Discover the Ease of Finding Child Care in Missouri with Our Concierge Service

The search for the perfect child care setting in Missouri can often feel like navigating a complex labyrinth. For many families, it’s a journey fraught with overwhelming choices, scarce time, and the emotional desire to make the best decision for their child’s well-being and development. Recognizing these challenges, Child Care Aware® of Missouri presents an innovative solution tailored to alleviate these pressures and guide families to the ideal child care solution: Our Child Care Concierge Referral Service.

The Quest for Quality Child Care: A Common Challenge

Many parents find themselves lost amidst an array of child care options. From centers to family homes and everything in between, each choice comes with its unique considerations, such as differing regulations and philosophies. Coupled with the juggling act of managing work and family life, the search for child care can quickly become a source of stress and anxiety.

Introducing a Beacon of Hope: Our Child Care Concierge Referral Service

Our service is designed with you in mind, offering personalized assistance and expert guidance to transform your child care search from a daunting task into an enjoyable journey. Here’s how we stand out:

  • Personalized Assistance: Our team of child care experts dedicates time to understand your family’s unique needs, ensuring the solutions we offer are tailored just for you.
  • Expert Guidance: Leverage our in-depth knowledge of the child care landscape to navigate your options with confidence. We’re here to answer your questions, offer insights, and guide you towards making informed decisions.
  • Streamlined Search: We recognize the value of your time. Our service is crafted to make your search for the perfect child care setting as efficient as possible, removing the guesswork and endless searching from the equation.

Why Choose Our Child Care Concierge Referral Service?

The journey to find quality child care shouldn’t be a solo venture. With the support of our Child Care Concierge, you’re not just finding a service; you’re discovering a partner in your child care search. Here’s why investing in our service makes a difference:

  • Reduce Stress: Eliminate the overwhelming feeling of searching for child care by allowing our experts to curate a list of options that meet your criteria.
  • Save Time: Your time is precious. Let us do the legwork, so you can focus on what matters most—your family.
  • Make Informed Decisions: Armed with expert advice and personalized options, you can make choices with confidence, knowing you’ve explored the best Missouri has to offer.

The Child Care Concierge Referral Process

Child Care Concierge Service Referral Process

The Path Forward

As you embark on your journey to find the ideal child care solution in Missouri, remember that you’re not alone. Child Care Aware® of Missouri is here to guide you every step of the way with resources, support, and our innovative Child Care Concierge Referral Service. Together, we can ensure your child care search is not just successful, but also an empowering experience for your family.

Your Guide to Family Child Care and Obtaining a Child Care License in Missouri

child care license

Welcome to Child Care Aware® of Missouri, where our mission is to support and uplift child care providers across the state. Whether you’re considering opening your home to family child care or you’re on the path to obtaining your child care license, this guide is crafted with you in mind. Let’s navigate the rewarding journey of providing quality child care together, ensuring you have the knowledge and resources to thrive.

Understanding Family Child Care in Missouri

Family child care is more than a service; it’s a personal approach to early childhood education, set in the comforting atmosphere of a home. This model offers a unique blend of care and learning, tailored to the individual needs of children and their families. In Missouri, family child care providers are invaluable, creating a warm, personalized space where children can grow, learn, and play.

The Benefits Unfold:

  • Personalized Attention: Small ratios mean more one-on-one time.
  • Flexibility: Schedules can often accommodate non-traditional hours, aiding working families.
  • Community Connection: A close-knit environment that fosters strong relationships among children, families, and providers.

The Importance of a Child Care License

A child care license is your key to a professional, recognized practice in Missouri. It assures parents that their children are in safe, nurturing hands and opens doors to numerous resources for you, the provider.

Why Get Licensed?

  • Safety and Trust: Licensing shows commitment to safety and quality care.
  • Professional Growth: Access to training and development opportunities.
  • Community and Support: Join a network of professionals dedicated to early childhood education.

Step-by-Step Guide to Obtaining a Child Care License in Missouri

Embarking on the licensing journey may seem daunting, but with our step-by-step guide, you’ll find yourself moving forward with confidence.

  1. Understand the Requirements: Familiarize yourself with Missouri’s child care licensing requirements. This includes background checks, health and safety training, and specific home safety standards.
  2. Prepare Your Application: Gather necessary documents, including proof of training, health clearances, and your business plan for child care.
  3. Inspection and Interviews: Be ready for home inspections and personal interviews as part of the assessment process.
  4. Final Steps: Submit your application and any associated fees to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and prepare for your official licensing visit.

Pro Tip: Take advantage of Child Care Aware® of Missouri’s resources and workshops for applicants to streamline this process.

Best Practices for Family Child Care Providers

Creating a thriving family child care involves continuous learning and adaptation. Here are some best practices to keep you inspired:

  • Engage with Educational Activities: Incorporate a variety of learning experiences that cater to different developmental stages.
  • Prioritize Safety: Regularly review and update safety protocols in your home.
  • Invest in Yourself: Seek out professional development opportunities to enhance your skills and knowledge.

In Conclusion

Embarking on the journey of family child care and obtaining your child care license in Missouri is a rewarding endeavor that makes a significant impact on the lives of children and their families. By following this guide, you’re not just meeting standards; you’re setting a foundation for a fulfilling career in child care.

Remember, Child Care Aware® of Missouri is here to support you every step of the way. Whether you’re looking for guidance, training, or just someone to talk to about your child care goals, we’re just a call or click away. Together, we can ensure that Missouri’s children and families have access to the best possible care.

Let’s make a difference, one child, one family, one community at a time.

Boosting Employee Retention in Child Care: The Power of EAP Benefits

employee retention strategy

Imagine walking into a child care center and being greeted by faces that haven’t changed in years – a rare sight in an industry where high employee turnover is the norm. At Child Care Aware of Missouri, we understand the unique challenges faced by child care providers. This blog post is dedicated to discussing effective employee retention strategies with a special focus on Child Care Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Benefits. Let’s explore how we can make the child care sector a thriving and stable workplace.

Understanding Employee Retention Challenges in Child Care

In Missouri, like elsewhere, child care centers often struggle with retaining staff. The reasons range from emotional burnout to the physical demands of the job, compounded by financial constraints. This turnover doesn’t just affect the workforce; it impacts the children and families who rely on consistent, quality care.

The Role of EAP in Employee Retention

Enter Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). These are not just buzzwords; they’re lifelines. EAPs offer confidential counseling and support for issues like stress, anxiety, and other personal or work-related problems. Tailored EAPs for child care professionals can address the unique challenges they face, such as coping with the emotional aspects of caring for children or managing work-life balance.

Let’s hear it from Sarah, a preschool teacher in St. Louis: “The EAP program at our center helped me manage stress and avoid burnout. It’s reassuring to know that we have this support, making it easier to stay committed to the job I love.”

Implementing Effective Employee Retention Strategies

Beyond EAPs, there are other strategies to consider. Competitive salaries and benefits are fundamental, but let’s not forget professional development opportunities and creating a supportive work environment.

Measuring the Impact of EAP Benefits on Retention

How do we know if EAPs and other strategies are working? It’s all about measuring impact. Key performance indicators (KPIs) like employee turnover rates, employee satisfaction surveys, and productivity metrics are essential.

Investing in employee retention strategies, particularly EAP benefits, is investing in the future of child care. As providers, educators, and caregivers, we have the power to create a stable and supportive environment for our workforce. We encourage child care centers to consider these strategies and reach out to Child Care Aware of Missouri for support and resources. Let’s work together to make child care a rewarding and sustainable career choice.

Embracing Families: How Your Business Can Become a Beacon for Family-Friendly Practices

Welcome to the Child Care Aware of Missouri blog, where we explore essential topics in child care and family-friendly business practices. Today, we’re delving into the heart of what makes businesses stand out in our modern, family-centric society.

family friendly business

Understanding the Family-Friendly Business Concept

What exactly is a ‘Family Friendly Business’? In simple terms, it’s a business that goes above and beyond to accommodate the needs of families — both in its consumer practices and its treatment of employees. In today’s fast-paced world, where work-life balance is more important than ever, adopting family-friendly policies isn’t just nice to have; it’s a strategic necessity.

Did you know that companies with family-friendly policies often see higher levels of employee satisfaction and lower turnover rates? That’s right! According to a 2023 survey by the Family and Work Institute, companies with strong family-friendly policies reported a 25% lower employee turnover rate compared to their counterparts.

But what does this look like in practice? Let’s dive in.

Policies That Make Your Business Family-Friendly

There’s a wide array of strategies businesses can adopt to be more family-friendly. Here are some top picks:

Flexible Working Hours: Let’s face it, the 9-5 schedule doesn’t work for everyone. Offering flexible hours or remote work options can be a game-changer for parents juggling childcare.

Parental Leave: This is a big one. Generous parental leave policies show that you value your employees’ family time, leading to happier, more loyal staff.

On-site Childcare: Imagine the relief of employees who can bring their children to a safe, nurturing environment right at their workplace. It’s a win-win.

Family Health and Wellness Programs: These can range from comprehensive health insurance to mental health support and wellness initiatives.

Family Events and Activities: Organize family-friendly events or activities. It’s a great way to build a community within your workplace.

The Impact of Family-Friendly Policies

Now, let’s talk results. We’ve seen firsthand at Child Care Aware of Missouri how businesses transform after implementing these policies. There’s a palpable shift in the workplace atmosphere — employees are happier, more engaged, and incredibly loyal. Moreover, these companies often become more attractive to top talent looking for an employer that values work-life balance.

Getting Started – Steps for Businesses

Ready to make a change? Here’s how you can start:

Assess Your Current Policies: Take a close look at what you’re already doing and where there’s room for improvement.

Listen to Your Employees: They’re the best resource for understanding what changes would make the most significant impact.

Plan Gradually: Don’t try to do everything at once. Start with one or two policies and build from there.

Seek Resources and Support: Organizations like Child Care Aware of Missouri are here to help with guidance and resources.

Creating a family-friendly business isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about building a culture that genuinely values and supports families. At Child Care Aware of Missouri, we’re committed to helping businesses achieve this goal. Whether you’re just starting or looking to enhance your existing policies, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Ready to transform your business into a family-friendly haven? Get in touch with us at Child Care Aware of Missouri, and let’s make a difference together.

Enhancing Employee Well-Being: The Importance of Child Care EAP Benefits

Welcome to the Child Care Aware of Missouri blog!

Today, we’re exploring a topic that resonates deeply with working parents and progressive employers alike – Child Care EAP (Employee Assistance Program) Benefits. In a world where balancing work and family life is more challenging than ever, understanding and utilizing these benefits can be a game-changer.

child care eap benefits

Understanding Child Care EAP Benefits

So, what exactly are Child Care EAP Benefits? In simple terms, they’re a part of an Employee Assistance Program focused specifically on helping employees with their child care needs. This can range from on-site child care facilities and childcare subsidies to emergency child care services. Imagine a scenario where you’re not constantly worried about your little one during work hours – that’s the peace of mind these benefits aim to provide.

The Impact on Employee Performance

Here’s an interesting nugget of information: according to a recent study, employees with access to child care support reported a 25% increase in job satisfaction. Why? Because knowing that their children are in safe, accessible, and affordable care lifts a huge weight off their shoulders. This leads to reduced absenteeism, lower levels of stress, and, naturally, higher productivity. It’s a win-win!

A Guide for Employers

If you’re an employer, integrating child care EAP benefits might seem daunting, but it’s easier than you think. The key is understanding your employees’ specific needs and finding creative solutions. Sometimes, it’s not about building a daycare center; it could be as simple as flexible working hours or telecommuting options. And remember, organizations like Child Care Aware of Missouri are always here to help you navigate these waters with easy access to helpful resources.

Tips for Parents

To all the working parents out there, we know it’s tough. Here are a few tips to make the most of your child care EAP benefits:

  • Understand your benefits: Take the time to understand what’s available to you and how you can access these services.
  • Plan ahead: Use these benefits to create a backup plan for days when your regular child care falls through.
  • Communicate with your employer: Don’t hesitate to discuss your child care needs with your employer. More often than not, they’re willing to help.

In Conclusion

Child care EAP benefits are more than just another perk – they’re a critical component in building a supportive, productive, and happy workforce. Whether you’re an employer looking to implement these benefits or an employee wanting to make the most of them, remember that you’re not alone in this journey.

Let’s Chat!

Got questions? Need guidance on child care EAP benefits? Child Care Aware of Missouri is here to help. Reach out to us, and let’s make the journey of parenting and professional growth a little easier together.

Happy parenting and productive working to all!

Building Strong Child Care Partnerships: A Key to Enriching Communities in Missouri

Welcome to Child Care Aware of Missouri, where our mission is to transform the landscape of child care into a thriving community resource. In this blog, we dive into the heart of ‘Building Child Care Partnerships’ — a cornerstone for fostering a supportive environment for our children. Imagine a world where every child flourishes in a nurturing and collaborative space. That’s the world we’re striving to build, one partnership at a time.

building child care partnerships

Understanding the Value of Child Care Partnerships

Child care partnerships are not just agreements; they’re bridges connecting families, caregivers, community leaders, and businesses towards a shared goal – the well-being and development of our children. These partnerships enrich our communities by:

  • Enhancing the Quality of Child Care: When diverse groups work together, they bring varied perspectives and resources, leading to innovative and high-quality child care solutions.
  • Supporting Families: They provide parents with peace of mind, knowing their children are in a safe, nurturing environment.
  • Economic Growth: Strong child care systems attract businesses and support working parents, fueling the local economy.

Consider the story of the Springfield Daycare Center, which partnered with local businesses to provide educational materials and healthy meals. This collaboration not only elevated the daycare’s offerings but also forged a stronger community bond.

Key Elements of Successful Child Care Partnerships

Building a successful partnership is like cultivating a garden; it requires patience, care, and the right conditions. Here are some vital elements:

  • Open Communication: Frequent, honest dialogues ensure that every partner’s voice is heard and valued.
  • Shared Goals: A clear, mutual understanding of the partnership’s objectives keeps everyone aligned and moving forward.
  • Mutual Respect: Recognizing and appreciating each partner’s contribution fosters a positive and productive environment.

Steps to Building Effective Child Care Partnerships

  • Identify Potential Partners: Look for local businesses, educational institutions, and community groups that share your vision.
  • Set Clear Objectives: Define what you want to achieve through this partnership.
  • Establish Roles and Responsibilities: Clear expectations prevent misunderstandings.
  • Regularly Review and Adapt: Be open to feedback and willing to adjust strategies for continuous improvement.

Success Stories from Missouri

In St. Louis, a unique partnership between a local library and a child care center resulted in a weekly story-time program, enhancing literacy and social skills among children. This is just one of the many success stories catalyzed by partnership and collaboration in our state.

Resources and Support from Child Care Aware of Missouri

We at Child Care Aware of Missouri are committed to supporting these partnerships. Whether you’re a child care provider, a parent, or a local business, we have resources and expertise to help you contribute meaningfully to this mission. Visit our Partnership Resources page for more information.

As we wrap up, remember that building child care partnerships isn’t just about creating a network; it’s about weaving a tapestry of support that uplifts every child and family. We invite you to join us in this endeavor. Together, we can create a brighter future for our children and our communities.

Are you ready to be a part of this transformative journey? Contact us at Child Care Aware of Missouri to start building impactful child care partnerships. Let’s collaborate, innovate, and grow together for the betterment of our children and our future.

The Essential Role of a Child Care Liaison in Missouri: Insights and Experiences

Welcome to a journey through the heart of Missouri’s child care system! At Child Care Aware of Missouri, we’re dedicated to enhancing the quality of child care and early education. Today, let’s dive into the world of a Child Care Liaison, a vital yet often overlooked cornerstone of our child care community. Ever wondered how these heroes behind the scenes make a significant impact? Let’s unfold their story.

Child Care LiaisonEmpowering Missouri’s Families: The Role of Child Care Liaisons

What is a Child Care Liaison?

Picture this: a bridge between families and the sometimes overwhelming world of child care. That’s a Child Care Liaison. They’re not just professionals; they’re empathetic listeners, problem-solvers, and advocates. Equipped with a blend of knowledge about early childhood education and a passion for community service, they stand as the guiding light for many parents navigating the child care landscape.

The Impact of Child Care Liaisons on Missouri Families

Meet Sarah, a Missouri mom who was at her wit’s end trying to find suitable child care for her toddler. Enter her Child Care Liaison, Jamie. Jamie didn’t just help Sarah find a child care center; she walked her through the entire process, ensuring the choice was perfect for her child’s needs. Like Sarah, many parents have stories of Liaisons turning their anxiety into assurance. Did you know that thanks to these efforts, Missouri has seen a significant improvement in child care quality and accessibility?

A Day in the Life of a Child Care Liaison

Imagine starting your day knowing you’ll make a real difference. For a Child Care Liaison, every day is a new adventure. They might start with a workshop for parents, followed by a visit to a child care center to provide guidance or assess needs. Then, it’s time for some paperwork – ensuring every child they oversee receives the best care possible. Their days are long, but the smiles and thank-yous they receive are priceless.

How Child Care Aware of Missouri Supports Child Care Liaisons

At Child Care Aware of Missouri, we’re not just a network; we’re a family. We provide our Liaisons with ongoing training, resources, and a community of peers for support and exchange of ideas. From innovative educational tools to emotional support, we ensure they have everything they need to be champions for children and families.

Getting Involved – How You Can Benefit from or Support Child Care Liaisons

Feeling inspired? Whether you’re a parent in need of guidance or someone passionate about child care looking to make a difference, there’s a place for you. Contact us to connect with a Child Care Liaison, or explore how you can join this fulfilling field. Your journey to impact lives positively starts here!

Child Care Liaisons are more than just workers; they are the unsung heroes of Missouri’s child care system. Their dedication and hard work create ripples of positive change across families and communities. Remember, whether you need assistance or want to offer it, Child Care Aware of Missouri and our wonderful team of Child Care Liaisons are here to guide you every step of the way.

Remember:

Your child’s journey in early education is crucial. Don’t walk it alone – let a Child Care Liaison be your guide and support. Visit Child Care Aware of Missouri to learn more, get involved, or find the help you need. Let’s make every child’s early years in Missouri happy, healthy, and full of learning!

Navigating Rural Child Care Options in Missouri: A Comprehensive Guide

Imagine living in a beautiful, serene rural area of Missouri, surrounded by nature’s tranquility. However, as a parent in such an idyllic setting, you face a unique challenge: finding reliable, quality child care. It’s a common story in rural Missouri, where child care options are often scarce. This guide is dedicated to the resilient parents navigating the rural child care landscape. Here, we’ll explore practical solutions, valuable resources, and the supportive role of Child Care Aware of Missouri in this vital journey.

rural child care options

Understanding the Landscape of Rural Child Care in Missouri

Rural Missouri, known for its rolling hills and vibrant communities, unfortunately, lags in accessible child care options. A recent survey indicates that rural areas have 30% fewer child care centers than urban regions. Parents often travel long distances or juggle unorthodox schedules to secure child care. Understanding these challenges is the first step in finding a solution.

Challenges and Solutions

Limited options in rural areas mean thinking creatively. Some families opt for shared nanny arrangements, dividing the cost and time amongst several families. Others turn to local community centers or churches that occasionally offer child care services, providing a safe and familiar environment for children.

Key Resources for Rural Families

Child Care Aware of Missouri stands as a beacon of hope in this challenging landscape. Offering a database of licensed child care providers, this organization helps parents find reliable options. Their website mochildcareaware.org serves as a gateway to resources, offering guidance on choosing the best child care to fit individual family needs.

Creative Solutions for Rural Child Care

Innovation thrives in the face of challenges. In some Missouri communities, parents and caregivers have formed co-op child care models. These cooperatives operate on parents taking turns caring for a group of children, creating a close-knit, communal child care system.

Real Stories, Real Solutions

Take Sarah, a mother from a small Missouri town, who formed a child care sharing group with neighboring families. This arrangement not only solved her child care dilemma but also fostered a strong sense of community and mutual support.

Financial Assistance and Support Programs

Understanding the financial burden of child care, various state and local programs offer aid. The Missouri Child Care Subsidy Program provides assistance to eligible families, helping to lessen the financial load. Details on these programs can be found on the Department of Social Services website.

The Role of Technology in Rural Child Care

In today’s digital age, technology bridges many gaps. Virtual learning platforms and online forums provide rural families with access to educational resources and community support they might otherwise lack. Child Care Aware of Missouri’s website is a hub for such digital resources, offering a lifeline to rural families.

Advocacy and Future Directions

The road to improving rural child care in Missouri is ongoing. Advocacy and community involvement play crucial roles. By voicing concerns and participating in local initiatives, parents can help shape the future of rural child care.

Conclusion

As we navigate the complexities of rural child care in Missouri, remember, you are not alone. With organizations like Child Care Aware of Missouri, innovative community solutions, and supportive resources, the journey becomes less daunting. We encourage you to reach out, connect, and explore the options available. Together, we can create a brighter future for our children and our communities.

The Ultimate Guide to Obtaining Grants for Daycare Centers

grants for daycare centers

If you are looking for grants for opening daycare centers in Missouri, you are in luck. In Missouri, there are various financial assistance programs available to help daycare owners manage their business.  In this article, we will discuss some of the programs and grants for opening a daycare center that are available to Missouri residents, and how to apply for them.

What Grants are Available for Opening a Daycare Center in Missouri?

There are many grants available for opening a daycare center in Missouri. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services offers a Child Care Grant Program that provides financial assistance to child care providers who meet the requirements set by the state. The program is designed to help low-income families afford quality child care.

In addition, the Missouri Department of Economic Development offers a Child Care Facility Development Grant Program that provides financial assistance to businesses that want to open or expand a child care center. The program is designed to create or expand child care facilities that will serve low-income and working families.

There are also many private grants available for daycare centers. The Missouri Child Care Association offers a variety of grants to members, and the Missouri Department of Social Services offers a Child Care Resource and Referral Grant Program that provides financial assistance to families who are looking for child care.

So, there are many grants available for daycare centers in Missouri. If you are interested in opening a daycare center, be sure to research the different grants available and see which ones you qualify for.

What are the Eligibility Requirements to Obtain Grants for Daycare Centers?

You’ve decided that you want to apply for a grant to help fund your business, but what are the eligibility requirements for each type of grant?  What paperwork must you have at the ready before you begin your application?

The eligibility requirements for each type of grant vary, so it’s important to do your research before applying. 

For example, some grants are only available to businesses in specific industries, while others are open to businesses of all sizes.

In general, you’ll usually need to meet the following eligibility requirements to be considered for a grant:

  • You must be a legal resident of the United States.
  • You must be a business owner or entrepreneur.
  • Your business must be in operation for at least one year.
  • Your business must be profitable.
  • Your business must have a good credit score.
  • Your business must be in compliance with all state and federal regulations.

There are many ways to apply for a grant, but the most common way is to submit a proposal to the grant-making organization. 

The proposal should include a cover letter, table of contents, project description, budget, and resumes of the project team.

What Programs and Grants for Opening a Daycare Center are Available to me?

Financial assistance can come in the form of grants, loans, or tax credits.

Grants are a type of financial assistance that does not have to be paid back. This makes them a great option for those who are starting a daycare. Grants are available from a variety of sources, including the government and private organizations.

Loans are another option for financial assistance. They typically must be paid back, but they can be a great way to get started with your daycare. There are a variety of loan options available, so be sure to explore them all.

Tax credits are another great way to get financial assistance for your daycare center. They can help reduce the amount of taxes you owe, which can be a great help with your start-up costs. 

There are a variety of tax credits available, so be sure to research the ones that are best for you.

All these options can help you get started with your daycare. Be sure to research all your options and find the best one for you.

To learn more about the grants available to open a daycare center in Missouri, visit the website of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. There you can find a list of all the grants available, along with their eligibility requirements and application forms.

  • The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services offers a Child Care Grant Program that provides financial assistance to child care providers who meet the requirements set by the state. The program is designed to help low-income families afford quality child care.
  • The Missouri Department of Economic Development offers a Child Care Facility Development Grant Program that provides financial assistance to businesses that want to open or expand a child care center. The program is designed to create or expand child care facilities. 
  • The Missouri Child Care Association offers a variety of grants to members.
  • The Missouri Department of Social Services offers a Child Care Resource and Referral Grant Program that provides financial assistance to families who are looking for child care.

Some additional grant opportunities not outlined above include: 

The Childcare Development Fund

The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) is a federal and state partnership program authorized under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and administered by states, territories and tribes with funding and support from the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Child Care. 

States use the CCDF to invest in quality to benefit more children by building the skills and qualifications of the teacher workforce, supporting child care programs to achieve higher standards, and providing consumer education to help parents select child care that meets their families’ needs.

This grant provides up to $50,000 for the development or improvement of a child care facility. The grant can be used for the purchase of property, renovation of facilities, equipment, and other costs associated with starting or expanding a daycare center.

The Innovation Startup

This grant for opening a daycare opportunity allows for increased access to child care in partnership with a business or community partner. 

The amount of funding is dependent upon the facility capacity, traditional and/or non-traditional hours of operation, and a commitment in matching funds or in-kind contributions to support the new child care program. 

To be eligible, the child care program must plan to operate in a location where no other child care providers were licensed as of Dec. 1, 2022. The applicant must not have previously operated a child care program there either.

Preference will be given to rural communities and child care deserts.

Once awarded, payments will be made to the child care provider based on the matching funds or in-kind contributions from the business or community partner and three required licensing activities: 

  • completing the initial inspection
  • obtaining a child care license
  • completing the post-licensing inspection

Deadline to apply for the Innovation Grant to Start-up a New Child Care Program is May 31, 2023.  If awarded, the provider must become a licensed child care program with children enrolled by March 31, 2024.

