WHY CHOOSE A LICENSED FAMILY CARE HOME?

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You are choosing your child’s caregiver

In a daycare center you are only choosing the building, NOT the person who will be helping you raise your child.

Strict standards

In Nevada, Family Childcare Providers must meet strict licensing standards. It is time consuming and costly to maintain a childcare license. I have a childcare license, police work card, health card, health permit, CPR training, first aid training, nutrition training, and child abuse prevention training. I must take 15 units of early childhood education yearly. I receive multiple un-announced inspections from State Licensing, Southern nevada health District, Clark County Fire Department, and Food For Kids every year. I have to meet strict sanitation and safety guidelines, I do fire drills, my pets must have rabies vaccines, and I have to have an emergency evacuation plan in place. Pools must not be used, and must be fenced and locked properly. But mostly importantly, licensed providers, and everyone over 18 who lives in our home, must have criminal background checks to ensure the safety of the children we care for.

Personal attention

Your child will become part of a daycare family. The home environment allows the provider to form a caring bond with each child. I am able to monitor all my children to make sure they drink and eat enough, sleep enough, to give help or encouragement when they need it, to observe, and to listen to them. I am able to give one-on-one attention and to care for them as I did my own kids.

Caregiver continuity

In home daycare, your child will be able to have one reliable provider. In a center, your child may be placed with someone other than their primary caregiver in the mornings when it is less busy. And, with the high turnover rate, your child may have many caregivers over the years, none of whom you get to choose for yourself.

Low ratio

In Clark County, Family Childcare Homes are licensed for a 6:1 ratio. Centers are licensed for as high as a 13:1 ratio depending on the age of the children, and sometimes do go over their legal licensing capacity. Un-licensed providers most definitely go over their allowed ratio of 4:1! The low ratio in Family Childcare allows for personal attention, greater safety, less illness, less provider stress, and less child stress.

Parent involvement

When my children were in daycare, I felt as if I knew nothing about their lives when they were away from me. Consequently, as a provider, I make it a point to keep parents involved & informed. I send home monthly reports, newsletters, photographs, movies of the kids’ activities, and I am available to speak personally with parents at drop-off or pick-up times, and via text, email, or phone. I find that when I let parents know the direction we’re taking, they are willing to pitch in and help make it happen!

Lower incidence of illness

With less children in care, and less turnover, the incidence in home daycare is much lower. In large centers there is always someone who is sick. This just isn’t the case in home daycares. I can proudly state that in 2015 there was no incidence of illness at Roots and Wings!  In 2016, only two instances.

Communication

If an issue arises, you can discuss this directly with your child’s provider to create a solution. However, in childcare centers, it is common for the director to act as a mediator in such situations, and you aren’t able to discuss problems directly with your child’s primary caregiver.

Clientele

I’m selective about the families I accept into my program. Each family is chosen individually based on whether or not I feel they will appreciate my program, and whether or not their child will fit in well with and benefit from our established group. While I strive for diversity, I also have a high standard for what my daycare kids are exposed to.