwork that needs to be filled out.
There was discussion of the programs Brightwheel or Playground that help providers during their first year establishing their businesses. They include items like tracking meals and meal expenses and working with collecting funds from the state for children.
Mount Vernon and Lisbon are recognized as Tier 1 supported communities for food, which means daycares get significantly more money for the food that is provided, one of the greatest expenses to a new daycare, as most will have to provide two meals and a snack each day.
HHS requires background checks for all people living in the home of the daycare, as well as fingerprint checks on everyone over the age of 18. If the fingerprints are done via paper, it can take two to eight weeks for background checks to complete, but if completed via the HHS electronic process, it can take two to four days.
One of the participants asked if offering childcare for second or third shift employees is something allowed. Representatives said that there is a need for those providers, but the daycare might face reluctance from people who leave kids overnight. Best practice for those daycares is to be awake at all times during the overnight childcare is being provided.
If enough people apply to open in-home daycares, those opening will have a multi-week course to get the proper training to start their daycares. If people are interested but were unable to attend the information forum, they can contact ICCRR at 563-324-3236.
In-home daycare forum held in Mount Vernon
April 6, 2023
Members with Iowa Child Care Resource and Referral talk about what people need to know to open their own in-home daycare at a forum Tuesday, March 28, at First Presbyterian Church in Mount Vernon.
About the Contributor
Nathan Countryman, Editor
Nathan Countryman is the Editor of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.