What Are the Benefits of Receiving Grants for Opening a Daycare Center?

There are many benefits to receiving a grant. One of the biggest benefits is that you will have extra money to spend on your business. This extra money can be used to pay for advertising, marketing, and other costs associated with running your business. 

Additionally, grants can help you to establish your business credit. When you receive a grant, the grant issuer will often report the grant to the major credit reporting agencies. This will help to build your business credit history and make it easier to borrow money in the future. Finally, grants can help you to qualify for other types of financing. By demonstrating that you have received outside financing, you can show that your business is worthy of investment.

How Do You Apply for Financial Assistance to Open a Daycare in Missouri?

To apply for financial assistance to open a daycare in Missouri, you will need to complete the Daycare Financial Assistance Application. This application can be found on the Department of Social Services website. 

The application will ask for information about your business, such as your name, address, and contact information. It will also ask for information about your daycare, such as the ages of the children you plan to care for and the hours of operation.

The application will require you to provide proof of your income and assets. This can include bank statements, tax returns, and business licenses.

Once you have completed the application, you will need to submit it to the Department of Social Services. 

The Department will review your application and will let you know if you are eligible for financial assistance. If you would like to receive direct assistance from Child Care Aware® of Missouri, reach out to us today

The Ultimate Guide to Obtaining Grants for Daycare Centers

grants for daycare centers

If you are looking for grants for opening daycare centers in Missouri, you are in luck. In Missouri, there are various financial assistance programs available to help daycare owners manage their business.  In this article, we will discuss some of the programs and grants for opening a daycare center that are available to Missouri residents, and how to apply for them.

What Grants are Available for Opening a Daycare Center in Missouri?

There are many grants available for opening a daycare center in Missouri. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services offers a Child Care Grant Program that provides financial assistance to child care providers who meet the requirements set by the state. The program is designed to help low-income families afford quality child care.

In addition, the Missouri Department of Economic Development offers a Child Care Facility Development Grant Program that provides financial assistance to businesses that want to open or expand a child care center. The program is designed to create or expand child care facilities that will serve low-income and working families.

There are also many private grants available for daycare centers. The Missouri Child Care Association offers a variety of grants to members, and the Missouri Department of Social Services offers a Child Care Resource and Referral Grant Program that provides financial assistance to families who are looking for child care.

So, there are many grants available for daycare centers in Missouri. If you are interested in opening a daycare center, be sure to research the different grants available and see which ones you qualify for.

What are the Eligibility Requirements to Obtain Grants for Daycare Centers?

You’ve decided that you want to apply for a grant to help fund your business, but what are the eligibility requirements for each type of grant?  What paperwork must you have at the ready before you begin your application?

The eligibility requirements for each type of grant vary, so it’s important to do your research before applying. 

For example, some grants are only available to businesses in specific industries, while others are open to businesses of all sizes.

In general, you’ll usually need to meet the following eligibility requirements to be considered for a grant:

  • You must be a legal resident of the United States.
  • You must be a business owner or entrepreneur.
  • Your business must be in operation for at least one year.
  • Your business must be profitable.
  • Your business must have a good credit score.
  • Your business must be in compliance with all state and federal regulations.

There are many ways to apply for a grant, but the most common way is to submit a proposal to the grant-making organization. 

The proposal should include a cover letter, table of contents, project description, budget, and resumes of the project team.

What Programs and Grants for Opening a Daycare Center are Available to me?

Financial assistance can come in the form of grants, loans, or tax credits.

Grants are a type of financial assistance that does not have to be paid back. This makes them a great option for those who are starting a daycare. Grants are available from a variety of sources, including the government and private organizations.

Loans are another option for financial assistance. They typically must be paid back, but they can be a great way to get started with your daycare. There are a variety of loan options available, so be sure to explore them all.

Tax credits are another great way to get financial assistance for your daycare center. They can help reduce the amount of taxes you owe, which can be a great help with your start-up costs. 

There are a variety of tax credits available, so be sure to research the ones that are best for you.

All these options can help you get started with your daycare. Be sure to research all your options and find the best one for you.

To learn more about the grants available to open a daycare center in Missouri, visit the website of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. There you can find a list of all the grants available, along with their eligibility requirements and application forms.

  • The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services offers a Child Care Grant Program that provides financial assistance to child care providers who meet the requirements set by the state. The program is designed to help low-income families afford quality child care.
  • The Missouri Department of Economic Development offers a Child Care Facility Development Grant Program that provides financial assistance to businesses that want to open or expand a child care center. The program is designed to create or expand child care facilities. 
  • The Missouri Child Care Association offers a variety of grants to members.
  • The Missouri Department of Social Services offers a Child Care Resource and Referral Grant Program that provides financial assistance to families who are looking for child care.

Some additional grant opportunities not outlined above include: 

The Childcare Development Fund

The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) is a federal and state partnership program authorized under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and administered by states, territories and tribes with funding and support from the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Child Care. 

States use the CCDF to invest in quality to benefit more children by building the skills and qualifications of the teacher workforce, supporting child care programs to achieve higher standards, and providing consumer education to help parents select child care that meets their families’ needs.

This grant provides up to $50,000 for the development or improvement of a child care facility. The grant can be used for the purchase of property, renovation of facilities, equipment, and other costs associated with starting or expanding a daycare center.

The Innovation Startup

This grant for opening a daycare opportunity allows for increased access to child care in partnership with a business or community partner. 

The amount of funding is dependent upon the facility capacity, traditional and/or non-traditional hours of operation, and a commitment in matching funds or in-kind contributions to support the new child care program. 

To be eligible, the child care program must plan to operate in a location where no other child care providers were licensed as of Dec. 1, 2022. The applicant must not have previously operated a child care program there either.

Preference will be given to rural communities and child care deserts.

Once awarded, payments will be made to the child care provider based on the matching funds or in-kind contributions from the business or community partner and three required licensing activities: 

  • completing the initial inspection
  • obtaining a child care license
  • completing the post-licensing inspection

Deadline to apply for the Innovation Grant to Start-up a New Child Care Program is May 31, 2023.  If awarded, the provider must become a licensed child care program with children enrolled by March 31, 2024.

What Are the Benefits of Receiving Grants for Opening a Daycare Center?

There are many benefits to receiving a grant. One of the biggest benefits is that you will have extra money to spend on your business. This extra money can be used to pay for advertising, marketing, and other costs associated with running your business. 

Additionally, grants can help you to establish your business credit. When you receive a grant, the grant issuer will often report the grant to the major credit reporting agencies. This will help to build your business credit history and make it easier to borrow money in the future. Finally, grants can help you to qualify for other types of financing. By demonstrating that you have received outside financing, you can show that your business is worthy of investment.

How Do You Apply for Financial Assistance to Open a Daycare in Missouri?

To apply for financial assistance to open a daycare in Missouri, you will need to complete the Daycare Financial Assistance Application. This application can be found on the Department of Social Services website. 

The application will ask for information about your business, such as your name, address, and contact information. It will also ask for information about your daycare, such as the ages of the children you plan to care for and the hours of operation.

The application will require you to provide proof of your income and assets. This can include bank statements, tax returns, and business licenses.

Once you have completed the application, you will need to submit it to the Department of Social Services. 

The Department will review your application and will let you know if you are eligible for financial assistance. If you would like to receive direct assistance from Child Care Aware® of Missouri, reach out to us today

Guide to Family Care Registries in Missouri

Family care is an absolutely vital industry. When it comes to child care, it’s crucial to maintaining a healthy and productive workforce. However, it can be extremely difficult to find the right care at the right price with all the right services. These problems can compound if you live in a less populated area or one where the choices are otherwise limited. To help you wade through this difficult and complicated field, a family care registry in Missouri can be super helpful.

A Missouri family care registry is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. These are databases for caregivers in the state, including (but not limited to) child care providers. You’ll find them in various places online, and some hosts will require people and organizations that want to register with them to pass certain standards. These requirements can include specific licensing, accreditation, or other quality assessments. Because of that built-in gatekeeping, family care registries in Missouri can give you some peace of mind as well as making it easier to find caregiving options.

Here, we’ll take you through different registries in the Show Me State that help connect families with the right kinds of care for their children. We’ll also give you some tips and tricks to help you out with your search for the best child care. By the end of this piece, you should have all the tools you need to hire the best child care for your family’s needs, whatever they are. 

Let’s begin with the most obvious MO family care registry.

Family Care Safety Registry

The state maintains this family care registry in Missouri in order to help employers in the field vet potentially employees. When someone is on this family care registry in Missouri, then anyone looking to hire them can easily access their background information. That includes licensure status if applicable. 

This family care registry for Missouri is extremely important. It makes the process of finding a qualified and trustworthy child care provider a lot easier for lots of different parties involved in the process. Part of that is simplifying the job search process for caregivers. To register, those potential caregivers have to submit a form, a copy of their Social Security card, and the $14 fee. 

For other interested parties, though, it’s perhaps even more important. Most child care workers have 15 days after starting their jobs to register with the Department of Health and Senior Services and get on the Missouri family care registry. You can check out the list of requirements on the DHSS website if you’re curious. This way, their employers and the families they work with can be sure they’ve had their backgrounds appropriately checked.

Although our main interest with the Family Care Safety Registry is for child care purposes, it’s also helpful for vetting other family care services as well. Your elderly loved ones and those who have disabilities also need to be sure they’re hiring reputable caregivers. This family care registry in Missouri caters to all of those needs. 

Using the Family Care Safety Registry

There are two different sides to the effective utilization of this particular family care registry in Missouri. The first is for those looking to register as care providers, and the other is for those who want to employ a caregiver. Both groups have a lot to gain from the MO family care registry. 

For those looking for a caregiver or early childhood education job, registering with the state is usually a requirement. Those who don’t do it before they start working will have to do it once they begin their jobs. If you’re an individual looking for a caregiver, then you’ll also benefit from the registry. It makes vetting someone straightforward and simple. 

All you have to do is navigate to the portal and find the background screening page. To request a screening for someone who has already registered, you’ll need to enter their Social Security Number and full name after affirming that you’re looking for this information because of an intent to hire. You’ll submit your request and then get the results from this Missouri family care registry. There’s a possibility that the team will have to do a review, that the person has not registered yet, or that there’s nothing of note in their background. Take the results you get and follow the instructions; those will let you know what your next steps should be.

Child Care Referral Database

This is another kind of family care registry in Missouri. It’s one of the services we here at Child Care Aware® of Missouri offer for those in search of a high-quality, reputable child care provider. All you have to do is provide some details about the kind of care you’re looking for, and we’ll serve up some options that might be suitable. You’ll have to do a little more vetting work yourself, or course. However, this is one way to simplify the child care search process.

Do keep in mind that not all kinds of child care facilities are included in our database. Even though it isn’t required or completely comprehensive, our Missouri family care registry is still a great resource for lots of folks.

Other Tools for Finding Appropriate Child Care

A family care registry in Missouri is an obvious place to start looking for child care facilities or individual caregivers, but there are also other ways to go about finding good child care. 

How you go about the process will largely depend on what kind of child care you would prefer. If you’re looking for someone to come into your home, for example, you’re going to be looking different places than if you’re looking for a child care center. Deciding the type of child care you’re looking for is a good place to start for that reason. 

National registries or lists from national child care organizations could be one way to go if a Missouri family care registry is not yielding any results. They might have members that fit your needs. Plus, slightly expanding your search radius is always a good idea if you can’t find anything right by your home. 

What if I find a child care provider who is not on a family care registry?

Not every caregiver out there is going to be discoverable on a family care registry in Missouri. There are a few reasons why that should give you pause, but it’s also not the end of the world. As long as you do your own due diligence, you can still be confident in your choice of care provider, even if you never touch a MO family care registry. 

One example would be a family member, neighbor, or friend who is able to take care of your children while you are working. If there’s a trusted person in your life who can provide high-quality care on the schedule you need, then you don’t need to worry about finding them on a MO family care registry. You should still make your expectations and boundaries clear, though, just like you would with a care provider that you didn’t know personally. Having someone you already trust does make the process a lot smoother and easier, and you won’t have to do any serious vetting.

However, if you hear about a friend of a friend or someone you’re otherwise not personally acquainted with, then you need to do some checking to make sure they’re someone you can trust with child care. This is a very important job, after all. Checking a Missouri child care registry would be the first step we’d recommend, and if they’re not on one of them, then you need to do deeper digging. Let’s go through some of the steps you should take.

Background Check

The main draw of a family care registry in Missouri is that they typically take care of the background checking for you. So, if you’re considering an individual outside of those registries, you will likely need to do that part yourself. Even if you’re working with an agency, do what you can to look into the background of the provider you’re considering. This is especially important if you’re trying to hire an individual caregiver. 

However, you should also research the history of child care centers. Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if there have been any complaints. You can also search for reviews of the different child care options you’re considering. Good reviews speak volumes, and although bad ones should definitely be taken with a grain of salt, they are important to watch out for all the same. This kind of thing won’t show up on a Missouri family care registry anyway, so you’ll likely want to do this extra digging no matter what.

If you’re looking into the background of an individual caregiver, the first step is usually to check with their references. It’s a good idea to ask for three, and make sure there are some former employers among them. 

A family care registry in Missouri is likely to take care of the heavy lifting when it comes to background checks, and it’s the main reason why people like to use those sorts of resources when searching for their own child care. They’re lots of help. But if you can’t find what you’re looking for on a Missouri family care registry, you’ll have to take matters into your own hands.

Interview Questions

No matter what kind of child care you’re looking for, you’re going to want to ask lots of questions before you enroll your child or hire the caregiver. A MO family care registry can only tell you so much. We have a more comprehensive resource on questions to ask child care providers, so this will be a brief overview. Definitely check out the other document if you want more specifics. 

The first thing you want to ask about is previous experience. What kinds of training and credentials does the provider have? Not all child care services need to be licensed in the state of Missouri, but if you’re looking into ones that do, you should also ask about their licensing. (And if they are licensed, they should be easy to find on any family care registry in Missouri). This is also a good place to ask about any accreditations they might have. See if they’ve been recognized by any reputable organizations like the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs, or the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation.

After you’ve established the provider’s qualifications, you’re going to want to ask more about the specifics of their child care philosophy. How do they handle discipline? If you were to spontaneously visit your child in their care, would that be welcome? What kinds of health and safety precautions do they have in place? 

All in all, you’re going to want to ask these questions (and more!) even if you do find your preferred provider on a family care registry in Missouri. They’re just extra important if you’re looking for someone outside of those pre-vetting registries. 

Use a Missouri Family Care Registry

It can be intimidating to find the right child care for your family. As we’ve demonstrated, however, there are plenty of resources at your disposal to help you with that decision. 

We’ll leave you with a final reminder of our own Missouri family care registry. You can access the Missouri Child Care Aware referral database on our website any time you like. Keep in mind that the specificity of the results will largely depend on how much information you enter. So, if you want the best list of options from a MO family care registry, you should be complete and thorough. 

If you need any further assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our experts would be happy to speak with you via phone or email and help connect you with the child care resources you need, whether that includes a family care registry in Missouri or not. 

Navigating Missouri Family Services

missouri family services

A Guide on How to Obtain Assistance from MO Family Services

Whether you’re a parent, a grandparent, or a guardian, navigating the Missouri Family Services resources can be a challenging task. With so many different programs and services to choose from, it can be hard to know where to begin. 

From finding the right childcare for your children to understanding the eligibility requirements and financial assistance programs, there is a lot to consider, and a lot riding on your decisions, which can make it hard to settle on a final decision. 

Fortunately, there are support services available to help you better understand the offerings available from MO Family Services, such as Child Care Aware® of Missouri.   

This guide will provide an overview of MO Family Services, including what Child Care Aware is and how they fit into your journey, eligibility requirements, how to apply, and the different types of services available.

Introduction to Missouri Family Services

MO Family Services is a state-run, statewide program that provides resources, services, and assistance to families in need with children. These services include financial assistance, in-home services, parental support services, and resource and referral services which we will dive into more detail about a bit later on in this article.  

MO family services is part of the Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS), is funded by the federal government, and works in partnership with local agencies and organizations to help families in crisis who meet the specific eligibility requirements for their chosen program. 

The goal of MO family services is to help families with low incomes access and utilize the services they need to provide for their children while their mission is to help families build strength and stability, while supporting the development and well-being of children across the state. 

MFS has a wide range of offerings, so it can be difficult for families to know where to start. This is where Child Care Aware can help.

What is Child Care Aware?

Child Care Aware is a non-profit organization within Missouri Family Services that provides financial assistance that works to improve the quality of child care for all families.  

Child Care Aware also helps families navigate MO Family Services offerings by providing information and resources on the various services available and assisting you in making the best decision for your family.

We aim to help low-income families access quality child care anywhere in the state of Missouri.    The program is designed to help parents understand the importance of child care as well as introduce them to the resources available to them through Missouri Family Services. 

Child Care Aware has a team of dedicated staff that are available to answer any and all question your family may have.  We provide resources on eligibility requirements, how to apply, types of services available, and more.   No question is too much for us to handle, and we pride ourselves with being on the front lines in assisting families in need.  Additionally, we a are here to help families understand the financial assistance programs and in-home services offered by Missouri Family Services.

Additional Resources for Families other than Child Care Aware® of Missouri

There are a multitude of options out there in addition to Child Care Aware® of Missouri who will be happy to assist you with your journey through MO Family Services. 

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

The office of childhood includes programs related to child care, home visiting, early learning, and early intervention for children birth to age five, as well as afterschool programs for school-age children. 

The Office of Childhood also covers the following sectors: 

  • Child Care Compliance Section
  • Regulation Section
  • Early Intervention Section ( who administers the Missouri First Steps Program)
  • Outreach section
  • Child Care Subsidy Section
  • Quality Programs Section
  • Child Care Relief Funds section 
  • Childhood Finance section

You can navigate to view any of the above listed portions covered by the Missouri Office of Childhood by following this link.

Missouri Department of Social Services  

The Missouri Department of Social Services assists families in affording quality child care through their subsidy program.  

They also help families to understand how to continue to receive their assistance, and how to locate the right childcare for their family’s unique needs.  Missouri Family Services is administered by the DSS, which means that you can locate assistance and gain insights into things such as childcare, child support, and adoption by visiting their website. 

Eligibility Requirements for MO Family Services

Before you can access Missouri Family Services, you must meet the eligibility requirements. The eligibility requirements are based on a variety of factors, such as income, age, family size, and more. 

To qualify for Missouri Family Services, families must meet the following criteria:

The eligibility requirements for MFS vary based on the type of service you are seeking.

If you’re looking for financial assistance programs, you must meet certain income requirements. For example, you must make less than 200% of the federal poverty level, and a resident of Missouri as well as a US citizen or legal resident to be eligible for assistance. 

If you’re looking for in-home services, such as parental support services, you must meet certain criteria. For example, you must be a parent, guardian, or grandparent of a child under the age of 18 as well as having household income that is at or below the federal poverty level.

How to Apply for Missouri Family Services

Once you’ve determined that you meet the eligibility requirements, you can apply for Missouri Family Services. The application process is relatively straightforward. You can apply online or in person at your local MO Family Services office.

When you apply online, you’ll need to fill out an application form and provide all the required information. 

The form will ask for information such as your name, address, and other personal information. 

You will also need to provide information about your financial situation and any other relevant information. Once your application is complete, you will submit it for review.

If you choose to apply in person, you’ll need to make an appointment at your local Missouri Family Services office. 

At the appointment, you’ll fill out an application and provide the necessary information and documents. Once your application is reviewed, you will be notified of your eligibility status.

Types of Services Available

Once you’ve been approved for Missouri Family Services, you can access the various services that are offered. The types of services available vary based on your needs and the programs you are eligible for.

Missouri Family Services offers a variety of services to families with children. These services can be broken down into four main categories: 

  • financial assistance programs
  • in-home services
  • parental support services
  • Referral and Resource services 

Financial Assistance Programs

Financial assistance programs are one of the most used services offered by Missouri Family Services. These programs provide assistance with basic needs, such as housing, food, and medical care. They can also aid with childcare, transportation, and other needs.

To be eligible for financial assistance programs, you must meet certain eligibility requirements. These requirements vary based on the type of program you’re applying for. Generally, you must make less than 200% of the federal poverty level to be eligible.

When you apply for a financial assistance program, you will need to provide information about your financial situation, such as your income, assets, and expenses. You will also need to provide information about your family size and other relevant information.

Once your application is reviewed, you will be notified of your eligibility status. If you’re approved, you can receive financial assistance in the form of cash, vouchers, or other forms of payment.

Missouri Family Services also offers grants for families to purchase educational materials and supplies for their children.

In-Home Services

In-home services are designed to support families in their homes and are designed to help families with their everyday needs. 

These services can include parenting classes, counseling, and other resources that can help parents with their parenting journey.  They can also provide aid with childcare, such as finding childcare providers and helping families understand the different types of childcare available.

In-home services are available to families who meet certain eligibility requirements. Generally, you must be a parent, guardian, or grandparent of a child under the age of 18, as well as a household income that is at or below the federal poverty level.

When you apply for in-home services, you will need to provide information about your family size and other relevant information. You will also need to provide information about your financial situation, such as your income, assets, and expenses.

These services include home visits, parenting classes, and home-based family counseling. These services are designed to help families create a safe and supportive environment for their children.

Parental Support Services

Parental support services are designed to provide support for parents. These services can include mentoring, support groups, and other resources that can help parents with their parenting journey.

Generally, the eligibility requirements for parental support services are like that of in-home services, where you must be a parent, guardian, or grandparent of a child under the age of 18 as well as a household income that is at or below the federal poverty level.

Also, much like applying for in-home services, you will need to provide information about your family size and other relevant information like assets, expenses, and total monthly income. 

Resource and Referral Services

Resource and referral services are designed to help families find the resources they need. These services can connect families with organizations that can provide families with information about child care options, assistance in finding child care providers, and referrals to community organizations. They can also provide information about different types of resources, such as childcare, mental health services, and more.

To be eligible for resource and referral services, you must meet certain eligibility requirements, as with all other previously mentioned services.  Generally, for Resource and Referral services you must only be a resident of Missouri and a US citizen or legal resident to receive assistance. 

Navigating Missouri Family Services may at first appear to be quite the task, but it doesn’t have to be.  It’s helpful to remember that Missouri Family Services, while confusing at first, has helped hundreds and thousands of families in the state to get their children the education they deserve.  They understand and will help to guide you as you proceed along your journey in finding quality, affordable childcare in Missouri.  

With the help of Child Care Aware, you can better understand the services available, and the eligibility requirements required by Missouri Family Services so that you can obtain the resources your family requires. Child Care Aware can also provide assistance with applying for services and finding the resources you need.

If you’re looking for assistance with navigating Missouri Family Services, contact Child Care Aware today. They can provide you with the information and resources you need to make the most out of MO Family Services offerings. Contact Child Care Aware for more information on navigating the Missouri Family Services offerings today.

Your Guide to T.E.A.C.H. Missouri Scholarships

Education is expensive, but it’s also crucial to your personal and professional development, especially in the child care field. Teaching in Missouri is a highly complicated field, especially when it comes to early childhood education. As such, you need all the knowledge and help you can get to do the job effectively. A T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grant can be a helpful tool to get you the education and career advancement you’re looking for.

Here, we’re answering the core questions people have before they apply for these scholarships. Read through them to see if a T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grant might be a good fit for you. If so, we’ll have some guidance on how to apply at the end. 

What is a T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grant?

A T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grant is a scholarship program for early childhood professionals and those teaching in Missouri. The recipient, their sponsoring employer, and the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri organization make an agreement. Each party is responsible for different things: 

  • The recipient attends college courses, working toward a certification, degree, or simply further education. They are responsible for a portion of the costs associated with these classes, like books. Further, they promise to continue working in the field or at their sponsoring program for a certain amount of time after completing the terms of the contract. 
  • T.E.A.C.H. Missouri covers a larger share of those expenses. To help cover travel costs getting to and from class, T.E.A.C.H. Missouri also offers a $55 accessibility stipend for recipients. Once the recipient completes the terms of the contract, the organization will also give them a $450 bonus. 
  • The sponsoring employer also pays for a portion of the cost of tuition and books. There are other benefits the employer might provide to the recipient, which vary between programs. The options include paid time off to study for class, a bonus upon completing the classes specified in the contract, and a raise. Each contract specifies what exactly is expected of the sponsoring employer.

There are a lot of scholarships under the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grant umbrella. They are:

  • Entry Associate Degree Scholarship
  • Associate Degree Scholarship
  • Pre-Certification Scholarships
  • Student Teaching Scholarship
  • Bachelor Degree Scholarship
  • CDA Scholarship

We’ve already written pretty extensively about the CDA T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grant, so we won’t go into depth about that one here. Instead, we’ll expand on each of the other types of scholarships that can help you toward your goal of better teaching in Missouri in the following sections.

Entry Associate Degree Scholarship

This program is ideal for those who’d like to take a few classes in early childhood education at a two-year college. It’s meant for early childhood education or early childhood special education classes only. 

One key difference between this scholarship and the one we will discuss in the next section is that this can only be used for one year. It’s a good fit for people who are looking to earn some credits but are not necessarily pursuing a degree, or aren’t yet sure if they want to earn a degree. If you do decide you want to go for an associate degree, the Entry Associate Degree Scholarship is not renewable, but you can apply for the regular Associate Degree Scholarship. If you don’t, then you’ll just have a better education for teaching in Missouri. 

Associate Degree Scholarship

Once you’ve completed your first year of an associate program, this scholarship could be a good fit. It can be maintained for as many years as it takes to earn a degree. Another key difference between this T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grant and the previous one we detailed is that it can be used toward all the classes required for a degree, not just ones specific to early childhood education.

