FAQ for Educators
When starting a dayhome the agency that you choose is crucial to the success of your new venture. At The Child Day Homes, we do everything in our power to ensure that our educators are set up for success. We provide business support, and administrative support and put you in touch with experienced consultants so that they can help guide you forward. By choosing to open a dayhome with us you gain the following benefits.
1What is a family day home?
A family day home is licensed Child Care operation Butera's for 6 or less kids not including the Educators children.
2 What do I need to open a day home?
To open a day home there are a few basic requirements that you need to meet. An educator must have a safe place to provide care and be able to create nurturing and positive interactions with children. With everything else including the furnishing, programming and Licensing the agency can provide you assistance with obtaining.
3What required documents do I need to open a day home?
In order to open a day home you need to have the following documents.
1. Criminal Record Check, dated no more than 6 months from the date of the contract signing
2. Criminal Record Checks for any family member that is 18 years and over
3. First Aid Certificate
4. Home Study
5. Confirmation of insurance
6. Confirmation of vehicle insurance, if applicable
7. Sample menu
8. Fire evacuation plan
4 Do I need to own my home?
No you do not need to own your own home. If you do own your home all the better however if you're renting all you need is a letter from your landlord giving you permission to operate a dayhome.
5 How long does it take to start a day home / partner with your agency?
How long it take to start a dayhome depends case by case as some educators are more prepared than others. If you have all your documents ready we can have a dayhome approved as early as a week.
6 How much should I charge for childcare?
How much each educator charges is totally up to them. However the agency does provide a recommended fee based on the household income around the dayhome but they are free to charge whatever the they deem appropriate.
7 How does an educator collect fees?
As an educator you do not need to worry about collecting fees. All parents pay the agency and the agency also collect subsidies from the government and pays out the educator individually.
8 How do I enroll new children in my day home?
To enroll a new child you simply Direct parents to the agency website and they can submit an registration form through there.
9 Does the agency help me fill spaces?
The agency promotes dayhomes on its websites and will field incoming leads to you. However this does not mean that the agency is responsible for your dayhomes enrolment, ultimately it is your business and you must to your best to ensure you maintain a satisfactory level of enrollent.
10 How does an educator get paid every month?
Each educator gets paid with an EFT payment at the end of the month.
11 How many children can I enroll in my day home / how many spaces can I offer?
According to the dayhome standards of Alberta an educator is allowed to have six kids under the age of 13 not including their own under care at one time. In addition to that an educator can only have a maximum of two kids under the age of 2 and a maximum of 3 kids under the age of 3.
12 Do my own children count towards the limit?
No your own children do not count towards the limit so long as they are above the age of 3.
13 Do I need to have a certain level of education to start a day home?
You do not need to have any level to start a dayhome but we strongly recommend that educators get at least a level 1 so they are eligible for the government top up.
14 How can I get my Level 1 in Early Childhood Education?
You can get your level 1 through the agency where we can refer you to the basecorp early childhood education course free of charge.
15 Can I have pets in the day home?
Yes you're absolutely allowed to have pets however all pets must be vaccinated and litter boxes, food and water for the pets must be inaccessible to the children.
16 Can I transport the children?
Yes you are able to provide transportation to the children however you or anyone who will be driving the vehicle while the children are present must complete the child safety seat information session.
17Does my home need to look like a daycare?
No, not at all dayhomes and daycares are different forms of child care and you do not need to have the same equipment in your day home as you would find in a daycare.
13 Can I pick my own families?
Yes, you have the freedom to choose which families you want to enroll and which ones might not be a good fit.
19Is there a cost to start up a dayhome?
Yes as with any business there are start up costs. The educator has to pay for the police record check, first aid training, play spaces, food and drinks for the children etc…. However as you are running your own business you are eligible for tax deductions.
20 How much will I make?
This is a tough question to answer as there's a great variety with each educator. On average though most Educators end up making 30 to 40% more running their own day home as they would working in a traditional childcare setting.
21 Can my friend/husband/sister/daughter etc. run my dayhome with me?
22 Why should I open a dayhome with your agency?
Opening be home with the child Dave Holmes has many benefits. please see our [benefits for educator’s] page for more info