Pre-Certification Scholarships

Within this category of T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grants, there are two different options that might be a good fit for your needs. One of them is for those with one semester before their student teaching in Missouri begins, and the other is for those who have two semesters. Pretty straight forward. 

If you’re pursuing a bachelor’s degree and are coming up on your student teaching requirement, definitely give this scholarship some consideration. Use the specificity to your advantage.

Student Teaching Scholarship

If you only have one semester of student teaching in Missouri left before earning your degree, then this scholarship could be a perfect fit for you. In fact, it’s tailored specifically for people who need to fulfill their student teaching requirement. The next scholarship on this list helps more broadly with a bachelor’s degree, but this one is only for the portion of those programs that’s student teaching in Missouri.

Bachelor Degree Scholarship

If none of the other scholarships for working toward a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or early childhood special education make sense for you, then this scholarship might be the best fit. Do consider the other options, though, if you are approaching your student teaching in Missouri. You want to find the one that’s most specific to your situation.

It’s also worth noting that T.E.A.C.H. Missouri prefers that you take your general education classes at a two-year institution before completing your bachelor’s degree at a four-year college or university. It’s possible to take all of your courses at a four-year institution; just make sure you discuss this option with your Scholarship Counselor. 

Who is eligible for a T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grant?

The requirements for an applicant are pretty specific. Teachers, directors, assistants, on-site owners, and family group or home child care staff might be eligible, but they have to fit more criteria. 

First, they should want to earn college credit in the early childhood field, either toward a CDA, an associate degree, or a bachelor’s degree. Second, they need to do daily work with children under 5 in a licensed or license-exempt child care program. This needs to total at least 30 hours per week working directly with children, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be teaching in Missouri — assistants, directors, and owners also count. Third, they must be at least 18 years old and have already graduated from high school or earned a GED. Fourth, their income needs to be under $20 per hour if they are a teacher or assistant and under $25 per hour if they are a director or owner of a program. And lastly, it probably goes without saying, but they need to be authorized to work in the U.S.

Keep in mind that because the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grants are partnerships between the applicant, their sponsoring employer, and the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri organization, so part of that eligibility includes your employer agreeing to their part of the arrangement.

What is the sponsoring employer responsible for?

The different kinds of scholarships each have their own set of responsibilities for the sponsoring employer. We’ll get into the specifics for each one in a little bit, but there are some things they all have in common. Generally, they are responsible for some portion of the program’s cost for tuition and books. The exact amount will depend on a variety of factors. 

Paid time off is also included in some of the scholarship agreements. This stipulation is meant to accommodate situations like class time being during the work day, and sponsors usually only allow paid time off during weeks when the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grant recipient is in class or has assignments due. 

Other scholarships stipulate that a certain amount of paid time off per week is dedicated to studying or preparing for class. These hours can come in the form of leaving early, arriving late, or taking a planned break during the day. It’s important for the sponsoring employer and the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grant recipient to work out a schedule they can agree on. Since early childhood teaching in Missouri requires a certain number of professionals to be with the children, taking one teacher out to go study could cause problems if it’s not accounted for early on.

Most of this has been directed toward those who are teachers, directors, or otherwise an employee. Know that if you own a family child care home or center, then you will need to act as your own sponsor. So, you’ll have double the responsibilities, just in different areas.

Where can I take classes?

Take a look at the list of approved two- and four-year institutions here. There are lots of colleges and universities all over the state where you can further your career of early childhood teaching in Missouri. It might be a good idea to make sure there’s an approved institution near you before you dive deeper into the scholarships. 

I think I’m eligible. Now what?

Before you apply for a T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grant, you need to apply for financial aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This is so the program can use its funds in the most effective ways.

Choosing the right scholarship program for your goals is a key step. Consider your ultimate career goals and the education you need to get there. And if you’ve already completed part of a degree program, make sure you’re applying for the scholarship that will meet you where you’re at. Don’t count yourself out just because you’re not starting out your journey toward teaching in Missouri! People at many stages can find great scholarships through T.E.A.C.H. Missouri. If you’re still not sure, check out the scholarship selector tool. It’s a brief quiz that can help you find the right T.E.A.C.H. scholarship for you.

Scholarship Counselors are also available to help you navigate the whole process. Child care is an incredibly complicated industry, and the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grants can be equally tricky to navigate if you’re not sure what you’re doing. A Scholarship Counselor should be able to answer any remaining questions you have, get you on the right track, and offer any other guidance on the process that you might need. If they don’t have the help you need, they can surely point you in the right direction.

After You’ve Applied

There is a continuous waiting list for T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grants, and everyone eligible who completes the application gets added to this list. How many people are granted scholarships every semester depends on the availability of funds. Whether or not there are funds available for you, you’ll get a call a month and a half before the semester begins. You can stay on the waiting list for up to 12 months, and you can apply again after that time period to get back on it. 

You’re required to submit your FAFSA before you apply for one of these scholarships for teaching in Missouri, and you should continue exploring any other financial options after you apply, too.  

Find the right T.E.A.C.H. Missouri grant for you.

Endeavoring to get better at teaching in Missouri is a great goal, and now you’ve got some promising places to start looking for help toward that goal. Any of these choices for a scholarship might be the right fit for your needs; you just need to narrow down what your goals are.

A good place to start is to decide whether you’d like to earn a degree or a credential. If you’re only looking to take a class or two for your own development, that will considerably narrow your scholarship options for teaching in Missouri. Follow all the advice we’ve laid out here, contact Child Care Aware® of Missouri if you have any further questions, and ultimately, apply for a scholarship that’s going to make a big difference in your professional life.

Finding the Right Daycare Positions for You

daycare positions

Picture yourself five years from now. 

You are standing in front of a group of small children, leading them in songs and activities. The laughter and energy in the room is palpable.

You feel as though you’re in your environment like you’ve found your calling. 

This is your dream daycare position; working with kids every day and helping them to learn and grow into strong, capable, young adults.  

But how did you get here? 

It all started with finding the right job in daycare for you – one that utilized your skills, passions, and talents. You put in the energy and time to research, train, and hone your craft to get to this point in your career.  

In this article, we will be discussing tips on what to look for when searching for jobs in daycare.  

From deciding what type of daycare positions, you’re interested in, to researching potential employers and obtaining any necessary certifications, we will lay it all out for you.  Understanding the full process of obtaining gainful employment in the early childhood education sector can be a challenging task, so read on for more information!

Define Your Goals and Expectations for A Daycare Position 

When searching for daycare positions, it’s important to have clear goals and expectations in mind.  

The last thing you want is to end up in a job that’s not for you because it looked good on paper, but you didn’t do enough research beforehand to understand what you want and need from a daycare position.  

You should always consider the key factors of what qualities and environment you desire from jobs in daycare as well as the facilities values, turnover rate, ratio of students to teachers, etc. By taking this into consideration beforehand, it will save you trouble down the road after you are employed.  

These key factors will vary by person, but some could also potentially affect which positions you’re qualified for, such as what age group you want to work with, if you will require health benefits or not, and what types of certifications you hold.  

A few areas that you may want to explore and research more before settling on a job include: 

  • Do you need flexible hours or a full-time position? 
  • Are there different areas of daycare that may be more attractive to you such as assisting with infants or preschool-aged children? 
  • What type of pay do you expect? 
  • How far are you willing to travel for work?
  • What values are important in a school, for you, as the teacher?

Once you have established your must-haves and preferences, the job-hunting process will become much easier for you. You will quickly be able to weed out employers that do not align with the pre-requisites you have set out for your job hunt.  

Since you’ve taken this step, your expectations will be top of mind when you begin researching daycare jobs or reach the interview stage and will help ensure you find the jobs in daycare that are a great fit for you.  This means less of a chance of getting stuck in a less than desirable daycare position. 

Do Your Research on Different Daycare Facilities in Your Area 

If you’re considering a daycare position, the most important part of the process is doing your research. In this article, we will discuss three methods for researching potential jobs in daycare you may be interested in.  

Read Reviews Online

Do your homework by reading reviews online from both parents and staff.  Try to review these with a discerning eye, as some reviews will be more biased based on individual hopes, desires, and experiences. Be sure that you can discern between the truth and what may be someone’s personal opinion and weigh both sides equally.  

Talk to the Parents

Ask the parents of children who attend the daycare questions about their experiences if it is possible, as they’ll be able to provide key insight into what it’s like day-to-day.  If you are local to the area, checking in with some of your local mom groups can help you get a better idea of how the facility is run. 

Visit the Facility

When available, consider taking a tour of the daycare facility so you can get an idea of the layout and how staff interact with children; this provides valuable insight that you wouldn’t get just from talking to parents or reading reviews online, and will help you to decide if the daycare positions being offered align with your values. Be sure to be on your toes and keep your eyes and ears open during your visit! 

Finally, be sure to keep an open mind when researching; don’t make assumptions based solely off online opinions, but rather rely on investigation and deeper understanding before coming to conclusions of your own. 

If you find a worrisome review from an ex-employee, ask about the situation so you can understand things from a more neutral perspective.  

Ultimately, by completing your research beforehand, you’ll be able to make a solid and informed decision regarding which jobs in daycare that are being offered are right for you.

When Applying for Jobs, Highlight Your Relevant Qualifications and Experience 

When applying for jobs in daycare, it is essential that you emphasize your qualifications and experience with children, so you can stand out from the crowd and get your resume noticed.   

Candidates should outline any certification they have obtained or experience they have gained while working with children, including volunteer work and any other daycare positions or jobs in daycare you have previously held. 

Your resume should list all the relevant qualifications and experiences that demonstrate your aptitude when caring for small children, since jobs you may have held that required a unique set of skills and attributes that will make you stand out to a potential employer. 

If you are applying for jobs in daycare, you should demonstrate that, not only do you possess characteristics such as a good attitude towards children and a passion for the job, but that you also are willing to go above and beyond to create an enriching environment for children to learn, play, and develop.

Certifications for Daycare Positions 

Finding daycare positions can be a challenge, especially if you don’t have the required certifications and credentials. 

Fortunately, there are many certifications that can help you get your foot in the door for your ideal job in daycare.

From child development to nutrition and safety training requirements, these certifications are a great way to show potential employers your dedication and qualifications for daycare work. 

If you are interested in furthering your education, or obtaining a certification you do not currently have, you can find more information on certifications on the Child Care Aware® of Missouri website.  Our team is here to help better the education of children throughout the state of Missouri, and helping our teachers become highly trained is no exception! 

These certifications will also demonstrate your commitment to developing a career in daycare as well as helping you expand your skill set, and those are both things that are incredibly important to potential daycare employers. 

You’ll have a clear competitive edge with daycares when you hold relevant certifications, giving you the best chance to land one of these highly desired daycare positions.

Be Prepared for Interviews by Having Your Own Questions Ready

Considering how competitive the early childhood education sector is when it comes to landing jobs in daycare, it is important to be fully prepared for any interview you may have for potential positions in daycare. 

Doing research and formulating potential questions beforehand will give you the confidence to ask informed and meaningful questions during the interview. 

This thorough preparation can help you stand out from other candidates and demonstrate your dedication to finding the best daycare position for your needs. Also, you should research the organization’s mission and values, so you understand what they are likely looking for in their employees.  

Review the organization’s policies and procedures pertaining to safety protocols and operating hours so you know exactly what will be expected of you if hired – and if you need something clarified, don’t be afraid to ask.  Be sure you feel clear on everything you had set out to learn before leaving your interview.  

Having smart questions ready to ask shows employers that you are thoughtfully considering the daycare job opportunity as well as eager to hit the ground running once it is offered.  Some examples of interview questions you may want to pose while at the daycare facility include: 

  • What are the primary responsibilities associated with this daycare job? 
  • What qualifications and experience do successful candidates typically have for daycare positions? 
  • What kind of training will I receive if hired? 

Asking these types of questions can help make sure that daycare jobs are a good fit for both employers and employees.

Follow Up After Interviews with a Thank-You Note or Email 

Similarly, to any other field, when considering daycare jobs, the importance of follow up must not be overlooked.   

After attending an interview for a daycare position, it is always wise to take the initiative to thank the interviewer for their time and to express your interest in the position again. 

Send them a thank-you note, or email tells the daycare that you are dedicated and serious about obtaining a daycare job.  By taking the extra effort to re-communicate your interest, you’re demonstrating your enthusiasm and appreciation of their tijme and consideration.  

Those who make this extra effort are likely to stand out from other candidates and may have a better chance of getting hired for the daycare position.

Tying it All Together

The right job in daycare can be a wonderful and rewarding experience, but it requires the right fit. 

Finding the perfect position is a process of exploration and understanding one’s own strengths, needs, and preferences. It requires research into the various kinds of jobs available in daycares, as well as an understanding of one’s unique qualities that would make them a great fit for each role.

For those interested in a career in child care, Missouri offers many options. 

Each position will have its own requirements and qualifications, so it is important to read through each description carefully to determine whether it is an appropriate match for you. 

To prepare for any interviews or applications to daycares around Missouri, research is essential; understand the types of programs offered by different agencies, the skills needed to effectively run those programs, and what kind of experience employers look for when hiring new staff members. 

Be prepared with questions about job expectations and how they might grow or evolve over time—these kinds of details may not come up during preliminary conversations but could provide valuable insight into how compatible a certain position might be with your professional goals. 

Finally, don’t forget that finding the right job also includes assessing your ability to manage daily tasks such as meeting deadlines and managing stress without compromising quality care or safety standards. 

While interviewing with potential employers be sure to emphasize these abilities by citing examples from past experiences—this will help demonstrate how you can handle responsibilities associated with childcare work while still providing exceptional service to both parents and children alike. 

It is easy to become overwhelmed during this process but remember that taking your time and doing thorough research will yield better results than rushing into something that might turn out to be less than ideal later down the road. 

Consider your personal strengths, find opportunities that best align with them and don’t forget about all the excellent resources available throughout Missouri—from online listings to child care aware organizations—to help you find just the right fit for you!

If you need further assistance locating the right daycare position for you, or if you have questions regarding obtaining certification for early childhood education, contact Child Care Aware® of Missouri, and one of our team members will be happy to assist you!

Finding Missouri Family Support in Tough Situations

Missouri family support is an absolutely crucial sector. It takes all kinds of services to make sure children’s needs are being met. Finding and building a childcare support network is one vital task toward making that happen. Here, we’ll go through some different ways you can find and build a child care support network in the state of Missouri, highlighting some of the resources we here at Child Care Aware® of Missouri can connect you with. Missouri family support is not hard to find, as long as you know how to look for it, and we’ve listed lots of different options.

We’ll explain all of that, but first, we’ll give you a brief refresher on who we are and what we do here.

What is Child Care Aware?

Child Care Aware is a national nonprofit organization that works to improve the child care sector and the lives of children 5 years old and younger. It has member organizations in many states, including Missouri. 

We’ll focus on the Missouri family support that Child Care Aware connects you with, but know that we have lots of information and resources for child care providers, as well. There’s also the advocacy work we do with community stakeholders and businesses. Our work is varied and vast, but it all comes back to ensuring a better future for the next generation. We’re a child care support network, which means we don’t provide child care ourselves, but we do connect the right resources with the people who need them.

Missouri Family Support for Tricky Situations

Most things in life aren’t straightforward and easy, and child care is no exception. Lots of families find themselves in situations where they need emergency child care, or their schedule isn’t catered to by many of the options available to them. Finding appropriate and affordable child care can be difficult in the most standard of cases, much less in a situation that’s a little bit farther outside the usual needs of many families. 

However, when you have the right child care support network in place, you should be able to have your needs met. If you are having trouble finding family support in Missouri, here are some tips that might be useful in your search.

Look into alternative options.

A typical child care setting isn’t going to work for many folks who need family support in Missouri. It’s possible that instead of bringing your child to a child care center or other location where they’re taken care of, you might be better suited to hiring someone to care for your child in your own home. 

While our child care support network does not include a list of those types of caregivers, you can do a background screening on the ones you’re considering through Missouri’s Family Care Safety Registry. You can submit a request to the FCSR, and if there’s anything of note in the individual’s background, you will be made aware of it. This tool can help you feel confident in your decision and make sure you’re keeping unsafe people away from your home. Family support in Missouri is not something to take lightly.

If you need a child care subsidy, then you might consider asking a trusted friend, relative, neighbor, or other member of your child care support network to register with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. They’ll go through the required trainings and processes and become a child care provider who can receive the subsidy. It might be a lot to ask, but it could end up being a good situation for all parties. You have access to safe and reliable child care, it’s affordable, and your chosen provider gets paid by the state. 

Find financial assistance.

Sometimes, the tricky situation is that the care available to your family is not affordable. With the soaring costs of Missouri family support in recent years, it’s very common to have difficulties setting aside enough money to fund child care. 

To help families who find themselves in those situations, there are financial assistance options out there that you should look into. You likely won’t qualify for all of them, but one might make all the difference. 

Start with the child care operation your child currently attends, if you have one. They might offer a sliding scale for their fees, or, if you have multiple children, you might be able to take advantage of a multiple child discount. It doesn’t hurt to ask. You can also look into any on-site child care options at your place of work or your school. 

If there aren’t any options at your current choice for child care, you can start looking for outside assistance. The child care subsidy is one form of Missouri family support that can make a huge difference. If you qualify, you will only be responsible for a small fraction of child care costs, and the state will cover the rest. This allows a lot of families to get care they couldn’t otherwise afford.

A child care support network can also give you more ideas for places to look for financial aid.

Expand the search radius.

This tip is especially useful if you work somewhat away from where you live. If you’re not finding any adequate child care options near your home, try looking closer to where you work or go to school.

If that’s not an option, you might just have to go farther for child care. Decide if the increased travel time and cost are worth the potential addition to your child care support network. 

Sometimes, you might not have a choice. If you’ve exhausted all your other options and still can’t find a child care solution that meets all of your criteria, then you’ll have to expand your search. And if you do end up having to travel a greater distance for child care, then you’ll have to make sure you can do that consistently, which leads us to our next point.

Secure reliable transportation.

Sometimes, the issue isn’t finding child care, it’s getting there. When the options are sparse and you’ve got longer to go before you reach your child care provider, making sure your child can reliably get there can be tricky. And you might run into transportation issues even if your child care provider lives relatively close.

Check your public transportation options. If you can find child care that’s close to a bus stop, that could be a good option. You might also be able to create a carpool solution with other families. And if you’ve got preschool-aged kids, you might look into whether the local public school district operates a program that includes school bus transportation. 

Another solution is to find a nanny or babysitter to come to your home and provide child care there. Unfortunately, our child care support network can’t really help you out with this one; these types of providers do not show up in our registry. You can still request a background screening using the steps we outlined earlier, though. 

Get creative with scheduling.

For those who work second shift or have an otherwise typically uncommon schedule, it can be difficult to find Missouri family support that lines up with the hours you need it most. Changing your work schedule is often not an option, so you have to get a little creative with how you make sure your child has adequate care while you’re busy. A child care support network can help with that.

If you can find a coworker or other trusted individual who works a different shift, see if you can share child care responsibilities with them. You can watch their children while they work, and they’ll care for your children while you’re working. 

Some folks have rotating schedules, which can make it difficult to reliably have access to family support in Missouri. 

Ask around.

Being part of a community is integral to making sure your children are set on a path to success later in life. That’s part of why building your own child care support network is so important.

When you need to fill an unexpected or tricky child care gap, getting input from your neighbors, loved ones, and other community members can be a great first step. They might know of some local Missouri family support resources, or they might even be able to pitch in themselves. There might be programs at your place of worship that your community members know about, for example. 

Don’t feel like you have to tackle the child care search on your own — child care support networks are there to help, and you can build your own network of trusted people to help you, too.

Have a plan in case of an emergency.

We can’t anticipate every instance when we’ll need child care. Knowing where you’ll turn in those situations is key, and having a robust child care support network is going to help you toward achieving that goal.

You can’t know when you’re going to have to attend to something urgent and leave your children in the hands of someone else. As such, emergency family support in Missouri needs to be flexible. Depending on where in Missouri you live, you might have access to crisis child care services. These facilities offer temporary care to children under 18 at no cost to the families, and they’re designed to bridge the gap in extreme circumstances.

Sometimes, the change of plans isn’t an emergency, but it’s still an unforeseen complication in your child care situation. A sick child, for example, likely won’t be able to attend a child care setting in order to keep the other children from catching it. If you can’t stay home with them, then you’re going to have to come up with another solution.

Keep in touch with us.

Your best bet in finding Missouri family support is to keep it local. Here at Child Care Aware® of Missouri, we have resource specialists who keep on top of any new updates or options that become available. Check back often to see if any child care spots have opened up. 

Tips for Building Your Own Child Care Support Network

Like we said in a previous section, asking around in the different communities you’re part of can be a great way to start. Building connections with other parents can help make you aware of more of the resources out there for you.

Getting you and your child involved in different activities can also help with this. Join a playgroup or explore their interests (and your own)! They say it takes a village, and that’s still true in this day and age. Fostering connections between you and other parents and community stakeholders can make relying on a child care support network a lot easier.

If your child attends a program, the teachers or staff can be great resources, too. They’re professionals in this very complicated field. As such, they might be able to point you in helpful directions for any support you might need to make sure your child starts off on the right foot. 

While you’re contacting professionals, consider reaching out to us here at Child Care Aware® of Missouri. We’re here to connect you with the resources you need, and we’d be happy to address any questions or concerns you have. Just let us know!

Find Your Own Missouri Family Support

Now that you’ve made it to the end of this piece, you should have some solid, actionable steps to take if you’ve been struggling to find the right child care for your family. Our child care support network can help you out. With our help, you should be able to connect with the resources you need. 

The first 2,000 days of early childhood are crucial to setting them up for success in the future. Here at Child Care Aware® of Missouri, our goal is to make sure families in the Show Me State can find the right help to make that possible. You can find more information about what kinds of resources we can connect you with on our website, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

How to Find Reputable Childcare in Springfield, MO

childcare in springfield mo

It can be a difficult undertaking to find the right childcare in Springfield, MO, for your family.

You want a facility that is affordable, safe, and will provide a suitable environment for your children to learn and grow.

Luckily, Springfield, MO, has many great daycare options available. This article will discuss how to locate and enroll in the best daycares in Springfield, MO.

We will also provide helpful tips on what to look for in a quality daycare facility, questions to ask during your daycare interview, and ways that Child Care Aware® of Missouri is here to help assist your family during the daycare selection process.

Researching Childcare in the Springfield, MO, Area, and Scheduling Daycare Interviews

Childcare can be an essential factor when it comes to choosing the right home for your family. Before making any decisions, it is critical to consider researching daycares in Springfield, MO.

Read Reviews About the Childcare in Springfield, MO

One way to do this is by reading online reviews from current or past facility users. This will give you a genuine opinion about the services provided and the safety measures put in place at each daycare.

A few places to find reviews on a childcare would be yelp.com, Google reviews, and the Child Care Aware® of Missouri website, where you will be able to find additional information on each childcare as well as reviews.

Ask Locals About Childcare in Springfield, MO

You can also ask around town for others’ experience with specific daycares in Springfield, MO and make sure that the information you are gathering on the facilities in the area is validated and accurate. This is an especially important task to undertake if you’re new to the area, or are unfamiliar with your regions school systems.

Taking this extra step of the research will give you peace of mind knowing that your children’s needs have been considered and help ensure they will have positive experiences while being away from home during the day.

Often, any facility you visit will be on best behavior during potential client tours.  It’s for this reason it’s always a solid plan to get feedback from people who have first-hand experienced with what the childcare in Springfield, MO, is like and how it operates.

Other Online Resources for Locating Daycares in Springfield, MO

Research can be challenging; start by gathering information on different services offered in the area and comparing them. You can find much of this information on the Child Care Aware® of Missouri Website.

Childcare facilities range from home-based care to larger centers with various extracurricular activities and educational programs, so there really is something for every family, no matter what setting your child learns in best.

Once you’ve narrowed down your list to a few daycares in Springfield, MO, that look promising, make sure to call and schedule a day to visit them in person to get a feel for the environment, meet the staff, and get insight into each center has to offer.

Selecting and narrowing down your list is something which will be unique to every family but be sure to take your time and never rush.  All your effort and patience will pay off in the long run with your children attending the best daycares in Springfield, MO.

What Should You Ask During Daycare Interviews?

When you visit a daycare in Springfield, MO, it’s essential to have some questions prepared.  While you may think you have all your questions planned out in your head, a daycare can be a slightly hectic place!

For this reason, we recommend having your questions written down on a piece of paper or your phone, as your in-person interview is your chance to ask as many questions as you’d like to!

Here are some key questions that should be asked during any daycare interviews:

  • What is the cost of childcare?
  • What type of curriculum do you use?
  • Are meals and snacks provided?
  • How often do children go outside for free play and physical activity?
  • Is there an age-appropriate ratio between staff and children?
  • How does your facility handle discipline issues?

Additionally, look at the facility’s safety measures, including fire alarms, locking systems, cleaning protocols, etc. This is by no means an exhaustive list.  All these concerns can help you understand if this daycare is the right fit for your family.

Let’s investigate each of these categories a bit further.

Cost of Childcare in Springfield, MO

If you are a family who requires assistance for the cost of childcare, you can locate more information on subsides and grants for families by heading over to the Child Care Aware® of Missouri website.

There you will find information on sliding fees, which are based off the number of people in a household, the income level, and the number of hours per day a child is in care.  Also, you will find explanations on co-payments, your portion of the remaining childcare tuition after the sliding fee and state payments.

Lastly, you will be able to learn more about income-based payments, multiple child discounts, scholarships, and military assistance.  Should you have further questions regarding the cost of childcare in Springfield, MO, or the subsidy programs, please contact Child Care Aware® of Missouri and one of our staff members will gladly assist you.

Curriculum at Daycares in Springfield, MO

When looking into childcare in Springfield, MO, asking about the facility’s curriculum is an important first step.

The type of curriculum will depend on many factors such as the size of the childcare center, the age of the children being minded, how the age groups are split up, and more.

Ensure that the daycares you select align with where you child is at developmentally as well as their values aligning with your own value system as a family.

Meals and Snacks

Due to the cost of daycare, often this is a make-or-break question.  While some daycares in Springfield, MO, will offer breakfast, lunch, and snacks, others may not offer any school lunch, or only a snack mid-day.

If a school is just outside your budget range, but they include meals with their plans, then it’s possible you may be able to fit the school into your budget.  For this reason, asking about the type of food served by the school is crucial.

How Often are the Children Allowed Outdoor Time?

With the latest research showing how important getting ample outside time is for children, many schools offer multiple recess times and even bring the classroom outdoors to help the children learn about nature, bugs, animals and the like.

Other childcare in Springfield, MO, may take a more traditional approach with the children at desks, learning indoors, and only going out for a brief play period after lunch.

Really, this is something that depends on each families’ desires and what is important to them as far as their child’s education.  If being outdoors is important to you, you should ensure you ask about their playground policies.

Getting a Feel for the Daycare Staff

Making sure you feel comfortable with the Childcare Program staff is essential when searching for the right Daycare in Springfield, MO.  Take notice of how many teachers there are per student, and if this seems similar across the board, or if one age group may be short-staffed.

It’s important to ask questions and observe how the staff handle their interactions with the children.  Pay attention to their body language and tone of voice, as these can give you a sense of their personality and commitment to providing quality care for your children.

Also, be sure to find out about any extra activities the daycare offers that could benefit your children’s development such as language or physical fitness programs.

Child Placement at Daycares in Springfield, MO

It’s also critical to take the time to ask the daycare what type of placement your child will have.

Many of the best daycares in Springfield will have age-based classrooms tailored to specific age groups. This ensures that everyone gets an optimal educational experience.

Asking questions about these settings is a great way to ensure that you choose the right place for your child.

Waitlists and Deposits for Enrollment

After you have researched potential daycare facilities, interviewed staff, and looked at their safety measures, it’s time to decide which facility is best suited for your child(ren).

Often there will be waitlists or deposits needed to secure placement at certain daycares, so before enrolling your child in a particular Childcare Program, always consider asking about enrollment requirements and whether there is a waiting list.

Different childcare facilities have different policies; some may even offer priority waitlist enrollment if you commit to attending before spots run out.

Don’t forget to inquire about any discounts or subsidies available for families. Many daycare centers offer reduced rates for siblings and/or military personnel.

It’s critical to plan ahead with these processes, as it can take some time before getting approval and securing placement, otherwise, your child may be on multiple wait lists, increasing your out-of-pocket cost and decreasing your chances at getting into your ideal school.

Knowing the childcare facility’s policies upfront will help you make the best decision for you and your child.

Fill Out the Necessary Paperwork and Pay Any Required Fees

Once you have decided on the right daycare in Springfield, MO, for your family, it’s time to fill out those long forms and complete any necessary fees.

Don’t worry; careful planning will make the process smoother than expected!

What Paperwork May be Required for Daycare in Springfield, MO?

The paperwork required for daycare in Springfield, MO, may vary depending on the facility. Generally, most centers will request a registration fee, medical records, and proof of immunizations when enrolling your child.

Additionally, many facilities require parents to submit completed forms regarding their income and financial information that may be used to determine eligibility for subsidies or discounts.

It is always important to check with each childcare center to find out what documents are necessary before enrollment.

Completing the Enrollment Process and Starting at a Childcare in Springfield, MO.

Now that you know how to research and choose a quality daycare in Springfield, MO, it’s time to start the process!  Be sure to leave yourself ample time before the end of the registration periods to contact and interview each school on your list.

Read online reviews, tour the facilities in person, and ask about enrollment requirements and fees. Once you’ve decided on a daycare, complete all the necessary paperwork, and pay any required fees. Once you’ve done all these things, your child will be ready to start at the daycare in Springfield, MO, of your choice.

If you have additional questions about enrolling your child in a childcare in Springfield, MO, contact Child Care Aware® of Missouri today. Our friendly staff will be happy to answer all your questions, and point you in the right direction to get you on track to enrolling your child(ren) at the best daycares in Springfield, MO.

What Is CDA Certification and How Can It Benefit My Career?

what is cda certification

You’ve likely heard of the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential and may be wondering “what is the CDA credential?”, and how it can potentially benefit your career in child care?

The CDA credential is a nationally recognized early childhood education credential that can open doors to new job opportunities and career growth. In this blog post, we’ll discuss “what is a CDA license” and answer some of your most frequently asked questions about the credential.

We hope this post will leave you feeling informed and confident in your decision to pursue obtaining your CDA license!

What Is CDA Certification and What Does It Stand For?

A CDA certification, or CDA license, is a credential that demonstrates an individual’s competency in childcare.

The Child Development Associate (CDA) credential is issued by the Council for Professional Recognition and is recognized across the United States as an early childhood education certificate.

To earn this credential individuals are required to demonstrate their knowledge and skills through coursework, professional experience, and a professional portfolio.

This national credential can open career advancement possibilities in many childcare centers as it reflects what individuals have learned and practiced so far in their field. It provides validation of what professional qualities they possess which can be very helpful when applying for jobs or promotions.

A CDA license can also prepare individuals to work in other roles such as a preschool teacher or special educator.  Having a CDA certification is recommended for anyone looking to break into the world of early childhood education or further advance their career.

What is CDA certification? What is Required to Obtain Your CDA Licensure

Having a CDA certification in early childhood education helps to ensure a continuity of care when it comes to working with children across the thousands of certified professionals.

It’s important to remember what a CDA certification is: a credential that recognizes the educational achievements as well as knowledge attained through work experience in early childhood education.

The CDA typically requires completion of a course from an accredited college or university, at least three semesters (or 480 hours) of classroom instruction, and supervised experience in practicum settings prior to getting your certification, the Council for Professional Recognition will review your qualifications and ensure you meet the standards needed to have your CDA license.

Applicants must also have at least 120 hours of formal education specific to a field within Child Development and have experience in an early childhood setting working directly with children. Additionally, applicants must apply for the CDA candidacy, take part in a one-time verification Visit, complete the reflective statement, and then attend follow-up visits.

Generally, this entire process can take up to 2 years in duration depending on what is required by each individual’s credentials.

Eligible Professional Work Experience

Paid or volunteer hours.  These must be completed prior to you submitting your initial CDA application.

Non-Eligible Work Experience Hours

Babysitting, before and after school programs, Sunday school programs and drop-in programs are not eligible settings where a candidate can prove his or her competence around the Competency Standards and experience hours in these settings, and therefore will not be counted towards the 480 hours of experience.

Achieving this credential offers many benefits such as job recognition, increased wages, and potential career advancement opportunities.  By acquiring this license, those in the field can demonstrate their commitment to professionalism in their field and enhance the level of trust they have with employers, while simultaneously demonstrating a commitment to their own professional development.

What is a CDA License? How to Ensure Your Training Hours are Accepted

All training must have been taken under the auspices of an early childhood training agency that has expertise in teacher preparation. Official documentation of the training must be provided in the form of a certificate, letter on official letterhead or a college transcript.

Training documentation should include the following: Training agency’s name and address (seal/logo), Candidate’s name, date of the training session(s), content area, number of hours successfully completed, and an authorized signature.

How do I convert my clock hours into training hours?
Please use the following formulas to convert your clock hours to training hours:1 CEU = 10 clock hours
1 Semester Credit = 15 clock hours
1 Quarter Credit = 10 clock hours
1 DHS Credit = 1 clock hour
1 Unit = 1 clock hour

To be eligible to apply for your first CDA, you need:12 CEUs = 120 clock hours
8 Semester Credits = 120 clock hours
12 Quarter Credits = 120 clock hours

What is CDA Certification? Maintaining Your Credentialing

After obtaining the CDA certification, it must be renewed every three years by completing professional development activities such as workshops, college courses or conferences.  It is to be noted that this renewal was every five years, up until November 2022, where it was changed to a three-year renewal period.

Why Was it Changed from Three to Five Year Renewal Periods?

After doing a study of industry standards for credential and certification renewals, the Council concluded three years is an efficient amount of time to reevaluate the continued professional development and performance of early educators. The early care and education profession is very delicate, and it is imperative for early educators to stay up to date with the latest theories, research/studies, appropriate practices, and latest trends in the early childhood education field. The continuous professional development of CDA Credential holders is a must to ensure the quality of care and education provided to our nation’s youngest children.

Upon renewal, you will need to show proof of ongoing contacts with teachers or specialists in the early childhood field. To apply online or to view more information on renewals, you can find downloadable materials and applications on cdacouncil.org.

What is a CDA Certification? Are There Ways to Obtain Financial Assistance?

Child Care Aware® of Missouri is a helpful resource for those seeking financial aid to complete your CDA certification. Child Care Aware® of Missouri offers a range of resources such as financial assistance, tuition grants, and online training material.

Through Child Care Aware’s Financial Support Program, families can apply for tuition assistance or grants to help cover the cost of tuition and registration fees associated with pursuing their CDA certification.

For example, the Child Care Professional Student Tuition Grant is offered to those who are enrolled in an accredited Child Development Associate Credential (CDA) program. This grant offers up to $500 in tuition assistance that can be used towards CDA coursework and expenses related to the credentialing process.

Families can also apply for the Early Childhood Professional Tuition Grant which provides up to $500 in financial support for those enrolled in courses that meet requirements established by the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, or Missouri Division of Professional Regulation.

In addition to tuition grants and other forms of financial assistance, Child Care Aware® of Missouri also provides online training materials which focus on topics such as child development basics, health and safety practices, cultural awareness and appreciation, positive guidance techniques for young children with challenging behaviors, teaching methods for early learning activities, and much more.

The online interactive lessons offer students an opportunity to learn at their own pace while deepening their knowledge base around key concepts related to early childhood education. Furthermore, these training materials provide individuals with insight into best practices when caring for young children as well as information regarding professional development opportunities offered through local organizations, universities, and vocational schools.

We encourage you to utilize the Child Care Aware® of Missouri resource available to those seeking financial aid or additional educational resources in order to complete their Child Development Associate Certification.

Whether it’s applying for a tuition grant or brushing up on foundational concepts related to early childhood education- there are plenty of helpful tools available through Child Care Aware® of Missouri that can assist individuals in reaching their professional goals within the field of child care services.

What is a CDA Certification? Wrapping up and The Process A-Z

In Missouri, obtaining a Child Development Associate (CDA) is an important step for those interested in pursuing a career in early childhood education. Here are some helpful tips to make sure you have the best chance of obtaining your CDA:

First, make sure you understand the requirements. The CDA credential has specific educational, training and work experience requirements that vary from state to state. In Missouri, applicants must have at least 120 hours of training in early care and education topics and 480 hours of documented experience teaching or providing direct services working with children ages birth through five years old. Additionally, applicants will need to meet any age-specific requirements that may apply to their program or employer.

Second, research the various types of CDA programs available in Missouri. There are programs offered through universities and community colleges, as well as online courses and workshops sponsored by non-profits or state agencies. Each program will have its own curriculum and timeframe for completion so it’s important to find one that works best for you and matches your goals.

Third, once you’ve chosen a program it’s time to get started on the application process. You’ll need to fill out an application form which includes personal information such as address, contact information, educational background, and work experience. You may also be asked to provide letters of recommendation from employers or teachers who can vouch for your skills and character.

Fourth, once your application materials are submitted it’s time to take the assessment test that is part of the CDA credential evaluation process. This test covers general early childhood knowledge as well as key topics related to child development such as health safety nutrition and guidance techniques for working with young children. It’s important to prepare beforehand by reviewing study guides available online or provided by your chosen certification program provider before taking the test itself.

Finally after submitting all application materials taking the assessment test and passing it with a score of at least 80 percent you will need to complete a professional portfolio demonstrating your knowledge skills work experiences observations lesson plans etc related to caring for young children once this is finished you should receive notification within two months if you passed or not.  Once approved you will become a nationally certified Child Development Associate enabling you to pursue a career in early childhood education in Missouri!

The CDA credential is a great way to set yourself apart from other candidates when you are applying for jobs in the field of early childhood education. It shows that you have taken the initiative to obtain additional training and that you are committed to providing high-quality care to children. The process of obtaining your CDA credential can take anywhere from several months to a year, but it is well worth the effort.

Once you have obtained your CDA credential, you will need to renew it every three years by completing professional development activities and submitting a portfolio documenting your work with children. There are many benefits to having a CDA credential, including improved job prospects, increased self-confidence, and recognition by peers as being a leader in the field of early childhood education.

If you are interested in pursuing your own CDA credential, reach out to the friendly staff at Child Care Aware® of Missouri for further information on your journey!

The Ultimate Guide to Finding Jobs in Daycare Near Me

jobs in daycare near me

Finding the perfect job in daycare can be an overwhelming process, even for experienced educators. With so many choices on offer, it can be hard to know which one is right for you. That’s why Child Care Aware of America offers a platform to search through countless jobs quickly and easily near you that perfectly match your skills and interests. Searching our database will provide you with the most comprehensive list of daycare positions available in your area.

When searching for “Jobs in daycare near me” there are several important factors to consider. Every early childhood education school has its own unique mission, values, and teacher expectations, which makes it essential to ensure that the role aligns with your skillset as an educator.

To make sure that you’re up to date with the latest industry standards, it’s important to research any potential employers and read through any job postings thoroughly before applying.

The best jobs often require advanced qualifications and expertise – such as additional training or certifications – so it pays to invest in yourself if you want to get ahead in this field. Of course, reliable references from previous experience are highly valued too!

If you live in Missouri and are looking for jobs in daycare near you, Child Care Aware® of Missouri is here to help.  We have compiled a list of available jobs throughout the state, so it’s easy to find daycare positions that meet your needs.  Whether you’re searching for full-time or part-time employment, our database includes jobs that provide flexible work hours and competitive pay.

In this article, we will dive deeper into locating “jobs in daycare near me,” what prerequisites are required to obtain a daycare in Missouri, and how to put your best foot forward as you go about the application process.

Researching the Childcare Industry for “Jobs in Daycare Near Me”

When searching for available jobs in day care, it is important to understand the various daycare settings, roles, and positions that are available in your area.

Search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo can provide you with a good starting point when performing a “Jobs in Daycare Near Me” search.

However, if you find yourself unable to locate the necessary information from these sites, here are some alternate ways to locate daycare positions close to you that fit your needs.

The Child Care Aware® of Missouri Website

The Child Care Aware of America website is an invaluable resource for researching job openings in day care settings. It provides comprehensive information about day care facilities and roles that are available throughout the United States.

On this site, one can find out about the various types of programs offered by different daycare providers and whether they are currently looking to hire new staff members.

Additionally, they offer insight into potential areas where there may be “jobs in daycare near me” that one can apply for. The website includes detailed information on different types of daycare settings, including:

  • Center-based care
  • Family childcare
  • In-home care
  • Preschools
  • Afterschool programs

It also includes profiles of childcare professionals, such as directors, teachers, and caregivers.  This information can help determine what type of job in daycare is right for you.

Contacting Local Daycare Providers

In addition to searching online resources such as Google or Child Care Aware of America for jobs in daycare near me, it is also possible to make direct contact with local daycare providers or centers near you.  Contacting them directly will provide you with a more personal connection and allow them to get to know you better before making a hiring decision. Reaching out through email is generally recommended because most daycares prefer digital correspondence over phone calls or letters.

Networking with Your Community

Finally, networking within the community can also be helpful when applying for jobs in daycare near me.

Talking with other parents who have had experience working at local child care centers can give valuable insight into which ones have good reputations and which ones would be worth avoiding altogether.

Asking friends or family members who work in daycare positions could also lead one towards open positions at their place of work or another facility which may not have posted an opening yet but could use additional help, nonetheless.

Ultimately, researching “Jobs in Daycare Near Me” requires patience and determination as not all options will be immediately visible without some form of research or networking involved to find positions that best fit your skillset and requirements when seeking employment within the childcare industry.

What Prerequisites Will I Require for a Daycare Position in Missouri?

In Missouri, daycare providers must be at least 18 years old and have obtained the appropriate education or training for the “job in daycare near me” they are pursuing.

Depending on the type of daycare facility, additional requirements may include health screenings, background checks, a Child Development Associate credential, and CPR certification, among others.

For more detailed information on daycare qualifications and requirements in the state of Missouri, as set forth by the Department of Health and Senior Services, please visit their website.

What if I Have Never Held Daycare Positions Before?

If you’re new to your career and are just starting, do not worry!

There are many ways to increase your early childhood education experience to help you become a more well-rounded candidate for jobs in daycare near me.  The best approach is to consider taking on a volunteer position at a local daycare center to gain more experience with children.

While it may be unpaid, or low pay, you will be gaining valuable knowledge and setting yourself up for a career in your chosen field.

Another way to gain early childhood education experience is through classes or workshops. Many community colleges and universities offer courses in this area that can be taken part-time or online. You’ll learn more about the development of children, childcare operations, and other important topics related to jobs in daycare near me.

Also, you can get hands-on experience working as a nanny or babysitter. Hands-on experience will allow you to understand how children behave and interact with one another while at the same time learning more about childcare responsibilities.

By taking these steps, you’ll be well on your way to a successful career in early childhood education.

How Do I Obtain an Interview for Jobs in Daycare Near me?

The best way to obtain an interview for a job in daycare near me is by showing an employer that you are well-qualified and professional.  You can do this by being sure to follow up on application and resume submissions.  Employers are usually more likely to invite a candidate in for an interview if they take initiative to show they really want the role, so don’t be afraid to cal and check in!

Attend daycare events and through daycare groups on social media, and you may find more “jobs in daycare near me” opportunities that may not be listed online.

Reach out to contacts you may already have that work in the childcare industry; ask them questions about the industry, best practices, and job opportunities.  While you may come up empty handed for an interview, you can still learn valuable lessons and skills from others who have walked this path before you.

Lastly, be sure to check out the daycare position listings on Child Care Aware® of Missouri’s website are fully vetted and for reputable daycare positions in the state.

Crafting Your Resume for Daycare Positions

Once you’ve researched and identified a few jobs you are interested in, the next step is to create an effective resume and cover letter. An excellent first impression never goes unnoticed.

You’ll need to create a resume or portfolio that showcases your skills and experience in working with children or managing childcare programs.  With so many different methods for setting up a resume, what should you include in yours?

Child Care Aware offers in-depth guidance on creating your resume and cover letter for your desired daycare positions, but here is a brief overview of the most important pieces to include on your resume.

Your resume acts as a short snapshot of your career that you’ll use as a tool to get you through the initial application process and into the first round of interviews. Be sure to include keywords and phrases in case your resume is run through an Applicant Tracking System, and ensure you appropriately articulate your value as a candidate.

When creating your resume, you should tailor it to each job application for each potential role.  Customizing your application in this way means focusing on your skills and accomplishments rather than your personality.

For jobs in daycare near me, emphasize the skills you have that would be most valuable in a childcare setting.  These could include experience working with children of different ages, First Aid and CPR certification, or managing a childcare program.  Make sure you highlight any relevant childcare experience, such as volunteer work or previous jobs related to childcare, certifications, or courses taken. It should also include information about your education, such as any degrees or certificates related to childcare.

You should provide references from previous jobs and a list of activities that demonstrate leadership and communication skills. If you have any awards or accolades related to your previous daycare positions, list them on your resume.

In short, highlight anything that shows you would be an excellent choice for the daycare position you are applying for.

After sending in your resume and cover letter, the next step is to prepare for the interview. Research the daycare center again, even if you have previously done so.  This will ensure  that you can ask relevant questions about the organization during the interview.

Steps to Take if You’re Chosen for an Interview for a Daycare Position

If you are selected for an interview for a job in daycare near me, it is important to be prepared. Have a positive attitude and come ready to discuss how your skills and qualifications make you the perfect candidate for the daycare position.

Research the daycare facility beforehand so that you understand their values, mission, and day-to-day operations. It is also important to come prepared with questions, so that you can get a better idea of the daycare position and if it’s right for you.

In addition to coming up with any questions you may have, be sure you practice your answers to common daycare interview questions and think of ways to highlight your skills. Be sure you dress professionally and arrive at least 10 minutes early for the interview.

Once the interview is complete, be sure to follow up with a thank you note expressing your appreciation. This will show off your professionalism and help set you apart from other candidates.

Finding “Jobs in Daycare near me” is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

  1. Start by conducting a general search online for daycare positions in Missouri. This search can include job boards such as Indeed and Glassdoor, daycare-specific websites, or contacting local daycare centers directly.
  2. If you are already working in the daycare industry, check with your local Department of Family Services or network with other daycare providers in your community for any available positions.
  3. Finally, utilize all available resources, including online job boards, daycare-specific websites, and the Department of Family Services, and create a compelling and complete resume. Then begin applying for daycare positions!

We hope that following this guide should make your hunt for daycare positions straightforward and enjoyable.  Our aim is to help early childhood educators and families to ensure the safety, education, and growth of Missouri’s children.

If you need further help finding a daycare position that suits your needs, please reach out to the staff at Child Care Aware® of Missouri, where we’re happy to help you every step of the way as you embark on or continue your early childhood education career!

Finding Daycares in Columbia, MO for Your Family

daycares columbia mo

Are you a family trying to locate reputable daycares in Columbia, MO?  Has researching childcare in Columbia, MO been challenging and difficult to navigate?

Oftentimes, when considering sending children to school, most families forget to consider all the moving parts that go into enrolling your child.  These moving parts can include locating financial assistance, completing applications, and determining what you should ask and look for when interviewing a childcare in Columbia, MO.

Today, we’re going to discuss how to start researching daycares in Columbia, MO and what families should look for when making their decision. Keep in mind that this is just a general overview – each family’s needs will be different.

We recommend you use these tips as a starting point and then tailor them specifically to your own situation.

How to Begin Researching Daycares in Columbia, MO

The best way to start researching daycares is by compiling a list of all the options in your area.

You can do this online or by asking friends and family for recommendations.

Once you have a list of potential daycares, take the time to call and visit each one and ask questions about their curriculum, philosophy, security measures, etc. in addition to any other questions you may feel are pertinent to making your decision in choosing a childcare in Columbia, MO.

The First Things to Look for When Choosing a Daycare in Columbia, MO

There are several things’ families should look for when choosing daycare:

The location – Are the daycares in Columbia, MO close enough that it is easy for you to drop off and pick up your child?

The hours of operation – Does the childcare in Columbia, MO offer extended hours that would work with your schedule?

Cost – Does the daycare fit into your budget? Do they offer other options for payment, such as subsidy assistance?

Curriculum – What type of activities does the childcare center provide? Is the curriculum developmentally appropriate for your child’s age group?

Safety measures – Is there a security system in place to make sure your child is always safe? Are there any policies or procedures in place to ensure that potential threats like fire and weather are addressed promptly?

Cleanliness – Is the facility clean and well maintained? Do staff members practice proper hygiene when caring for children?

Staff qualifications – What kind of qualifications do the staff members have? Do they have experience working with children and are they CPR certified?

Making the right choice for your family when choosing a daycare for your family is an important decision, so take your time and think over each daycare center’s answers to all your questions carefully.

Utilizing the Child Care Aware® of Missouri Provider Database

Instead of turning to Google, try the Child Care Aware® of Missouri provider database, where you will be able to locate childcare in Columbia, MO, as well as any other location in the state!

Starting with Child Care Aware means know from the start which daycares in Columbia, MO are licensed, which accept subsidy programs or other forms of tuition assistance, what types of continuing education the childcare educators have received, and much, much more.

You can submit a form that asks specifics about the childcare in Columbia, MO you’re trying to locate, your family information, and other pertinent pieces of information so that the team at Child Care Aware® of Missouri can contact you with the best matched daycares in Columbia, MO for your family.

Having this amount of information at your fingertips takes a lot of the guesswork out of deciding between childcare in Columbia, MO, as you will be able to automatically remove programs which do not fit your needs.

Questions to Include When Interviewing Daycare Facilities

Daycare facilities are responsible for providing safe and caring environments for our children to learn, play, and grow, so it’s obvious why families want to find a daycare facility which aligns to their own parenting style and their child’s learning style.

Asking the right questions when researching childcare in Columbia, MO can help ensure that you choose a reputable facility with qualified and experienced staff.   Daycare providers should be able to provide information about their accreditations and certifications, safety records, curriculum standards, staff qualifications and more.

When interviewing potential daycares in Columbia, MO for your family, it’s important to have a list of questions prepared ahead of time, we’ve briefly touched on the most important questions, but here we will expand on our top three points to ask any childcare you’re considering sending your family to.

What Level of Education Does the Staff Possess?

Daycares in Columbia, MO should employ certified childcare professionals who have been trained in CPR, early childhood education, and behavior management techniques. Look for daycare centers that have their employees take continuing education classes to stay on top of new methods and regulations.

What Safety Protocols Does the Daycare Have in Place?

Next, find out what safety procedures are in place at the childcare in Columbia, MO. Ask about security measures such as video surveillance systems or locked doors/gates and whether the facility has an evacuation plan in place.  Also, be sure to ask them about pickup and drop-off regulations and if you’re allowed to walk your child to and from their classroom.

What is the Childcare’s Philosophy on Early Childhood Education?

Ask about the daycare center’s philosophy of care. Daycares should provide a stimulating and educational environment that is tailored to each child’s individual needs. Make sure to get a sense of how much time your child will be spending outdoors and what types of activities they’ll be engaging in throughout their day at the daycare facility.

Here are some additional key questions may choose to ask when considering daycares in Columbia, MO:

  • Is there a secure way to enter and exit the facility?
  • Are children always supervised?
  • What is the staff turnover rate?
  • What type of curriculum or activities do you offer?
  • What measures do you have in place to prevent bullying, aggression, and other disruptive behavior?
  • How often is the facility inspected for safety standards?
  • Do parents receive regular updates on their child’s progress or activities throughout the day?

Take Advantage of Visiting the Daycares in Columbia, MO in Person

After making your initial phone calls and have narrowed down your list, the next step is to arrange visits to potential daycares in Columbia, MO so you can get a firsthand experience of how they operate daily.

Schedule some time with staff to discuss the daily schedule, get to know the teachers and ask any additional questions you may have.

During your visit, observe how the staff interacts with the children and how they handle potential disciplinary issues or safety concerns. It’s important to find a daycare facility that meets all your family’s needs–from providing a safe and secure environment to encouraging creative growth in young minds.

Making sure your children are safe and well-cared for is essential, and these questions and guidance can help ensure that you find a reputable daycare provider in Columbia, MO who meets your family’s needs.

What Happens After You Choose a Daycare in Columbia, MO for Your Family

Now that you have selected the perfect childcare in Columbia, MO for your child, the enrollment process begins.

In most cases, you will need to provide some basic information such as your contact information, the name and date of birth of your child, and your insurance information to begin the process. You may also be required to submit a copy of your child’s immunization records.

Once your child is enrolled, you will likely be given a tour of the daycare center and meet with the staff. This is a great opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the daycare center. Be sure to establish a routine for drop-off and pick-up times and notify the staff if there are any changes.

How to Obtain Financial Assistance for Daycares in Columbia, MO

Families in Columbia, Missouri who are looking for financial assistance to help pay for daycare services have many options available to them.

One option is Child Care Aware® of Missouri. This organization can help families understand their options and provide guidance in obtaining financial assistance.

Child Care Aware® of Missouri offers a variety of services to support families with the cost of child care such as locating resources, offering referrals, and providing education about payment options.

Through our website, families can easily access information about what financial assistance programs are available in the area as well as how to apply for them. Additionally, Child Care Aware® of Missouri offers information on how to contact local daycare providers and even provide an advocate that provides one-on-one support to families seeking aid.

We also maintain several resource libraries which offer detailed information on all aspects of child care including topics such as selecting quality care, understanding licensure requirements, learning about emergency preparedness regulations and much more, in case you require further information after finishing this article.

To access these helpful resources from Child Care Aware® of Missouri or take advantage of any other service they may offer families living in Columbia MO seeking financial assistance for daycare should visit their website or call the toll-free number listed on the site.

After becoming a member, they will get access to a wide range of resources that can help make it easier to find appropriate daycare while ensuring their children receive the best possible care at an affordable rate.

Preparing Your Child to Start at a Daycare in Columbia, MO

When preparing your child for starting at a daycare in Columbia, MO, there are several steps that should be taken to ensure a successful transition.

Your child’s first day at their childcare in Columbia, MO will be an exciting one!

Be sure to discuss what to expect with your child and prepare them for the new experience.   Start by discussing the basics of what will happen at daycare and what they can expect.

Explain who they will meet and how they might feel when away from home. Make sure they understand that you will come back soon, and they will still be safe and loved.

Depending on the age of your child, they may need a few days to adjust. Daycares in Columbia, MO are typically very flexible and accommodating when it comes to helping children transition into their new environment.

Be sure to introduce the idea of a routine. Explain that each day has specific activities that happen such as naps, meals, outdoor time, playtime and more.

This helps children understand expectations and boundaries within their environment as well as giving them something familiar to look forward to in this new situation. Additionally, find out if the childcare in Columbia, MO has a dress code so your child knows which type of clothing they need.

As part of introducing your child to the daycare environment, try visiting with them together prior to their first day there.

If possible, take them on a tour of the daycares in Columbia, MO including the classrooms and playgrounds so that they become familiar with their surroundings in advance of attending regularly on their own. You may even be able to meet some of their future classmates or teachers who can help make the transition smoother and easier for your little one.

Before sending your child off on their first day at their childcare in Columbia, MO, make sure all necessary documents have been filled out such as enrollment forms or health records etcetera – this will streamline any enrollment process when you arrive onsite that morning or afternoon! Also, ensure that both parents’ contact information is given (or whoever is responsible for picking up), as well as any emergency contacts should something happen while away from home (i.e., allergies).

Lastly but importantly, give plenty of hugs before dropping off! This helps create physical closeness for your kiddo to feel secure despite being separated from mommy or daddy for extended periods during the workday/school week – plus it shows them how much love there always is from parent figures no matter where life takes us!

How Long Does It Take to Get a CDA Credential?

how long does it take to get a cda credential

A Child Care Development Associate Credential (or CDA) is awarded by a national organization called the Council for Professional Recognition sponsors.  This prestigious certification is recognized worldwide, and proves you have the skills, knowledge, and experience to be a successful early childhood care provider.

One of the biggest questions for those seeking this certificate is, “How long does it take to get a CDA credential?”, and for good reason.

As an adult, the thought of going back to a fulltime schooling program, on top of your job and other responsibilities can seem like an overwhelming task, however, it doesn’t need to be!

The short answer to “how long does it take to get a CDA credential?” is that a CDA is accepted as the equivalent of 12 months (or 480 hours) of teaching experience in an early childhood education setting, plus six college semester hours in child-related courses.

The long answer is a bit more complex, and that’s what we will be discussing in this article.

We will dive into what factors can affect the answer to “how long does it take to get a CDA credential?”, such as scheduling, taking your exam, and preparing for your exam, so that you can find the quickest, most straightforward path to receiving your certification.

How Long Does It Take to Get a CDA Credential?  –  Your First Steps

Before you start the process for receiving your CDA, there are some pre-requisites you should be familiar with.  Firstly, your training depends on which track you’re choosing, these include:

  • Center-Based Preschool
  • Center-Based Infant-Toddler
  • Family Child Care
  • Home Visitor

No matter which track you choose, it will cover eight different areas of education that you must be acutely familiar with before applying for your CDA.

These include:

  • Planning a safe and healthy learning environment for the children
  • Advancing the children’s physical and intellectual development
  • Supporting the social and emotional development of the children
  • Building productive relationships with the children’s families
  • Managing an effective program operation.
  • Maintaining a commitment to professionalism
  • Observing and recording children’s behavior.
  • Understanding the principles of child development and learning.

While slight variations exist between the chosen programs, the answer to “how long does it take to get a CDA certificate?” remains about the same in most instances.

Prerequisites for your exam include a high school diploma, GED, or upperclassman status in high school.  Additionally, as previously discussed 480 teaching hours, plus six college semester hours in early-childhood education related courses.

Finally, those aspiring to receive their CDA must complete the family questionnaires and portfolio on the CDA website.

You can locate step-by-step information on the Child Care Aware® of Missouri website which will help you with completing your questionnaires and your CDA portfolio.

Depending on how quickly you can prepare for and pass your exam, earning your CDA credential could take anywhere from a few months to a year or more, however, this time investment is often worth it in the long run, as a CDA credential can help you gain greater recognition and credibility as an early childhood educator.

How Long Does It Take to Get a CDA Credential? – Potential Causes of Delay

One potential reason it could take you longer to get your CDA credential than the average is due to the number of required hours of professional development (PD) you require for credentialing in Missouri.

To qualify for the CDA credential, candidates must complete at least 120 hours of professional development.  While there are several ways to meet this requirement, many candidates choose to attend workshops and training sessions offered by the Council for Professional Recognition.

These workshops can be located all over the country but may require travel and time away from work or home.  These will also help you in maintaining your CDA credentialing after passing your CDA exam.

Another reason why your question “How long does it take to get a CDA credential?” may be longer than the average length of time to receive a CDA credential in Missouri is due to the state’s process for approving early childhood educator (ECE) programs.

Currently, there is only one program that has been approved by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). This means that aspiring CDA holders in Missouri may have to wait until additional programs are approved before they can begin their coursework.

A final reason as to why the answer to “How long does it take to get a CDA credential?” could be longer than expected in Missouri is because of the state’s stringent requirements for teacher certification.  To become a CDA holder in Missouri, candidates must also be certified teachers. This process can take time and includes meeting a variety of requirements such as passing a licensing exam and completing a preparation program.

How Long Does It Take to Get a CDA Credential – Obtaining the Necessary Training Hours

Whether you are just starting out on your path to earning your CDA credential, or you are already well on your way and looking for additional resources to help you achieve this goal, there are many options available to help make the process as streamlined and efficient as possible.

If you are ready to take the next step towards becoming a highly qualified child care provider, be sure to do your research and find the right program for your unique needs and goals.  Even though program lengths tend to remain about the same, each has it’s own unique caveats, and you should familiarize yourself with them prior to scheduling your examination.

For example, some individuals choose to pursue an online CDA training program, while others choose to enroll in longer-term on-site or in-person courses. Additionally, you may be able to earn some of your required hours through volunteer work or professional development workshops offered by local child care centers.

Other ways to obtain your necessary training hours include taking online courses, participating in workshops and conferences, and working with experienced educators who can provide guidance and support. Also, by staying up to date on the latest research and trends in early childhood education can help ensure that you are able to maintain your CDA credential over time.

Once you’ve completed the training, you’ll need to submit your application to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.  The application should include your fee and documentation of your training.

How Long Does It Take to Get a CDA Credential? Scheduling, Sitting, and Passing Your Exam

Once your application is approved, you’ll be able to take the CDA exam.  The exam has two parts: a written portion and an oral portion.  You must pass both parts to earn your credential.

Depending on how many candidates there are in your area, it may take several weeks or months before you receive confirmation of a testing date, so you should prepare yourself for the potentially scheduling delay and proceed accordingly.

Once your test appointment has been confirmed, you will need to prepare for your exam by reviewing the CDA competency standards and exam content outlines.

These materials provide important information about how the questions on the exam are structured, and how your answers will be evaluated.  In addition to studying these materials, you should also make sure that you arrive at least 30 minutes early on the day of the exam.

This will give you time to check in with the testing site staff, familiarize yourself with how to use any testing equipment or technology that is being used, and ensure that everything is in order before your scheduled start time.

Remember, the CDA credentialing exam is prestigious for a reason.  If you do not pass your exam on the first go, it’s important to remember that many people before you have had the same thing happen but have gone on to receive their credentialing after trying again.  It’s important not to lose hope, and to keep your end goal in your focus.

After you’ve passed the exam, you’ll receive your CDA credential in the mail.

How Long Does It Take to Get a CDA Credential? – What Happens After Passing Your Exam

After you have sat, and successfully passed your CDA examination, your question of “How long does it take to get a CDA credential” has for the most part, been answered, congratulations!

However, there is some wiggle room in the definition of “CDA certified.”

Some people may view CDA certification as a matter of simply passing the credentialing exam, while others may see it as a more holistic process that also includes completing training and professional development activities.

In general, however, it is generally accepted that those who pass their CDA credentialing exams have demonstrated the knowledge and skills necessary to work in early childhood education settings. As such, earning your CDA credential can be an important step toward building a successful career in this field.

How Long Does it Take to Get a CDA Credential? – Maintaining Your Credentialing

To maintain your CDA credential after passing your exam, it is important to continuously invest in your professional development. This may include enrolling in ongoing training programs or workshops, participating in professional networking groups, and keeping up with the latest research and trends in early childhood education.

Additionally, you may need to submit an annual renewal application or pass specific skill assessments as part of your ongoing certification requirements.

Whatever approach you take, staying up to date on best practices and continuing to grow as a professional will help ensure that you remain a valuable asset to any early childhood education setting.

How Long Does it Take to Get a CDA Credential? – Is it Worth the Time and Investment?

It can take anywhere from several months to a year or more to obtain your CDA credential, depending on how quickly you are able to complete the various requirements.

This may include enrolling in relevant training programs, sitting for and passing the CDA exam, participating in professional networking activities, and demonstrating continued commitment to professional growth and development.  That said, investing time and effort into earning your CDA credential is going to be worth it in the long run.  Not only does it help demonstrate your expertise as an early childhood educator, but it can also open new opportunities for advancement and higher salaries in this field.

Additionally, having a CDA credential often makes you more attractive as a job candidate, which can give you an edge over other candidates in a competitive job market. Overall, earning your CDA credential, despite how long it can take, is an important step toward building a successful career in early childhood education.

So, if you’re asking yourself currently, “how long does it take to get a CDA credential?” you may want to instead ask yourself, “Will the time I spend earning this credential benefit me, my students, and my community?”  That question will likely lead you to a more personalized answer on if sitting going through the process of CDA credentialing is for you or not.

If the answer to “how long does it take to get a CDA credential” seems a bit intimidating, remind yourself that if this is your life’s work, you’ll be going through the necessary trainings anyway, why not put them towards moving your career forward to the next level while at the same time bettering the guidance and teaching you can deliver to your students?

If you have more questions about sitting your CDA credentialing exam, or still want to ask more about “how long does it take to get a CDA credential?” the team at Child Care Aware® of Missouri are here to assist you.  Feel free to reach out to us with any question, and we will happily point you in the right direction to get you started on your path to CDA credentialing.

How to Offset the Cost of Daycare in Missouri

cost of daycare in missouri

The cost of daycare in Missouri is a primary concern for many families looking for top-quality child care. The average price for center-based daycare can be over $10,000 per year – and that cost continues to rise.

The cost of daycare can be prohibitive for families struggling to make ends meet. That’s where the daycare sliding scale comes in.

A daycare sliding scale is a fee structure that allows families to pay based on their income.

This fee structure is crucial for families looking to offset the cost of daycare in Missouri.

In addition, the sliding scale can help families who are unexpectedly faced with higher daycare costs, such as when a child is sick or when there is a big change in family income.

By allowing families to pay based on their income, the sliding scale makes daycare more affordable for all families. This scale has helped to make Missouri’s childcare system one of the most affordable in the country.

The sliding scale fee is a great way to ensure that all families can afford the cost of daycare in Missouri and that children can get the highest quality education possible. In this article, we will discuss the cost of daycare in Missouri, what a sliding scale is, how it works, and how it can assist your family in obtaining the highest quality childcare possible.

What is a Daycare Sliding Scale?

In Missouri, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) funds a program that allows for a daycare sliding scale.

This scale helps to offset the cost of daycare for families who may be struggling financially.

The sliding fee portion of the sliding scale is the cost of daycare in Missouri, which the eligible family must pay directly to the childcare provider, with the caveat of children with special needs who do not have a sliding fee.

If your family’s only income is temporary assistance, or your gross income falls below 25% of the State Median Income Level, you would be required to pay only $1 annually to meet the sliding fee requirement.

The amount you pay according to your sliding fee is based on household size and adjusted gross monthly income. The sliding cost is deducted from the base rate before you pay the childcare provider.   The sliding fee varies by units of care (full, half, and part unit).

In Missouri, child care providers must meet certain standards before they can participate in the sliding fee program. To qualify as a participating provider, a center or home must be licensed by the Department of Health and Senior Services or accredited by one of several recognized accrediting groups.

These standards ensure that children receive high-quality care and that parents have peace of mind knowing their kids are well taken care of during the day.  This helps close the gap in education between families with a higher income and those with a lower income, since all children, regardless of homelife, deserve to receive the best education possible.

How the Missouri Daycare Sliding Scale Works to Lower the Cost of Daycare in Missouri

The sliding scale fee for daycare in Missouri bases the costs for childcare that families pay on income and family size.

Low-income families can receive a sliding scale fee reduction to help offset the cost of daycare.

For example, a family of four that earns over $30,000 per year would have the daycare sliding scale reduced by 10% for each additional $1,000 earned over $30,000. So, that family of four that makes $40,000 per year would pay a sliding scale fee of 20%, or $8 per day. Missouri waives the sliding scale fee for families making under $30,000 a year.

The average cost of center-based daycare in Missouri is $5,600 per year. However, with the help of the Missouri sliding scale fee, the cost of daycare in Missouri can be as low as $360 per year for low-income families.

To establish a base care rate for daycare by the county you live in, please visit the Missouri Department of Social Services, where you will locate an easy to navigate chart of the average cost of daycare across all counties in Missouri.

Determining Eligibility for the Daycare Sliding Fee in Missouri

Families must meet specific income requirements to be eligible for the daycare sliding scale program.  As previously discussed, the amount of assistance a family can receive toward the cost of daycare in Missouri will depend on their income level and the number of children in the family.

If you’d like to get an idea of your eligibility, families can find out if they are eligible for this program by contacting their local DESE office.

The staff at DESE can help families apply for the program and determine how much assistance they qualify for.  The department also has a website that provides more information about the daycare sliding scale and other assistance programs available to families to offset the cost of daycare in Missouri.

Next, we will discuss determining your eligibility unit and monthly gross income amount to help you understand beforehand your potential eligibility for Missouri subsidy programs.

What is an Eligibility Unit?

The eligibility unit is the basis, along with gross income, for admission into the daycare sliding fee system in Missouri, as well as determining how much assistance the eligibility unit will receive towards the cost of daycare in Missouri.

The definition of an eligibility unit is the head of household and all individuals living in the home, which the head of household claims as dependents on federal taxes.  For most, this will be the “family unit” with whom they and their child live.

For example, a family of four with two children would have an eligibility unit of four people.

If a family has more than four people, they can still qualify for the sliding scale if their income falls within the 185% percentage of the Federal Poverty Level.

How is my Monthly Income Amount Determined?

The Department of Social Services defines monthly gross income as the average monthly amount of total income received by all members of the eligibility unit before deductions.

The total gross income includes income from all sources including, but not limited to:

  • Wages
  • Adjusted gross income from self-employment
  • Adjusted gross income from farm income
  • Social security
  • Dividends
  • Interest

When determining your monthly income amounts from each income source, it is essential to carefully evaluate how long you intend for that income to last, for example, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.

For example, if your family brings in $10,000 in total, but that must cover the entire month, it is a very different thing to a family who is bringing in $10,000 that only needs to cover them for a week, after which they would expect to receive another $10,000.

How long your total income amounts will last will significantly impact how much help you will be eligible to receive to help with the cost of daycare in Missouri, so you must ensure your calculations in the next step are correct.

How to Determine Your Monthly Household Income

To convert income to a monthly amount when you receive your monthly income on less than a monthly basis, multiply the income you have received weekly by 4.333 to determine your monthly income amount.

Multiply income received every two weeks (bi-weekly pay) by 2.166.

Multiply income received on a semi-monthly basis (bi-monthly pay) by two.

The family is eligible if the household income is below the income maximums listed on the income guidelines.

How to Locate a Center that Participates with the Missouri Daycare Sliding Scale

If you’re looking for a daycare that participates in the sliding fee scale program, you can do a few things.

First, check with your local Department of Social Services.  They likely have a list of participating daycares in your area.  You can also search online for “daycare sliding fee” or “cost of daycare in Missouri.”  Performing this search will bring up websites and articles that list participating daycares in Missouri.

The best way to determine if a particular daycare participates in the sliding fee scale is to contact them directly.

Many daycares have information on their website about whether they participate in the program.  If they don’t, you can always call them or email them to ask if they participate in any subsidies to help families with the cost of daycare in Missouri.

Even if a particular daycare doesn’t participate in the sliding fee scale program, there’s no need to panic.  Many daycares offer discounts or payment plans based on need and multiple other subsidy opportunities in Missouri.  However, all licensed early child care centers in Missouri should participate with the Missouri daycare sliding scale.

The daycare sliding scale is just one way that Missouri helps families with the cost of daycare.  Other programs include the Child Care Subsidy Program and the School-Age Child Care Program.

The Child Care Subsidy Program provides financial assistance to low-income families to afford quality child care.  The School-Age Child Care Program offers free or discounted rates for before- and after-school care.

These programs are essential because they help to ensure that all families have access to quality child care.

The cost of daycare can be prohibitive for some families, but these programs make it more affordable.  By offering various assistance programs, Missouri can meet the needs of all families seeking childcare.

You can find more information on the Subsidy and the School-Age Child care programs by visiting the Child Care Aware® of Missouri website.

Why the Daycare Sliding Scale is so Critical for Families looking to Offset the Cost of Daycare in Missouri?

There are numerous reasons the daycare sliding scale is an essential part of Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education program.

The sliding scale fee helps to create more equality in Missouri’s childcare system.  There is a large gap between the cost of daycare in Missouri for wealthy families and the cost of daycare in Missouri for low-income families.  The sliding scale fee helps close this gap and ensures that all families have access to affordable care.

The sliding scale also helps the Missouri workforce.  By giving parent’s the opportunity to place their children in safe, affordable child care, they can go out and work to provide for their families, helping to stop the cycle of poverty in its tracks.

The sliding fee scale also benefits businesses in Missouri.  By providing affordable daycare, the state helps businesses to attract and retain top talent.  This is important because companies need access to quality child care to be successful.

A Recap of Why the Missouri Daycare Sliding Scale is so Important

When attempting to find affordable daycare in Missouri, the sliding fee scale is one of the essential tools’ parents have at their disposal.  It is a crucial resource for families seeking affordable, quality daycare.

This program allows parents to pay according to their income level, making the cost of daycare in Missouri more accessible for those with limited resources.  By providing this supportive system, Missouri recognizes the importance of early childhood education and ensures that all children have access to high-quality care.

Whether you are a working parent, stay-at-home parent, or simply looking for childcare options in your area, the sliding scale can help make the cost of daycare in Missouri more affordable and accessible for all families.

With the proper support, you can give your child the best possible start in life by ensuring they receive high-quality care and early learning opportunities.

If you’re a parent in Missouri who’s looking for quality child care services while offsetting the cost of daycare in Missouri, consider applying for the sliding fee program today.

With flexible payment options based on income level and family size, you’re sure to find a quality daycare provider that meets your needs!

If you are looking for daycare in Missouri and aren’t sure where to start, reach out to the team at Child Care Aware today, who will happily get you pointed in the right direction.

Locating High-Quality Child Care in Chesterfield, MO

child care chesterfield mo

Are you a family on the hunt for child care in Chesterfield, MO.? Are you unsure of where to start?  Are you new to the area and unsure of what location would best suit your family?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’ve come to the right place to find everything you need to know about Chesterfield, MO daycare facilities.

Locating a Chesterfield, MO. Daycare doesn’t need to be a daunting task!

In this article, we will discuss financial assistance for child care in Chesterfield, MO, what questions to ask while interviewing daycare centers you’re interested in, what type of child care centers you will find in Chesterfield, MO, and more.

All the advice contained within this article is geared toward helping parents in the process of enrolling a child in a Chesterfield, MO daycare, especially for first-time parents!

Where Should I Start When Looking for Child Care Centers in Chesterfield, MO?

The hardest part of most things is taking the first step, and finding a reputable Chesterfield, MO daycare is no different.

Starting off with the Child Care Aware® of Missouri Child Care Resource and Referral System is an excellent option.

Prepare a Child Care Checklist for Potential Chesterfield, MO Daycares

A child care resource and referral system (CCR&R) is an organization that serves as a resource hub for families, child care professionals and communities.

CCR&R’s increase access to high-quality, affordable child care by providing services dependent upon where your family lives, including:

  • Helping families find child care
  • Providing support, education, and resources to child care providers
  • Gathering research on child care needs and trends to inform community members and policy makers.

CCR&R’s also help you select child care in Chesterfield, MO with ease by providing:

  • Referrals to local child care providers.
  • Information on state licensing requirements.
  • Information on where to get help with the financial side of child care.

Start your search by first locating your local CCR&R agency and contact them to request a list of providers who offer child care in Chesterfield, MO that you can contact, based off your particular needs.

What Questions Should I ask When Calling My CCR&R Agency?

When speaking on the phone to your CCR&R agency, you should ensure you ask the following questions:

  1. What are the child care licensing requirements in my area?
  2. How can I find a copy of the health and safety inspection report?
  3. Is there a quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) in my area, and which providers have joined? What do the different levels on QRIS mean?
  4. What does it mean when a provider is nationally accredited? Which Chesterfield, MO daycare centers meet this standard?
  5. What kinds of questions should I pose to the child care providers during my tour?
  6. How can I find out if my family qualifies for any child care financial assistance programs?

Do Your Research on Your Chosen Chesterfield, MO Daycare Facilities

Before you call or visit any facilities for child care in Chesterfield, MO, be sure you investigate each provider thoroughly.

Look for, or ask about if it’s not easily found, the following information to understand the standards each child care in Chesterfield, MO are following.

Licensing Report and Health and Safety Inspections

Prior to visiting any child care in Chesterfield, MO or anywhere, always check the health and safety inspection reports.

These reports will tell you when the child care provider was visited by a state licensing agent, the types of health and safety violations the program was cited for, and how those violations were rectified.

Your local CCR&R agency will be able to help you decipher the information contained within the reports, should you require it.

Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Rating

QRIS ratings are another tool in your arsenal when selecting a child care in Chesterfield, MO.

An initial QRIS rating is earned when a program meets certain quality standards.  Programs will then continue to earn higher ratings as they meet more quality standards.

Some states require QRIS for any licensed child care providers or programs that receive state subsidies, while in other states, QRIS is entirely voluntary.  Check out the State by State Resource Map to see where Chesterfield, MO daycares fall.

National Accreditation Information

Some of the child care in Chesterfield, MO has programs which reach higher quality standards by becoming accredited by a national accrediting body.

This accreditation process is entirely voluntary for all child care providers.

Child care programs that choose to become accredited have to show they met licensing requirements that go above and beyond that at the state level.

Call Around to Your Short List of Chesterfield, MO Daycares

After narrowing down your list of possible options for child care in Chesterfield, MO, you will then want to call each provider you’re looking to visit and make an appointment.

Ask pre-screening questions prior to your visit to ensure you’re visiting providers that meet your needs, in turn, saving you valuable time.

Logistical Considerations When Considering Child Care in Chesterfield, MO

Often, when we find a child care provider we have fallen in love with, we may not always remember to think about all the logistical concerns that you will need to address before enrolling your child.

It’s important you remember to ask yourself the following about every daycare that you’re considering, to ensure your chosen provider is affordable and accessible for your family:

  • Does the daycare have space for my child?
  • What are the provider’s hours of operation?
  • Is the provider’s location convenient for me?
  • What are the program costs?
  • Are there any discounts or scholarships available?
  • Does the provider participate in a child care assistance program?

Touring Your Chosen Chesterfield, MO Daycare

At long last! You’re ready to tour the facility of the child care in Chesterfield, MO you feel will best fit your family.

Be sure to go into your tour prepared.  Bring a checklist with you to help you ask the right questions, so you can make the best choices for your family.

Don’t hesitate to ask the child care provider for references, as well as asking questions about other families’ experiences with their program.

Utilize Your Five Senses During Your Tour at the Child Care in Chesterfield, MO’s Facility

As with most things, it’s important to be fully present during your tour of the potential child care facility you have chosen for your family.

Ensure you use all five of your senses to help you scope out the facility, the staff, and the overall feel of the school to decide if it’s the right child care in Chesterfield, MO for you or not.

  1. Visually, when you look around, do you see providers engaged with children? Are children actively playing with each other and the provider? Do you see any health or safety concerns? Does there seem to be enough materials for all the children to play and complete projects?  If a school looks understaffed, underfunded, or disengaged, that’s a major red flag.
  2. Listen closely during your tour, do you hear a “buzz” in the child care facility? Were the teachers there speaking in a warm, positive tone to the children?  Do you hear providers using respectful and encouraging language?  It’s important to listen to hear how the children and staff interact with one another, as well as how the staff chooses to resolve conflict.
  3. Be sure to ask about the lunch program. If they will allow you, see if you can sample the food.  How does it taste?  Does it look visually appealing when being served to the children?  Ensuring your child will eat the food provided to them and that the school lunches are nutritionally sound is of the utmost importance.
  4. Do you notice any type of positive touch between students and caregivers, such as hugging, pats on the head, or children sitting on providers laps? Keep an eye out for appropriate, teacher-student type of affection, and be wary of anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
  5. What does the facility smell like? Is it a pleasant, clean smell in the child care setting?  Is there a total lack of smell?  Do you smell anything unhealthy such as perfumes, smokes, or any other odor that could be potentially harmful or unpleasant for your child?

Being sure to pay attention and use all five of your senses while on your school tour is of the utmost importance.

All schools will be on best behavior while they have someone touring, so it’s important to ask the right questions and to keep your eyes peeled for anything that could stand out as a potential red flag.

If you happen to see any red flags, be sure to ask for clarification on them before leaving the school tour, so you are better able to come to a clear decision after the tour has ended.

Special Considerations When Seeking Child Care in Chesterfield, MO

Every family’s situation is unique.  For this reason, there are additional resources to assist you along your journey to finding the best Chesterfield, MO daycare for your family.

Financial Assistance for Child Care in Chesterfield, MO

While there are multiple ways to find and apply for child care assistance, the Missouri Child Care Subsidy Program is an excellent place to start.

This program provides financial assistance for families that qualify.  You may be eligible for help if you are the parent or guardian of a child under the age of 13 (or a child with special needs) and you are:

  • Qualify as Low-Income.
  • Employed, or searching for work.
  • Attending School.
  • Participating in a job training or placement program.
  • Receiving services from the Children’s Division.

Another option if you’re the parent of a child under the age of 3 is the Early Head Start (EHS) program, which provides continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development programs for family’s at or below the poverty line.

In addition to the Early Head Start program, the Missouri Head Start Program continues the work of EHS, but for older children.

Assistance for Families of Children with Special Needs

If you are the parent of a special needs student in Missouri, there are multiple programs to assist you on your search for a Chesterfield, MO daycare.

One of the most highly recommended resources is United 4 Children, who provide support and resources to both families as well as the child care program caring for your special needs child.

Assistance for Children Over the Age of Three

If you have a child or children who are over the age of three, but still require assistance, then the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education should be your first stop.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education provide resources to families looking for a Chesterfield, MO daycare, as well as information on assistance for children from birth to age 21.

Child Care Aware® of Missouri – Helping You Locate the Best Child Care in Chesterfield, MO.

In this article, we have outlined how to get started locating a quality Chesterfield, MO daycare, what questions to ask, where to find assistance and much more.

We encourage you to take to the Child Care Aware® of Missouri website for any further information you may require to help you during your hunt for top quality child care in Chesterfield, MO.

Child Care Aware® of Missouri believes that every child deserves the highest quality child care services available and is why we work so hard in helping families find the resources they need to help their children attain their dreams.

If you need more assistance in locating child care in Chesterfield, MO or anywhere else in the state, please do not hesitate to contact Child Care Aware for further assistance.

We are happy to point you in the right direction and provide you with all the resources that we have available to us.

The Complete Guide to Starting a Daycare in Missouri

starting a daycare in missouri

Starting a daycare center in Missouri can be a daunting task, but Child Care Aware® of Missouri is here to help!

Before starting your new venture, you should take appropriate steps to ensure that starting a daycare in Missouri is the right career path, such as taking our free self-assessment.

You can also find more information on the types of child care you can offer by visiting our website.

After completing the prerequisite steps, you’ll be ready to start building out your business plan.

Since starting a daycare in Missouri can prove to be so challenging, we are going to walk you through the entire process of how you can receive your daycare license in Missouri.

Receiving your daycare license in Missouri comes with multiple requirements, such as providing a safe environment for the children and ensuring that all staff receives adequate training.

From applying for your daycare license in Missouri, all the way through to welcoming your children on their first day of class, we will help provide the information you need to make starting your daycare in Missouri a less challenging, more rewarding task!

Determining if You Require a Daycare License in Missouri

Before you begin the entire licensure process, you should check to ensure you even require a daycare license in Missouri for your business.

You will need to obtain a license if you want to operate a daycare center that provides care for more than five children under seven years of age.

If you plan on providing care for fewer than six children, you may be able to do so without a license. However, it’s always best to err on the side of caution and obtain a license if you’re unsure.

Your First Steps in Starting a Daycare in Missouri

When starting a daycare center in Missouri, it is essential to research the licensing process and other factors to consider from a business perspective before you start.

The first two steps you should take are taking your child care center needs assessment and researching the requirements for a daycare license in Missouri.

Completing these two tasks will help you understand better what your community needs and how you can ensure that starting a daycare in Missouri is a profitable venture for you.

Child Care Center Needs Assessment

It’s highly advisable that before starting a daycare in Missouri, you take a child care needs assessment quiz.

Your local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency can assist you with much of this information.

Researching Your Daycare License in Missouri – Your Local CCR&R Agency

Finding your local CCR&R agency (Child Care Resource and Referral Agency) should be another first-stop resource you should familiarize yourself with when starting a daycare in Missouri.

Your Child Care Resource and Referral agency will help enhance the quality of your program through training, coaching, and connecting you with more resources that can help assist your daycare center.

Additionally, your local licensing agency can help you understand the rules and regulations you must follow when starting a daycare in Missouri.

What Background Checks Will I Require When Starting a Daycare in Missouri?

All employees that work at a licensed, license-exempt, regulated, and registered child care provider must all have criminal background checks conducted per new federal law.

This law affects not only the staff working directly with the children but also any staff working in the building, such as bus drivers, chefs, and sanitary professionals.

Again, your local CCR&R can help update you on where your state is with the implementation of this law.

When calling your local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency, utilize this free licensing and background checks resource from Child Care Aware of America that will outline the steps you need to follow to obtain a background check for you and your employees.

Preparing a Budget for Starting a Daycare in Missouri

After you have researched and understood all the legal, tax, insurance, licensing, and background check information, it’s time to begin taking actionable steps toward building the business you plan to run with your daycare license in Missouri.

Preparing a budget helps you see the large picture of whether your projected income will exceed your expected expenses.

Things you will need to consider are:

  • How many children you plan to serve
  • Tuition fees
  • Staffing costs
  • Start-up costs such as application fees
  • Equipment
  • Materials
  • Marketing

These are just a few crucial topics you should carefully consider while preparing your budget before starting your daycare in Missouri.

Child Care Aware provides a budgeting worksheet to help determine how much income you predict versus how much you plan on spending.

Your business plan helps you define how much money you will need when starting your daycare in Missouri.

Securing Funding After Receiving Your Daycare License in Missouri

One of the most significant challenges for new daycare owners is securing funding for their center.

There are many ways to fund a daycare, such as through private investors, government grants, or bank loans.

Exploring all your options and finding the funding method best suits your needs is essential.

Check with your local CCR&R Agency for ideas on possible funding opportunities for your business.

Some of the most common funding sources for child care include:

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a reimbursement program that allows qualified child care providers reimbursement for a portion of their child care food costs.

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is a federally funded state grant to support child care subsidies.  Check our State by State Resources Map, which will connect you to your local program

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

The SBA offers various information on small business loans, grants, and other funding opportunities.

Find a Location for Your Child Care Center

After determining there is a need in your area for quality child care, consider finding a location for your facility.

Ensure you check with your state licensing office to learn more about the specific requirements in your area before you start your search for a location.

You will need to check local zoning laws and covenants to ensure you follow local laws before buying, renting, or building a space for your childcare business.

Please be advised that if you buy a franchise, the parent company may have additional specific guidelines regarding where you can operate your childcare business.

Developing Policies and Procedures for Your Daycare Center

Outlining the policies and procedures of your daycare in Missouri for employees and families is your next step on starting a daycare in Missouri.

It’s important to have policies and procedures which reflect the Code of Ethical Conduct for the early childhood field.

You should be careful to include specific topics designed to help your business run smoothly, in addition to any other state required policies for families.  Your local CCR&R or state licensing agency will be able to assist you with what you will need to include.

Creating a Family Handbook

A family handbook is a document that includes all your daycare center’s policies and procedures, as well as other important information for families.

Be sure to encourage families to read through the handbook and contact you with any questions they may have.

  • Common things to include in your family handbook are:
  • Mission and philosophy of your program
  • Description of your program, including operating hours and ages of children served
  • Information on whether your program is a part of your state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS)
  • Information on when payments are due and your policy for late payments
  • Description of curriculum and daily schedule for children
  • Description of family involvement activities
  • Required forms for families to complete, such as registration forms, guidance and discipline, drop-off and pick-up procedures, emergency closings, fee and payment arrangements, food and nutrition, program closings, and transportation policies.
  • Description of disaster and emergency plans.

Creating a Staff Handbook

Much like your family handbook, your staff handbook will outline the expectations of employees, as well as your mission, philosophy, family communication and involvement, and much more.

Additionally, your daycare center’s staff handbook should include a section on receiving your early childhood education or daycare license in Missouri, behavior and guidance policies, benefits and pay scale, job descriptions, evaluation procedures, and hiring and firing procedures.

Hiring Qualified Staff

Hiring qualified staff is one of the most important aspects of starting a daycare in Missouri.

In Missouri, all daycare center employees must be at least 18 years of age and have a high school diploma or equivalent.

Additionally, all employees must undergo a background check and complete 16 hours of child development training within their first year of employment.

1. Define Your Needs

Before you start the hiring process, it is important to take some time to define your needs. What type of staff do you need? What qualifications should they have? Do you prefer they have a daycare license in Missouri? What hours will they need to work? Answering these questions will help you create a job posting that attracts suitable candidates.

2. Create a Job Posting

Once you know what type of staff you need, you can create a job posting. Include all relevant information, such as the job title, job description, qualifications, and hours. Be sure to list where the candidates can apply and how to contact you with any questions.

3. Review Applications

Once you start receiving applications, take some time to review them.  Look for candidates who meet the qualifications that you have set forth.  You may also want to consider candidates who have experience working with children, have taken early childhood education classes, or have a daycare license in Missouri.

4. Interview Candidates

After reviewing the applications, narrow down your list of candidates and set up interviews.  The interview process is an opportunity for you to get to know the candidates and for them to ask any questions they may have about the position.  It is also an excellent opportunity to assess their qualifications and see if they would be a good fit for your daycare center.

5. Conduct Background Checks

Before making any offers, be sure to conduct background checks on all interviewed candidates.  Performing a background check will help you ensure that they are qualified for the position and have no criminal history that could pose a danger to the children in your care.

6. Make Your Offers

Once you have conducted the necessary background checks, you can make your offers to the candidates you would like to hire.  Go over the position details with them, so there are no surprises later on down the road.

7. Welcome Them to The Team!

After all the paperwork has been signed, and everything is final, it’s time to welcome your new employees to the team officially!  Be sure to introduce them so that everyone knows who they are and their role at the daycare center.  Congratulate them on their new position and let them know that you’re looking forward to working with them!

Creating a Safe and Stimulating Environment

The final task when starting a daycare is creating a safe and stimulating environment for the children.

This includes designing age-appropriate activities for the children and ensuring that the classroom is safe and child-friendly.

It is important to make sure that the classroom is fun and engaging so that the children will enjoy spending time there.

In Conclusion

Receiving your daycare license in Missouri can be a challenging but rewarding experience.

There are many things to consider when starting a daycare in Missouri, such as the licensing process, finding a location, securing funding, and hiring qualified staff.

It is important to do your research and make sure that you meet all the requirements to avoid any potential problems, but also to remember that Child Care Aware of Missouri and your local CCR&R agency are with you every step of the way.

With hard work and a bit of planning, you can attain your goals of starting a successful daycare center in Missouri.

Missouri Child Care Assistance – What it is and How to Obtain it

Two children practicing writing, benefiting from Missouri child care assistanceAre you looking for help paying for child care?  Not sure where to start? You’re in luck, considering there are multiple options for families to receive Missouri child care assistance.

But where should you start, and what is involved in receiving help for child services in Missouri?

In this article we’ll walk you through the different types of Missouri child care assistance you may be eligible for, where you need to go to apply for those resources and respond to frequently asked questions regarding child services in Missouri.

What Types of Missouri Child Care Assistance Programs Are Available?

The child services in Missouri you’re eligible for may depend on your personal situation, job, and income.

Here are some vetted Missouri child care assistance programs you may be eligible to apply for assistance through:

1. Subsidy

The Missouri Subsidy Assistance System works to provide Missouri child care assistance to families, enabling them to afford child services in Missouri. Eligibility for the subsidy program will depend on your family’s size and income.

  1. Sliding Scale – Within the subsidy system, the portion of the child care that your family will be responsible for paying is determined by the sliding scale, which is based on family size and income.
  2. Co-Payment – The co-payment is the remainder of the cost of care after the subsidy payment and sliding fee are applied.  Families are responsible for paying a copay if the cost of care exceeds the total of the subsidy payment and sliding fee.
  3. Multi-Child Discount – Some child care programs offer discounts if your family has more than one child enrolled in their program.

2. Income-Based Payment

Income-based Missouri child care assistance programs charge families based on their income. This means that the individual program works with families to determine what they can pay based on their income.

3. Scholarships

Some Missouri child care assistance programs have the funding to offer scholarships for children. Eligibility is determined by each individual program.

4. Military Family Resources

There are financial options available for military families and programs in place to assist kids and families of active-duty members and veterans. For more information contact Child Care Aware of America.

5. State Payment Assistance

Visit Missouri Department of Social Services to check the eligibility of your family for Missouri child care assistance, or to apply for assistance.

In addition to these resources, we will also provide five more methods of receiving Missouri child care assistance that include ways in which you can obtain assistance with food costs, home energy payments, and other necessities to help you and your children receive the schooling, healthy meals, and life that you deserve a bit later in this article.

Subsidy Assistance for Child Services in Missouri – More Information and Steps to Apply

The Missouri Department of Social Services offers a subsidy program to help families offset the cost of child care.

The DSS of Missouri can help you pay for child care that works with your schedule, morning, noon, night, and even weekends, giving you the freedom to focus on supporting your family’s needs.

Who is Eligible for Subsidy Assistance for Child Services?

To be eligible to apply for Missouri child care assistance through the subsidy program if you are the parent or guardian of a child under the age of 13, or of a child who has special needs.

Some of the requirements required to be accepted into the program are:

  • You are a Low-Income Family (Under 85% of the State Median Income)
  • Employed or seeking out employment
  • Attending School or Job Training (If not employed)
  • Disabled
  • Living in a state of homelessness
  • Participating in Job Training or are in a placement program
  • Receiving Services from the Children’s division

How to Apply for Missouri Child Care Assistance Subsidy Program through the DSS

It only takes three steps to apply for subsidy assistance for child care in Missouri.

You can apply online by navigating to the “Apply for Child Care” page on the DSS website, or, alternatively, print and complete your paper application.

Next, submit your completed application for Missouri child care assistance either:

Online: Complete and submit your forms online via mydssupload.mo.gov

Mail: Send your completed application through regular post to:

Family Support Division

615 E. 13th St.

Kansas City, MO 64106

Fax: You can also submit your completed application via facsimile at 573-526-9400.

What Verification Documents Must You Submit for Missouri Child Care Assistance?

The Family Support Division (FSD) may ask you to verify your information to help you get the help paying for child services in Missouri that you need.

Documentation types required will be dependent upon the benefit you are either applying for initially or to maintain.

For child services in Missouri, the following documentation is accepted as valid for verification purposes:

  • Work or school schedule
  • Pay stubs
  • Letter from employer
  • Letter from enrolled school
  • Letter from training program
  • Letter from medical/professional stating why the disabled child/parent needs child care

After submitting your completed application along with all required supporting documentation, the family support division will process your entire submission as soon as it is received.

Once your application is processed, you will receive a letter within fifteen days notifying you of your eligibility for Missouri child care assistance, or of your ineligibility for help with child services, as well as an explanation for the rejection.

What Happens Next if I am Approved for Missouri Child Care Assistance?

After receiving your approval letter in the mail, you still have a few more tasks that are required to receive assistance for child services in Missouri.

After being approved for the Child Care Subsidy Program, you must complete the following steps to guarantee you receive the Missouri child care assistance, otherwise you may lose your funding.

1. Choose a Child Care Provider

Before child care payments can begin, you must select a quality child care provider who is authorized.

For help locating a child care provider near you, please contact Child Care Aware® of Missouri or perform a “Show Me Child Care Providers” search.

After selecting a center for child services in Missouri, to get the facility of your choice, you are able to get the child services authorized in three ways.

2. Provide Your Schedule

Your schedule is utilized to determine the number of days and time of days your child can receive care each month.

Child care payments cannot be made prior to the submission of your schedule.

3. Pay Your Portion

You may be required to pay on a sliding fee and/or have a co-payment. The approval letter that you receive should tell you what, if any, portion of payment that you are responsible for.

How Long Will I Receive Missouri Child Care Assistance?

The same approval letter which will inform you of any portion of payment you may be responsible for will also notify you of when your Missouri child care assistance for child services in Missouri will start, and when it will end.

If you find yourself nearing the end of our subsidy duration and you are still requiring financial assistance with child services in Missouri, you will need to reapply.

Please note, that if you do not reapply before the date your eligibility ends, you may be no longer eligible for Missouri child care assistance benefits.

If, for some reason, you do not receive your reapplication packet 30 days before the end of your eligibility period, please contact us to request another.

How to Navigate a Change in Circumstance During Your Missouri Child Care Assistance Eligibility Period

If you happen to have a change in your circumstances during the middle of your eligibility period, you should contact the Family Support Division immediately. These conditions include if you:

  • Switch to a new child care provider
  • Get a new home address or telephone number
  • Welcome a new member into your household
  • Have a change in income
  • Change your work or training hours

You can make these changes online, in person, or via telephone as previously outlined in this article, but it is imperative that you notify the Family Support Division immediately to inform them of the change, so you can take the necessary steps to maintain your Missouri child care assistance.

Change in Income Status

If your income goes above 85% of the State Median Income for child care subsidy, you are required to report the pay increase.

Despite this increase in salary, you may still be eligible to have Missouri child care assistance for child services in Missouri through Transitional Child Care, which is a program designed to help ease you into making payments on your own, without assistance from the subsidy.

Much like applying for Missouri child care assistance through the subsidy, you will need to apply through the Family Support Division, which will notify you if you qualify for Transitional Child Care via letter.

If you are accepted into the Transitional Child Care program, you will be notified by letter. This letter will also explain what your payment schedule will be like so you can continue receiving your Missouri child care assistance.

Additional Methods of Assistance for Missouri Families

Now that you understand all the ins and outs of receiving Missouri child care assistance, let’s discuss briefly the other programs offered in partnership with Child Care Aware® of Missouri.

All the programs we will discuss are designed to alleviate the strain on low-income families to pay for child services in Missouri as well as other day to day essentials.

Missouri Head Start

Missouri Head Start is a federal assistance program that promotes school readiness of children from birth to five years of age for low-income families.

Women, Infants and Children (WIC)

WIC is a program which offers supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition information to low-income women who are pregnant and/or have children aged birth through five.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

TANF provides cash assistance designed to help low-income families achieve their own self-sufficiency.

Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps)

The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program is a federal nutrition program aimed at providing every family in need with the means to supply their family with healthy meals.

Low Income Energy Assistance Program

The low-income energy assistance program helps low-income households in meeting their immediate home energy needs, which can be a lifesaving option for those who hit hard times during the hot summers, or cold winters.

Missouri Child Care Assistance for Child Services in Missouri – Getting Your Family on the Right Track

Child Care Aware® of Missouri is here to help Missouri families every step of the way in finding reputable, affordable child services in Missouri.

We pride ourselves in providing services and assistance that low-income families need to see their children receive the highest quality early childhood education possible.

We realize that trying to find suitable child care that is convenient for you and is accepted for Missouri child care assistance can be a daunting task.

It’s for this reason we compile the information and resources we do, as well as offer the help of our trained staff.

We encourage you to also utilize our website, as it is a wealth of resources for parents seeking our Missouri child care assistance.

If you have questions in regard to attaining assistance for your children to attend school for early childhood education in Missouri, contact the team at Child Care Aware® of Missouri today, and we will get you on the right path to receiving the help you need to provide your children the highest-quality education possible.

Attaining Daycare Center Grants in Missouri

Are you a parent, teacher, or daycare center owner looking to receive a grant for daycare in Missouri?

Are you looking to apply for daycare center grants but aren’t sure where to start?

Not to worry!  Child Care Aware® of Missouri is here to get you on the right track to obtaining the daycare center grant you need so your children can get the best education possible from an early age.

Applying for and receiving daycare center grants can be a confusing, and oftentimes daunting task. We aim to help you to understand the ins and outs of what receiving grants for daycare entails, in the hopes that you will be more likely to try to receive assistance for you and your family, if it’s needed.

Whether you are a parent, guardian, or an educator looking for more information on how daycare center grants work, this article will guide you through the steps necessary to receive grants for daycare in Missouri through the CCDBG and CCDF.

Daycare Center Grants – Explaining the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act and the Child Care Development Fund

Daycare center grants are funds set aside by the government to help owners of daycare centers pay for the costs associated with running their businesses.

One of the main grants for daycare opportunities in Missouri is the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act, which is a law which authorizes the Child Care and Development Fund program.

To put it simply, The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG) is the law, and the Child Care and Development Fund is the program.

CCDF is administered by states territories and tribes, and outlines how federal funds will be used to provide financial assistance to low-income families for them to access child care at an affordable rate.

States also use CCDF to invest in improving the quality of the teacher workforce and supporting child care programs to achieve higher standards in early childhood education.

CCDF also provides consumer education to parents regarding grants for daycare and the childcare that will fit their child’s needs.

How are Daycare Center Grant Funds Allocated?

In 2016, it was decided that states and territories would be required to outline how they planned to use Child Care and Development Fund money to support child care policies and provide daycare center grants.

States can submit a three-year state plan to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

These three-year state plans act as an official application for federal CCDBG funds, outline how states will remain in compliance will all rules and regulations under federal law, and serve as a guide document for longer-term planning, as well as a vehicle for data collection.

It is the development of this plan that gives parents, guardians, caregivers, and teachers an opportunity for collaborating and brainstorming together on how best to utilize the daycare center grant money allocated to them federally.  It is this money which will provide for teacher education, grants for daycare, and other initiatives to better their school systems.

Key Sections of the CCDF State Plan Form for Daycare Center Grants

State plans for the allocation of daycare center grants and other federally applicable funds are divided into eight sections that contain various subparts.

Instead of looking at these sections as separate entities, it is recommended that they are looked at as smaller parts of a whole, larger, integrated plan on how to best allocate grants for daycare and other federal funds.

Section 1: Define Leadership and Coordination

This section is where states must identify the logistics of planning and carrying out the CCDF program.

This section will also ask which stakeholders were consulted to create the plan, and the identification of how the maintenance of effort funds are being used.

Plans must include how public-private partnerships are encouraging coordination efforts between Child Care Resource and Referral agencies as well as a description on disaster preparedness efforts.

Section 2: Promote Family Outreach and Consumer Education

States must outline how they will provide outreach to families eligible for grants for daycare, as well as how they plan to assist those families in accessing the high-quality care they deserve.

This section will also outline other financial assistance programs and daycare center grants that families may apply for.

It is here where states will also supply best practices on children’s development and resources on developmental screenings for children.

Section 3: Provide Stable Financial Assistance to Families

States must identify eligibility criteria for daycare center grants, and other child care assistance subsidies and how they plan to increase access for vulnerable children and families, such as those with disabilities or who are currently homeless.

States have quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to establishing a range of policies. These policies include:

  • Family income thresholds to receive daycare center grants
  • Defining what a family unit is regarding receiving grants for daycare.
  • Qualifying activities for eligibility (such as minimum work hours)
  • Maximum age limits for daycare center grants
  • Family contribution payments or copays due when eligible for grants for daycare.

Section 4: Ensure Equal Access for Low-Income Children

Plans must outline strategies which will be implemented to improve and increase the supply of quality child care services in underserved areas. These plans should also promote parents having a choice in their child’s education and ensure equal access to programs comparable to those of non-CCDF families, with the aid of grants for daycare.

This section will also outline provider pay rates which enable them to meet health, safety, quality, and staffing requirements as outlined under CCDF.

Section 5: Establish Health and Safety Standards and Monitoring

States are required to certify that there are health and safety standards, training, and protocols in place that are appropriate for the provider setting and the age of the children being served.

States must address standards for background checks, child-to-staff ratios, group sizes, and required qualifications and trainings for all child care staff.

Section 6: Recruit and Retain Qualified, Effective Childhood Education Workforce

State plans must describe the training, professional development, and post-secondary education requirements for staff.

Plans must include how the state will strengthen provider business skills that will help expand supply and improve the quality of early learning and development programs.

Section 7: Support Continuous Quality Improvements

Reporting on quality improvement activities and findings that are part of statewide needs assessments is required.

In addition to outlining the quality improvement activities that are in place, states must report on whether they have adopted a quality rating and improvement system in addition to any financial incentives or daycare center grants they offer to improve the quality and supply of infant and toddler care.

Section 8: Ensure Program Integrity and Accountability

In the final section, states must describe which effective internal controls are in place to ensure accountability and integrity while maintaining continuous service. This includes the ways the state plans to address reducing fraud, waste, and abuse, including program violations and administrative errors.

The entire application for CCDF funds for daycare center grants, school enrichment, and the support of low-income families attaining high-quality childcare can be found here.

Eligibility Requirements as per the CCDF Application to Receive Daycare Center Grant Opportunities

Section 3 of the document that we have outlined throughout this article discusses the eligibility criteria of families seeking out grants for daycare or other childcare assistance.

The eligibility for children and families for the year of 2022-2023 to receive grants for daycare are as follows:

  • Children must be younger than the age of 13
  • Children must reside with a family whose income is less than 85% of the state median income for a family of the same size
  • Family’s assets must not exceed $1,000,000
  • Children must reside with parent or caregivers who are attending job training or are employed.
  • Are a child requiring protective services and resides with parents not described in this section.

These are the basic requirements set by the federal government, but the state or territory does have some room for slight customizations.

Family Contributions to Payments in Conjunction with Grants for Daycare

Even if a family is eligible for a daycare center grant, they may still have some type of payment contribution or copay due to their annual earnings.

This copay that is due in addition to the daycare center grant payment varies based on the size and income of the family, with each family’s contribution calculated to ensure it is not a barrier to those children receiving CCDF daycare center grants.

To help families transition off child care assistance, co-pay amounts may be gradually adjusted for families determined to be eligible under a graduated phase-out of receiving grants for daycare.

Access to Daycare Center Grants for Children with Special Needs

Special priority is given for daycare center grants to children with special needs, in families with extremely low-incomes, or who are experiencing homelessness.

The prioritization of CCDF grants for daycare is not limited to eligibility determination. Other ways to give priority can include the establishment of a waiting list or the ranking of eligible family’s priority order to be served.

Other Important Points to Note About Receiving Grants for Daycare through the CCDF

Though these rules and regulations may seem stringent, there are checks and balances put in place to ensure the continuity of financial assistance going to families in need.

For working families, regardless of changes in income, your CCDF daycare center grants may not be terminated during the minimum 12-month period if a family has an increase in income that exceeds the states income eligibility threshold, but not the federal threshold of 85% of the state’s median income.

Also, financial assistance with daycare center grants may not be terminated prior to the end of the minimum 12-month period if the family experiences a temporary job loss or change in participation in training or educational activity. It is also noted that a temporary change cannot have a set time limit, for example, 60 days.

If Discontinuation of CCDF Funds Does Occur – What You’re Entitled to, and How to Reclaim Your Grants for Daycare

While the option is there for the state to discontinue assistance from a non-temporary loss of work or cessation of attendance at a job training or educational program (also known as the parent’s “eligible activity”) but is not required to discontinue the grants for daycare.

If the decision is made to discontinue to financial assistance, it is required that the family continue to receive the help they were getting at the same level for a period of no less than 3 months after said loss.

This three-month period allows the parent or guardian to engage in a job search and to resume work or attendance in job training or their educational program.

At the end of the minimum 3-month period of continued assistance, if the parent has engaged in a qualifying work, training, or educational program activity with an income below 85% of the state median income, assistance cannot be terminated.

In this situation, the child must continue receiving their daycare center grant assistance until the next scheduled redetermination, or for another 12-month eligibility period.

Receiving Daycare Center Grants and Financial Assistance in Missouri

We hope that this outline of the CCDF daycare center grant program has helped you in understanding what the program is, how it works, and how you can be deemed eligible for a daycare center grant in Missouri.

Despite all the rules and regulations, these services are kept in place in order to help families receive the assistance they need to ensure their children get the high-quality education they deserve.

If you have questions that were not answered in this article, please feel free to contact the team at Child Care Aware® of Missouri, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to speak to one of our knowledgeable representatives who will be able to point you in the right direction.

The Complete Guide to Your CDA T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship

childcare cda

The childcare CDA (Childhood Development Associate) credential is nationally recognized and your first formal step in early childhood education.

Accomplishing your child care CDA will open doors in your early childhood education career that were not previously available. Additionally, your child care CDA will help you grow as an educator in the specific child care setting in which you have chosen to work.

The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Missouri Scholarship is a scholarship and compensation opportunity for educators in licensed centers, groups, and family child care programs.

The recently created CDA T.E.A.C.H. scholarship model is designed specifically for those looking to achieve further education in early childhood education.

The CDA T.E.A.C.H. scholarship comes with added requirements in addition to those set forth for our Early Childhood Missouri Scholarship because it is geared specifically for those looking to reach their child care CDA.   We will discuss the requirements and how you can achieve them with the help of the teams at T.E.A.C.H. Missouri and Child Care Aware® of Missouri.

The four components of the CDA T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship Program are:

  • Scholarship – A contract between the recipient, sponsor, and T.E.A.C.H. Missouri. Each party is responsible for a paid percentage of the cost of tuition and books.
  • Education – Contract year covers 9 to 15 credit hours over three consecutive semesters.
  • Compensation – Recipients receive a $450 bonus from T.E.A.C.H. Missouri for each completed contract. Several scholarship models include a possible $200 bonus match or a 2% raise from the sponsoring employer.
  • Commitment – Recipients agree to complete 6 to 12 months of continuous service to the children at their sponsoring program or in the child care field after the academic year (varies by scholarship model).

We will lay out everything you need to know to apply for your CDA T.E.A.C.H. scholarship, so you can start your path to attaining your childcare CDA.

Benefits of Earning Your Child Care CDA

Earning an education helps you to become a better teacher and assists in advancing your career, as we have already mentioned. Part of this is because families have a greater sense of ease with child care educators who have their early childhood education.

Years of experience speak for themselves but being able to say you have received your child care CDA is an added benefit in the eyes of parents and caregivers.

By receiving your child care CDA, you appear more valuable to a broader range of employers and increase your confidence, empowering you both personally and professionally.

Earning an Early Childhood Education will help you to meet specific job requirements since you will understand the application of new knowledge and skills you had not previously understood.

Some of the benefits of attaining an early child hood education and receiving your child care CDA are:

  • Personal and Professional empowerment and confidence.
  • Meeting the job requirements for more roles, giving you more job opportunities.
  • Reinforce to you the commitment you made to early childhood education.
  • Increase your confidence in learning, and then teaching, new skills.
  • Assist in showcasing early childhood best practices for other child care educators.

Receiving your child care CDA is valuable because it can advance your career, help you feel more confident and competent in your role, and give you the tools to better assist in shaping the next generation through your work.

The CDA T.E.A.C.H scholarship can help you realize all the possibilities that an early childhood education can bring you, and it’s something that, once attained, will always be with you.

What are the goals of the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri Scholarship Program?

The T.E.A.C.H. Missouri CDA Scholarship program aims to improve the quality of childhood care and education by increasing the education level of early childhood educators.

By increasing the education level of childhood educators, their compensation rate also increases, increasing the overall retention rate of early childhood educators.

This increase in retention, and overall happiness of teachers, work to improve the quality and continuity of care provided to children and families in Missouri.

The CDA T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship program also seeks to be an independent example of how working together can benefit the majority through the partnerships that must come together to realize the scholarship opportunity itself.

CDA T.E.A.C.H Scholarship Eligibility Requirements

To attain your child care CDA, you must first become eligible for the CDA T.E.A.C.H. scholarship. If you are not yet qualified, you can begin to take the appropriate steps to become eligible by understanding the eligibility requirements.

To be eligible for the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri child care CDA Scholarship, you must:

  • Work in a licensed child care program in Missouri.
  • Work in a child care program registered to accept child care subsidies.
  • Work directly with children birth to five-years-old.
  • Work at least 25 hours per week.
  • Have worked at the child care program for at least three consecutive months.
  • Make less than $20 per hour as an educator or $25 per hour as a director or owner.
  • Want to earn a CDA in an infant/toddler, preschool, or family child care setting.

Your eligibility is also contingent upon your sponsoring employer’s participation.

The scholarship is a partnership between the recipient, sponsoring employer, and T.E.A.C.H. Missouri.

Each partner has designated financial and service responsibilities.

That said, if you are the owner of a family child care home or center, you are eligible to act as your own sponsor, if your facility participates in the CDA T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship Program.

CDA T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship Waitlist Information

T.E.A.C.H. Missouri operates on a continuous waitlist. To be placed on the waiting list, you must complete the appropriate application packet listed in this article, which you can find on the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri Website.

Once your application is complete, you can submit it via fax, email, or postage-paid mail, to the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri office.

After receipt, T.E.A.C.H. Missouri will add all appropriately completed application packets to our waiting list.

Potential child care CDA Scholarship recipients on the wait list are called a month and a half before the start of each semester.

Scholarships are awarded based on funding availability.

If you are placed on the waitlist and did not receive a scholarship in the previous semester, you will be left on the waitlist for 12 consecutive months.

If you applied over 12 months ago, you must complete and submit a new application.

Applying for Your CDA T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship with Credit Hours

If you meet all the eligibility requirements, you will need to navigate to the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri Website to begin your child care CDA scholarship application if you plan to use credit hours toward your scholarship requirements.

Once on the CDA T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship page, you will find three links at the very bottom.

There are three separate applications for the child care CDA Scholarship. You will choose the appropriate application based on your current child care job facility setting and your current role.

Your three scholarship application options are:

Child Care CDA Scholarship for Teacher and Director Packet

Child Care CDA Scholarship for Family Child Care Owner Packet

CDA Scholarship for Center Owner Packet

Please also note that all courses for this CDA Childcare Scholarship model are only approvable from a Missouri 2-year college found in the T.E.A.C.H. college directory.

If you’re looking to apply to the CDA T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship program with credit hours, not to worry! Your childcare CDA specialist will convert those to usable clock hours for you, which we will discuss in a moment.

What Happens After Your CDA T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship Has Been Awarded

Once you have been awarded your CDA T.E.A.C.H scholarship, you are on your way to attaining your childcare CDA, and now you will have assistance.

With a CDA T.E.A.C.H scholarship, you will:

  • Be assigned a T.E.A.C.H. Missouri CDA scholarship counselor who will assist you as you move through the entire CDA process.
  • Enroll in the Missouri community college of your choosing, earn 9 to 12 early childhood college credit hours within three consecutive semesters, and successfully pass all classes.
  • Pay only 5% of the cost of your tuition and books. For example, for a $300 textbook, you’d only pay $15! Your sponsoring employer pays only 5% as well. Win-win.
  • Commit to staying at your sponsoring child care program for six months after the three semesters.

How T.E.A.C.H. Missouri Assists You in Reaching Your Childcare CDA

If you are awarded a CDA T.E.A.C.H. scholarship, you can expect that T.E.A.C.H. Missouri and Child Care Aware® of Missouri will be with you every step of the way.

During your T.E.A.C.H. Missouri child care CDA contract, you will take 9 to 12 credit hours of early childhood education classes in the age group of your choice: infant/toddler, preschool, or family child care.

During this time, you and your sponsoring employer will only pay 5% of your books and tuition, while T.E.A.C.H. Missouri will cover 90% of your tuition and books in addition to all your college fees.

You also receive a bonus! At the end of your contract year, you will receive $190 and $190 more six months later if you stay with your sponsoring employer.

$380 in total for maintaining passing grades and continuing work at your place of employment!

The Child Care Aware® of Missouri CDA Scholarship Project

The Child Care Aware® of Missouri child care CDA Scholarship Project is what you will enroll in after completing your college credit hours.

At this point, your child care CDA Scholarship Counselor will continue assisting you as you complete the child care CDA process toward your credentialing process.

After enrolling in the child care CDA scholarship project, your CDA specialist will help you convert your college transcript into early childhood clock hours towards your child care CDA.

Suppose you still require assistance compiling your virtual child care CDA portfolio. In that case, the Child Care Aware® of Missouri team will provide weekly technical assistance webinars to help you create your portfolio.

Once you’re ready to apply for your CDA, Child Care Aware® of Missouri pays your $425 child care CDA application fee and submits it to the Council for Professional Recognition.

Even after your application has been submitted, your CDA specialist is still with you! Your CDA specialist will walk you through what to expect during classroom observations, verification visits, and testing.

You also get rewarded again! In addition to the $380 bonus, we spoke about earlier in the article, as a bonus for earning your childcare CDA credential, Child Care Aware® of Missouri will refund you and your sponsoring employer’s 5% of the tuition and book costs had paid initially.

That’s right. You earn college credit hours and achieve your child care CDA – at no cost!

Are you interested in continuing your college education further? You can also apply for a T.E.A.C.H Missouri associate degree scholarship after successfully completing your CDA T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship.

Wrapping Up – Receiving Your CDA T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship Project and Child Care CDA

We have covered it all in this article, from why earning your CDA is so essential to how T.E.A.C.H. Missouri and Child Care Aware® of Missouri come together to help you finance and complete your CDA, as well as what happens after you achieve your child care CDA.

The benefits of earning your CDA are far-reaching and can benefit your life and the lives of the children you teach and their families. We encourage you to further your education and enroll for your CDA T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship to help get you there. If followed correctly, you will walk away from experience with college credits, a greater understanding of your work, and a certification that will open new doors in your career.

If you have more questions or require further information on any part of this article, you can reach out to Child Care Aware® of Missouri,  and a member of our team will be happy to assist you.

The Complete Guide to Military Child Care and Help for Military Families with Children in Missouri

military childcare

How Child Care Aware® of Missouri Along with The US Military and DoD Offer Support to Military Families

Suppose you are a member of the United States Military.  In that case, you may be eligible for Department of Defense military child care fee assistance if you cannot access on-installation military child care.

Child Care Aware® of Missouri partners with Child Care Aware of America and the United States Military and Department of Defense to serve and support military families.

This partnership offers help to military families, providing access to military child care through the Fee Assistance and Respite Child Care Programs.

Other military family options and alternative help for military families, in addition to Child Care Aware of America, include Missouri Veterans and My Next Move.

Since the inception of the Child Care Aware military family programs, we have served more than 10 million families to date across the United States.  We have designed a network of more than 10,000 licensed child care providers.  We aim to help military families find affordable, reputable military child care.

Child Care Aware® of Missouri offers military child care fee assistance for the US Navy, the US Department of the Air Force, the US Marine Corps, and the US Army.

Each branch has slightly different requirements to receive help for military families.  If you are in any of these military branches and do not have access to on-base child care, this is an excellent option for you and your military family.

This article will dive deeply into eligibility requirements, how to apply, the documentation you must show, what is covered, and more.  We will separate this by branch and discuss each branch’s specific process.

What is the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) Program?

The Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood program offers fee assistance for families of Active-Duty Sponsors, Civilians, and Guard/Reserve Technicians who cannot access on-installation military child care.

For Guard and Reserve Technicians to be eligible, they must be on orders for a minimum of 30 consecutive days.

All military child care providers eligible for the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood Program have a state child care license, a state inspection report dated within the past 12 months, completed a provider fee assistance application, and are accredited by one of the DoD-approved accrediting bodies.

Why Accredited Help for Military Families is So Important

National accreditation criteria determine the quality of civilian and military child care programs.

A child care facility that pursues this accreditation may be looking to increase the level of their care since accredited providers must meet higher standards than those set forth by the state.

Accredited programs offer care, attention, and educational activities parents look for in high-quality military child care.  Additionally, these programs gear activities and experiences to help children grow and develop, leaving them better equipped for school.

The Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) fee assistance program is an extension of the military child care services offered through various military installations within the United States.

Qualifying military sponsors for the MCCYN program must be connected to an accredited child care provider to ensure the children receive community child care comparable to military Child Development Centers or Child Development Homes.

What is Enhanced Referral?

Suppose you are a qualifying military sponsor and need additional assistance locating nationally accredited care in a specific area.  In that case, you may receive an Enhanced Referral from a member of Child Care Aware by calling 1-800-424-2246.

An Enhanced Referral Specialist will conduct a customized military child care search within five business days.

This search considers the parents’ work and home addresses, transportation routes to and from work, hours of care needed, ages of children, and the provider’s eligibility for the fee assistance program.

An Enhanced Referral also allows you to use providers in the Child Care Aware of America preferred provider network.  This network currently hosts nearly over six-thousand pre-approved MCCYN providers.

A call with the Enhanced Referral Specialist will connect families and providers and include consumer education, eligibility screening, and information about available child care subsidies to provide help for military families.

Army Military Child Care Fee Assistance

Child Care Aware created the Army Child Care Fee Assistance program to provide Reserve and Active-Duty personnel assistance with finding military child care.  We help locate, select, and offset the cost of civilian child care when on-base child care is unavailable or a viable option for the service member and their military family.

To be eligible, you must fit into one of the following categories:

  • Active Duty/Deployed Active Duty
  •  Guard/Reserve activated under Title 10 or Title 32 Federal orders
  • Guard/Reserve activated deployed under Title 10 or Title 32 Federal orders
  • Army Civilians
  • Guard Technicians/Reserve Technicians

How Does Child Care Aware Calculate Subsidy Amounts for Army Military Families?

We authorize subsidy amounts based on your Total Family Income TFI) for those who are eligible and supply monthly payments directly to the prospective child care provider.

The subsidy amount is the difference between what the Sponsor would pay for on-post child care and the off-base child care provider’s rate, up to a provider rate cap of $1500 per child per month.

The Army sponsor will be responsible for the DoD-established parent fees that sponsors pay on post and any amount over the provider rate cap of $1500.

Minimum Schooling Requirements for Army Military Child Care Assistance

To receive help for military families as a member of the Army, non-school-age children must enroll for a minimum of 16 hours per week of care.  School-age children must register for a minimum of 6 hours per week of care during the school year and 16 hours per week during summer break.

Help for military families with members serving in the army, does not cover drop-in care for non-school-aged or school-aged children on breaks except for summer; subsidies will not cover winter and spring break, holidays, and snow days.

If you’re an Army military family looking to receive financial assistance for off-base child care, please follow the instructions from the Child Care Aware of America website.

Navy Military Child Care Fee Assistance

Administration of Navy Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) Fee Assistance program is transitioning from Child Care Aware of America to Navy Child and Youth Programs (CYP), becoming effective on October 1, 2022.

Help for military families with members serving in the US Navy, will now be overseen entirely by Navy CYP, handling new enrollments, annual renewals, and monthly fee assistance payments to participating child care providers.

The Navy CYP MCCYN Fee Assistance Team will contact each participating military family with further information on the transition process and timelines.

If you have questions regarding this transition, please review the Navy MCCYN Transition Frequently Asked Questions.

For men and women in the Navy seeking out help for military families or determining if you live in a suitable location, please visit the MCC website to submit a request.

Air Force Military Child Care

Child Care Aware of America administers the Department of the Air Force child care fee assistance program.   This program is for children aged 0-12 years.

To receive help for military families through the Department of the Air Force, Sponsors who are eligible to participate in MCCYN must select a military child care provider who meets the following criteria:

  • Has a state child care license
  • Has an inspection report dated within the last 12 months
  • Has a completed the provider fee assistance application
  • Has an acceptable employee background check for all staff
  • Has met the requirements for accreditation through one of the approved national accreditation agencies.

Applying for Assistance through the MCCYN Program

The following steps outline how to request to participate in the Department of the Air Force Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) program to receive community child care fee assistance:

  1. Create a Profile on MilitaryChildCare.com
    All Department of the Air Force Active-Duty, Guard or Reserve Active Duty, or Dual Status Reserve Technician Sponsors* interested in participating in the MCCYN program, which offers help for military families, must create a household profile on MilitaryChildCare.com.
    Please note, If you are a Dual Status Reserve Technician, you must select “DoD Civilian” when selecting your Sponsor’s type when completing your household profile on militarychildcare.com.  You will have the option to indicate you are a Dual status Reserve Technician when searching for military child care.
    If you do not complete this step, you cannot request the Department of the Air Force MCCYN program, and your children will not be offered a space.
  2. Make Requests for Care and Fee Assistance
    All Air Force Sponsors living within 15 miles or 20 minutes of an installation Child Development Center (CDC) or Family Child Care (FCC) program must make an active request for care in their household profile created in step one.
    Only after you make this active CDC/FCC request will you be able to make an active community child care fee assistance request for the MCCYN program on militarychildcare.com.
  3. If Extended an Offer in militarychildcare.com – Complete an application
    If you receive the help for military families you applied for, it will be issued through militarychildcare.com.
    The offer email will also provide instructions on how to accept the space and a link to the Child Care Aware of America fee assistance enrollment portal.
    After creating your account in the enrollment portal, you must complete the electronic fee assistance application, upload the required supporting family eligibility documentation, and submit your application through the enrollment portal.

Once your application to receive help for military families is received, along with your supporting documents, Child Care Aware of America will review your documentation and contact you regarding your eligibility and the next steps in the application process.

Marine Corps Military Child Care Fee Assistance Program

To receive the allocated help for military families provided by the Marine Corps Military Child Care Fee Assistance Program, you will follow similar steps to those applying through the Air Force.

First, all those seeking military child care help must create a profile on MilitaryChildCare.com.

If you do not complete this step, you will be unable to request the Marine Corps MCCYN program, and your child will not be offered a space.

After registering through the MCCYN program, you will need to request help for military families for care and fee assistance.

After you have made an active CDC/FCC request (as outlined in the previous section), you will then be able to make an active request for the Marine Corps MCCYN program for child care assistance on militarychildcare.com.

Once you receive your offer for help for military families, it will be issued through Militarychildcare.com.  The email you receive will include instructions on accepting the space and a link to the Child Care Aware of America fee enrollment portal.

For more information on receiving Marine Military child care, please visit the CCAoA website to learn about all required supporting documentation, eligible providers, and more.

Help for Military Families Seeking Off-Base Military Child Care in Missouri

To surmise, attaining help for military families requiring off-base child care options is possible through Child Care Aware® of Missouri.

Please note that the military/DoD fee assistance program is unavailable through the Child Care Aware® of Missouri website’s live chat feature.

To request a chat with a fee assistance specialist:

If you have not yet started or applied:  Please visit the fee assistance website to find the online application for your branch of service.  Once on the login page, click on “New Families.” Look for the “Chat Now” option at the top-right corner.

If you have started an application or applied: Log into your online application, which can be in the application/login portal on the Fee Assistance website.  Look for the “Chat Now” button in the top right-hand corner.

Alternatively, feel free to contact us, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am until 7:00 pm, Eastern Time, at 1-800-424-2246

CDA Child Care Assistance for Future Child Development Associates

cda child care assistance

The decision to begin preparing to obtain your CDA Child care certification can be a massive undertaking.  Locating CDA Child care assistance to help you learn what you’ll need to know, explain the process, and help with the cost can add to the stress.  

Child Care Aware® of Missouri encourages the childcare educators of tomorrow to obtain CDA child care certification, as it is a nationally recognized credential and one of the first formal steps in a career in early childhood education.  

Since obtaining your CDA child care certification comprises multiple steps, including an exam, an observation, and a professional portfolio, Child Care Aware® of Missouri provides CDA child care assistance for future childcare development associates.  

We have compiled this resource to help you during the process and to “lighten the load” completing your CDA certification.  We will dive into what is involved in the CDA Scholarship Project, how to apply, and what other criteria are required to obtain your CDA child care certification. 

Why Obtain Your CDA Child Care Certification? 

The Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential is nationally recognized as a professional credential administered by the Council for Professional Recognition.  

The CDA is the most widely recognized credential in early childhood education (ECE) and is a vital piece of the puzzle when attempting to advance your career in ECE.  

The CDA is based on a core set of competency standards that help guide child care professionals as they work toward becoming a teacher of young children.  

CDAs understand how to put CDA Competency Standards into practice while also understanding the “why” of how those standards can help children successfully move from one developmental stage to another.  

Earning your CDA enhances and advances your career and comes with many benefits, such as increasing your confidence, providing a more comprehensive range of employment opportunities, and personally and professionally empowering you.

CDA Child Care Assistance for Your Application

The first step in obtaining your CDA child care certification is to determine eligibility and submit your application.  If you’re looking for CDA child care assistance from the CDA Scholarship Project, the first thing you’ll need to decide is if you want to earn your CDA child care certification through clock hours or college credit hours.  

Earning Your CDA Child Care Certification Through Clock Hours

To complete your CDA via clock hours, you must: 

  • Work in a licensed, license-exempt child care program or as a “six or fewer” provider.
  • Work in a child care program that accepts DSS Subsidy
  • Work a minimum of 15 hours per week at the child care program
  • Work at least one month at the child care program

If you fit these criteria, you can apply using clock hours by enrolling today through CCAMO. 

If you want to complete your CDA utilizing college credit hours, you must apply via T.E.A.C.H. Missouri Website.  You must meet the following criteria for eligibility into the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri CDA child care assistance scholarship program: 

  • Work in a licensed child care program in Missouri
  • Work in a child care program registered to accept child care subsidies. 
  • Work directly with children birth-5 years old. 
  • Work at least 25 hours per week. 
  • Worked at the child care program for at least three consecutive months.
  • Make less than $20/hour as an educator or $25/hour as a director or owner. 
  • Want to earn a CDA in an infant/toddler, preschool, or family child care setting. 

CDA Child care Assistance for Your Examination

The first step in obtaining your CDA child care certification is your exam.  This test has 65 multiple-choice questions taken on a computer at your local testing center. 

There are various options for attaining CDA child care assistance for your examination, such as courses and workshops. Still, we will discuss just a few things you should know to prepare for your CDA child care certification exam to get you started.

Top Three Things to be aware of for Your CDA Child Care Examination

  • Process of Elimination: Since the test has all multiple-choice questions, it’s beneficial to practice automatically eliminating any options that do not fit the scenario, leaving you with only answers that are potentially in the running.  Not only will this automatically help you feel more confident about each question, but it will also improve your chances of answering the question correctly.
  • How Questions Will be Asked: The questions on your CDA child care exam will mostly be situational. Situational questions mean that you must pick the answer selection that most closely matches how you would respond in a specific situation.  
  • Practice Tests: The only way to get accustomed to the types of questions on the exam is to study using practice tests.  Remember, practice tests are not the actual questions on your exam but are formatted to be very similar.  With most questions being situational, and all of the questions being multiple-choice, preparing with a practice test is an excellent idea. 

CDA Child Care Assistance for Your Observation

During your verification visit, the professional development (PD) specialist you have selected will come to your place of work for approximately 4 hours.  

Your professional development specialist is responsible for completing the CDA verification visit, reviewing your documentation, observing you as your work with the children, and conducting a reflective dialogue with you.  After their observation, they will electronically submit your scores to the Council. 

The PD specialist will spend the first hour reviewing your portfolio, followed by a 2-hour observation period of you in the classroom, ending with about an hour-long conversation going over the professional development specialist’s feedback. 

The most comforting part of the verification process is that you will know when your observation is taking place, allowing you to prepare for it ahead of time.  

Knowing when the verification meeting is means you can tailor your lesson plans to align with what your PD specialist is looking for.  

You can locate the information regarding what your PD specialist will consider in the back of your competency standards booklet.  

The PD specialist uses those exact pages to guide their observations, so don’t forget to check those pages and plan your day around what the specialist is planning to see. 

You can locate more information on CDA child care assistance for your verification visit and information on the rest of the application process by visiting the Council for Professional Recognition’s CDA FAQ page. 

Most importantly, try not to look at the PD specialist as someone you should be fear.  These specialists are here to give you CDA childcare assistance to help you become the best early childhood educator you can be, and you should try to view them as the wealth of knowledge they are.

CDA Child care Assistance for Your Portfolio

It’s critical to ensure that the portfolio element of your CDA application accurately reflects you and your teaching style.  It’s crucial to ensure your portfolio is accurate because it may not be possible to be in a room you’re familiar with for your observation. 

The switching of rooms creates a dilemma.  Part of your CDA application that the PD specialist considers is the environment – is it clean?  Are toys away?  Are books age-appropriate?  When you’re in a room that is not your own, it may be out of your control to change these things.  

Ensuring that your portfolio accurately represents how you manage, maintain, and run your classroom is vital to giving the PD specialist a well-rounded view of who you are as an early childhood educator.  An accurate portrayal of you as an educator will help them feel more confident in approving your CDA child care certification.  

When looking for CDA child care assistance in building your portfolio, Google can be a wealth of knowledge.  There are videos, courses, and other top content that will walk you through the intricacies of completing your CDA portfolio.

CDA Child care Assistance for Payment

In addition to needing assistance in completing the CDA child care certification process, from exam to your portfolio, Child Care Aware® of Missouri also realizes the need for financial CDA child care assistance.  It’s for this reason that multiple scholarship opportunities are available for those hoping to obtain their CDA.  

Child Care Aware® of Missouri CDA Project

Child Care Aware® of Missouri CDA Project helps child care educators through the CDA credentialing process, pays the candidates’ application fee, and gives potential CDAs money for earning their CDA credential.  

Additionally, we provide help finding clock-hour workshops if the candidate finds themselves in need of training hours.

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Missouri Scholarship Models

Child Care Aware® of Missouri administers T.E.A.C.H. Missouri, which offers a CDA scholarship and Entry Associate Degree Scholarship.  Eligible candidates must be enrolled in an approved Missouri 2-year college.  

If the candidate meets this requirement, T.E.A.C.H. Missouri will pay 90% of tuition and books and 100% of qualifying college fees.  

Resources Round-up: Where to Look for Help in Obtaining Your CDA Child Care Certification 

When looking for further CDA child care assistance on your journey to becoming a CDA, the Council for Professional Recognition’s website can be an excellent source of help.  

There, you will find other programs, resources, and organizations offering CDA childcare assistance to prospective child development associates.

If you want further information on how to receive CDA child care assistance financially, look no further than Child Care Aware® of Missouri’s website.  

Here we explain the differences between the different types of CDA’s and go into detail on how you can get more information on scholarships and funding. 

Lastly, we recommend the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri website for your research in attaining CDA child care assistance.  T.E.A.C.H. details on how to apply for your CDA child care certification, what the criteria are to enroll, and the steps you must take after acceptance to be granted your CDA child care certification. 

While it may be a bit confusing initially, after reading through the literature and websites recommended in this article, it should seem far more straightforward.  If you need further assistance deciding how to start your CDA, you can contact the ECE Council from Monday through Friday, 8 am to 7 pm EST.   

In Closing – Deciding to Go After Your CDA Child Care Certification

If you’re reading this article, you’re likely looking to enhance your early childhood education career and set yourself up for an abundant future in childhood education. In that case, there are many resources to give you the CDA child care assistance you require for your CDA child care certification. 

A CDA-certified early childhood educator is far more likely to excel in their career and, more importantly, become an educator who helps their students in the most effective ways possible. 

Additionally, your CDA will help to increase your confidence as a teacher, resulting in better outcomes. After completing your CDA credentialing process, you will better understand what is developmentally applicable for each student under your care.  

When we have teachers and caregivers who are intent on each student’s success, the result is children who believe in themselves and can excel in their studies.  

If you have more questions on receiving your CDA or steps about how you can receive CDA childcare assistance, please visit the Child Care Aware® of Missouri website.   There you will find an abundance of articles and resources that discuss the CDA credentialing process from start to finish. 

Questions to Ask a Daycare Provider Before Deciding on Where to Enroll Your Child

questions to ask daycare provider

The decision to enroll your child in daycare is often one fraught with questions, uncertainty, and second-guesses.  Especially for first-time parents, leaving your child under the care of someone else can be one of the most nerve-wracking decisions you will ever make. When it comes to entrusting a team of people you do not know to care for your child, knowing what questions to ask a daycare provider is critical to ensuring your own peace of mind.  That is why so many people schedule daycare interviews, where they can see the facility, meet the teachers, and get a feel for the underlying principles of the facility. 

You want to find a suitable childcare establishment that closely aligns with your parenting philosophies and discipline approaches, not only to ease your own stress but so that the chosen daycare facility will feel like a home away from home for your child. 

A List of Questions for Daycare Providers to Help Alleviate Parental Concerns 

This list is geared to help parents and caregivers overcome the fear of their child enrolling in daycare and instead help them to allow this new chapter in their child’s life to be a fun, exciting, and, most importantly, safe transition.  

Asking these questions during your childcare center interview will help alleviate your concerns regarding the staff, teachers, instructors, and anyone else who may be encountering your child on a day-to-day basis. 

After reading this article, you should understand what questions to ask a daycare provider, how to pose the questions and how to follow those questions up to ensure you’re getting the most valuable feedback from daycare interview questions possible.  

Questions to Ask Daycare Providers Part 1: Education and Training 

One of the first questions you should always pose to any child care facility is what certification and background checks have been performed on the staff, and what education has the child care educator received?

Additional questions to ask daycare providers regarding education and the training of child care staff include: 

  1. Does the child care educator have special training or credentials?

    Does the child care facility employ care providers specializing in any field, such as working with preschoolers or infant and toddler development?

  2. What education and experience do the child care educators have?

    Are all child care providers required to have a CDA?  An associate degree? Any other type of post-high school training?

  3. What yearly training do child care educators receive?

    Does the child care center require their staff to maintain their certifications and stay up to date and in good standing with the state?

  4. Does the child care educator have CPR/First Aid certifications?

    Are all staff required to hold a CPR/First Aid certification from an accredited body such as the American Heart Association?

Understanding the level of training that the child care education staff at your chosen child care facility has received is essential since it lets you know if those educators are keeping up with the most up-to-date information, standards, and education best practices, resulting in the best experience for your child.

Questions to Ask Daycare Providers Part 2: Health and Safety 

During your interview, it can be challenging to remember all the questions to ask a daycare provider, especially regarding health and safety. 

Many parents may not even be aware of many facets a childcare center’s health and safety protocols must include.  

We recommend you utilize the complete list of questions to ask a daycare provider we have on our website, print it out, and bring it with you.  

Some of the top daycare interview questions regarding health and safety include: 

  1. During an emergency, what plans are in place?  How will I be reunified with my child?

    A thought no parent ever wants to have – but a question interview question worth asking, nonetheless.  What is the child care center’s plan to reunite children with their families in a catastrophic emergency?

  2. What is the program’s policy on administering medication?

    Is a registered nurse on staff to ensure proper medication dosing?  If not, who will oversee ensuring your child receives their medication in an appropriate and timely manner?

  3. Is the adult-to-child ratio appropriate for the number of ages of children in your care?

    The Department of Health and Senior Services determines the allowed capacity according to the physical space of the facility and the qualifications of the director, but centers must still maintain certain required staff-to-child ratios:
    1:4 for kids from birth to 2 years old (with no more than eight kids)
    1:8 for 2-year-olds (and no more than 16 total), 1:10 for 3- to 5-year-olds (with no cap on group size)
    1:16 kids ages 5 and older (with no maximum group size).
    Mixed-age groups must comply with more specific ratios, which may be found on the state’s official licensing rules for child care centers.

  4. Are the children’s hands washed before and/or after meal time, using the restroom, playing outside, messy play, etc.?

    What regular everyday cleanliness protocols do they have in place for the children?

  5. What is the program’s sick child policy?

    An important question to ask a childcare provider. You will want to see if you will be responsible for paying your child’s daycare fees if they are called out sick, as well as what constitutes a sick day.

  6. Are children ever taken off-site?  How and when would I be notified?  How are children transported?

    If your child is ever taken off-site, you should ensure that your child care provider is giving you ample notice and giving you the option to opt out of the trip.  Some daycares will take smaller trips during the week, especially in an urban environment.  Be sure to ask about what constitutes an “off-site” trip, and if parents are notified during your daycare interview questions. 

  7. What meals and snacks are provided?  Are they included in the Fee?

    Does the child care facility provide snacks or lunches?  If so, is there an option to pack a lunch from home?  Is there an option to select from different meal choices?  

  8. Are meals provided for children with dietary restrictions or allergies?

    Are the same snacks and meals provided to students if they have an allergy, such as a peanut allergy?  Do they keep the facility safe from cross-contamination?

  9. Is there a special space to breastfeed?

    For newer parents with smaller children, or those who have chosen to continue to breastfeed their child for a more extended period, a good question to ask a daycare provider is if they have any special facilities where you can come in and feel comfortable breastfeeding your child.   

  10. Are infants always laid on their back to sleep? What other safe sleep policies do you have?

    Ensuring your daycare facility has healthy child sleep hygiene practices is of the utmost importance.  If you are enrolling an infant or newborn in a childcare facility, ensure this is one of your daycare interview questions. 

  11. Has the child care educator been screened for child abuse and neglect?

    This daycare interview question and its answer should go without saying, but it is still something you should ask during your daycare interview process. You should also check to see the status of the daycare facilities licensure as this will help you answer this question. 

Questions to Ask Daycare Providers Part 3: Relationships and Interactions

When sending your child to a daycare provider, it’s vital to ask daycare interview questions to determine if the facility aligns with your parenting values and philosophies.  

To ascertain if the facility will be a good fit for your own unique parenting style, a few questions to ask a daycare provider are: 

  1. How do caregivers handle discipline or behavioral problems? For instance, how are biting, hitting, or bullying situations handled?

    Making sure that the daycare provider you choose to send your child to also handles disciplinary situations like you and your family do is helpful for multiple reasons.  One of the biggest reasons for this is to ensure continuity in your child’s care, so they are not becoming confused over what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Also, this will help ensure your child is comfortable with the disciplinary style of the child care center.  Make sure you do not skip over this daycare interview question.

  2. How do caregivers communicate with families?

    Should you check for letters in their school bag?  Will you receive texts? Emails?  It’s always a good idea to include this as one of the questions to ask a daycare provider. 

  3. How does the school show respect for the home values and culture of each family?

    The United States is a melting pot, and Missouri is no different than the rest of the country. This is a daycare interview question you should not overlook, as your child care facility being supportive and respectful of everyone’s culture and upbringing is of the utmost importance. 

  4. How are children comforted when upset?

    Making sure there is a shoulder for your child to cry on when needed, and that there is an air of comfortability and understanding on the end of the child care staff is incredibly important for your child’s emotional well-being. 

Questions to Ask Daycare Providers Part 4: Activities and Experiences

Much like the other sections of this guide, questions regarding activities and experiences at the child care facility primarily ensure that the facility’s guidelines align with your parenting style as closely as possible.  

  1. What is a typical day like?

    How are the days structured? What types of learning activities are focused on? Is there nap time? If so, at what time? So on and so forth. You want to find a daycare that doesn’t stray too far from the current daily regimen you implement at home.

  2. How much time do children get to play outside?

    Outside time is important to child development.  Ensure that the child care facility that you’re interviewing prioritizes children getting outdoors. 

  3. How much screen time is typical each day?

    Every family has a slightly different approach to screentime, but in the context of school, screentime should be learning-oriented and not used as a replacement for quality child care educators. 

  4. How are toys, materials and activities chosen and planned for?

    How do they rotate the learning and play times?  Do they include fun in the curriculum?  How do they make it fair so that all children are included and get a fair chance to try things?

Questions to Ask Daycare Providers Part 5: General Daycare Interview Questions

We have already discussed many questions directly relating to your child and their care at the daycare facility.  The questions in this section should likely be asked before to deciding to continue with your daycare interview or not, as these questions have to do with access to your child, payments, waitlists, and classroom setups. 

Some of the top general questions you may want to ask during your interview process are as follows: 

  1. Is there an opening at the time I will need it?  Is there a waitlist for the care in the future?

    One of the first daycare interview questions you should ask. If you need to get your child into a daycare facility in a week, it will not help to fall in love with a childcare facility that is on a 3-month waitlist when you’re ready to enroll. Get this question out of the way before moving down the list. 

  2. Does the program have written policies for discipline, payment, and attendance?

    Most child care facilities will have some type of formal policy regarding discipline, payment, and attendance.  You should ask for a copy of all these policies and familiarize yourself with them so you can add gray areas to your daycare interview questions.

  3. If split into classrooms, which group would my child be in?

    Also, why that decision would be made. Are children split by age, level of development, or some other factor? 

  4. Can I visit my child at any time?

    This question is especially critical for nursing mothers. Asking if you can visit your child at any time during their time at the facility is crucial. If they tell you that you may not, you should follow up with a daycare interview question that probes into the “why” of that rule. 

  5. Does the program provide daily reports?

    If not daily, weekly, or monthly reports?  The question you want to ask the daycare provider is how you will be updated on your child’s progress, anything they may need additional help with, or any behavioral issues that are being noticed. 

  6. Does the program have live video feeds or a security system?

    The decision to enroll your child in daycare is one often fraught with questions and uncertainty. In this article we give you a complete list of questions to ask a daycare provider to find a suitable childcare establishment that closely aligns with your parenting philosophies.

Finalizing Your Daycare Interview Question List 

You can take this list of questions to ask daycare providers and make it your own. 

If something on this list doesn’t seem a good fit for your unique family situation, please change it, remove it, and/or add your own individual daycare interview questions.

When interviewing a daycare facility that you’re considering enrolling your child in, remember that you cannot ask too many questions. The daycare facility manager and teachers should be understanding of this and be happy to ask any and all daycare interview questions you may pose.   

Entering your child into a daycare program can be a difficult undertaking for any parent.  At Child Care Aware® of Missouri, we’re here to help families every step along the way.  For more information, please contact us at any time or visit our website for more information on preparing for your daycare interview. 

How to Enroll for Child Care Classes Online as a Missouri Provider

Child care classes

Whether you’re an aspiring daycare teacher, or if you’re a well-established childcare educator moving in from out of state, it’s imperative for you to know how the process of completing your annual clock hours works from start to finish.  You may be wondering: 

“Are there free child care training classes? “ 

“Are child care classes online offered?”

“How do I register for these continuing education programs?”

We have all the answers you’re looking for.  Let us help you connect the dots and make your next year of professional development easier. 

Registering to Obtain Your Missouri Professional Development Identification (MOPD)

Nothing is worse than realizing you still have all your clock hours to complete at the last moment, so we will walk you through how Child Care Aware® of Missouri works alongside other Missouri education commissions to enable the continuing education of Missouri state child care providers. 

Missouri requires providers obtain a Missouri Professional Development Identification (MOPD ID) through the Opportunities in a Professional Education Network (OPEN). This ID is then used to track attendance and completion of trainings that are approved for DESO (Department of Elementary & Secondary Education) licensure clock hours.  This data remains stored by OPEN in the Missouri Professional Development Registry.  

Child Care Aware® of Missouri, OPEN and DESE work together to maintain the Missouri Professional Development System, here’s a handy graphic to help explain the entire system to you in a more digestible manner, along with contact emails for each sector. 

key functions of the MO professional development system

DESE – Department of Elementary and Secondary Education – Child Care Classes Online and Free Child Care Trainings

The Department of Elementary and Secondary education contracts with Child Care Aware® of Missouri to provide families with child care referrals – in addition to free child care trainings both offered face-to-face and online.  

If you require special assistance in accessing the trainings listed on DESE’s website,  you may submit a request through them for a captioned video or transcript.  

Caregivers working in licensed child care facilities in the State of Missouri are required to receive 12 clock hours of training approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) from January 1 to December 31 each year. 

Please refer to the link above prior to registering for any of DESE’s free child care classes online to ensure you are correctly registered and eligible to receive clock hours for your studies

When registering, ensure you use the correct MOPD ID, as this will allow your clock hours to be sent directly to OPEN. 

After completion of a course at DESE, you can print your certificate at the end of your child care class online, or take a screenshot, and keep it for your personal records.  

National and Out of State Conferences Approved by OPEN

National conference and out-of-state trainings which are approved for clock hour credit can be found on DESE’s website.  

Although these paid and free child care training have been approved for clock credit hours, you must still follow the instructions at the top of the sheet carefully for your clock hours to be recorded in OPEN. 

For your clock hours to be recorded in your toolbox, you must: 

  • Email, Mail or Fax documentation of completion to OPEN for entry into the individual’s record. 
  • OPEN staff will enter data within 30 calendar days of receipt. 
  • Email to: [email protected]
  • Mail:   1400 Rock Quarry Road, Suite Q108

Colombia, MO 65211-3280

  • Fax: 573-884-4627

The Missouri Workshop Calendar – A Fantastic Resource for Paid and Free Child Care Training Classes 

As you can see from the diagram above, Child Care Aware® of Missouri administers the web-based Missouri Workshop Calendar.  This calendar lists out all child care classes online, both in real-time and on-demand, as well as in-person classes and free child care training classes. 

All the class options are approved for Missouri clock hours, making it easy for you to select the child care training class that is right for you.  

All scheduled child care classes online and in-person listed on the calendar include a training description, the number of clock hours offered, the location, and registration, to help make the choice of which training to take simpler and easier for Missouri providers. 

When registering for child care classes online from the Missouri Workshop Calendar, be sure to have your MOPD ID at hand.  You will need to provide this during the registration process to receive your credit for completing the assigned clock hours for that program.  

As an aside, please be advised that providers who do not require clock hours must still enter their MOPD ID to receive credit for the training. 

You can find additional information regarding child care provider training requirements by visiting the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s website’s FAQ page.  

Does Child Care Aware Offer Free Child Care Training Classes?

Child Care Aware® of Missouri offers a wide array of child care classes online as well as in-person trainings across the state.  

If you are ready to register for a training, please download your Training Registration Form HERE.  Print and complete your form.  Scan and email your completed forms to

[email protected] 

Alternatively, you can mail your completed training registration forms to: 

Child Care Aware® of Missouri

1000 Executive Parkway Drive, Suite 103

St. Louis, MO 63141

To find out more about sessions that are offered by Child Care Aware® of Missouri, click on the link below. 

Basic Knowledge Curriculum – Early Childhood (BKC EC)

This course is 10 sessions long, and is broken out into the following subject matter:

  1. Positive Interactions with Children
  2. Child Safety & Routine Care
  3. Safe Environments
  4. Guiding Children’s Behavior
  5. Playing with a Purpose
  6. Routines, Rituals and Schedules
  7. Emergency Planning 

Basic Knowledge Curriculum – Infant/Toddler (BKC IT)

This course is 4 sessions long and is broken out into the following subject matter: 

  1. Developmentally Appropriate Practice for Infants and Toddlers
  2. Preventing the Abuse and Neglect of Infants and Toddlers
  3. What Infants and Toddlers are Telling Us 
  4. Supporting the Development and Well-Being of Infants and Toddlers

Social and Emotional Foundations for Learning (SEFL)

This course is 6 sessions long and is broken out into the following subject matter: 

  1. Relationships are Key
  2. Building Emotional Well-being and Social Competence in Children
  3. Strong Families, Strong Children
  4. Creating a Socially and Emotionally Aware Classroom
  5. Strategies for Teaching Social and Emotional Skills
  6. The Importance of Self-Care

Supervision of Children

This course is comprised of one in-depth session on the supervision of children, where six strategies for Active Supervision in various childcare settings will be laid out, as well as making child care professionals familiar with the SPECTRUM Alert, a procedure for reducing the risk of child elopement in a child with autism. 

Training Requirements for Child Care Facilities 

The amount of training required depends on the type of licensure you have.  These requirements are broken down on the DESE website by facility type, options being either “Licensed,” “License-exempt,” and “6 or fewer.” 

All the training requirements are for child care centers that receive federal child care subsidy payments.  To continue to receive these payments, you must attend specific child care classes online, as outlined by the size of your facility.  

This requirement aims to ensure children are receiving safer and more family-friendly care.  

Licensed Child Care Facility Requirements

Initial Training Requirements for Licensed Child Care Facilities 

  1. “Child Care Subsidy Orientation” This training is only required to be completed once.  Only one staff member is required to take this training, that being either the director or the facility’s owner.  Approved options for completing this training include free child care training online at https://apps.dss.mo.gov/childcareorientation/; alternatively, Educare also offers this as free in-person training.  To learn more about the Educare provider covering your county, you may visit https://dss.mo.gov/cd/child-care/child-care-providers/educare.htm.
  2. CCDF Health and Safety Training” is another child care class online that you must only complete once.  Approved options to complete this free child care training are to take the training for free online at https://apps.dss.mo.gov/cdtraining/ or by accessing a free in-person class through Educare by clicking the link above and looking for the Educare provider who covers your county.
  3. “Pediatric First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)” This training must be kept current, as it will expire every two years.  First Aid/CPR training is only accepted from the following national models:
    • American Academy of Pediatrics PedFACTS
    • American Heart Association
    • EMS Safety
    • Emergency Care and Safety Institute
    • American Trauma Event Management (ATEM)
    • American Red Cross
    • American Safety and Health Institute
    • National Safety Council
    • ProTrainings

To complete your first aid/CPR training, you have a few options.  You may either enroll through the Missouri Workshop Calendar or pay to have training conducted by a trainer who offers certificates from one of the national models listed above. 

You will need to email your certificate to [email protected].  Alternatively, you may contact your local health department, as they may offer a free pediatric first aid/CPR certification option.

Please be advised that CPR child care classes online are not allowed.   All First Aid/CPR training must be taken in-person and obtain a certification from the approved model. 

License-Exempt Child Care Facility Requirements 

Initial Training Requirements for License-Exempt Child Care Facilities

The required training for license-exempt child care facilities are much the same as for licensed facilities.  

  1. You must complete your “Child Care Subsidy Orientation” free child care training, though it is only required that one staff member, an owner, or a director, complete this.  
  2. Secondly, you will be required to complete the “CCDF Health and Safety Training”, which is another child care class online, or in-person. 
  3. Lastly, you must take your Pediatric First Aid and CPR course, which must be kept current, and received through a national accrediting body as listed out above. 

Though exemptions to the annual training requirements exist for renewing providers, we suggest that you review these requirements directly to see if you qualify for any of these exemptions. 

Requirements for Child Care Facilities with 6 or Fewer Children

Initial Training Requirements for 6 or Fewer 

The training requirements for child care facilities with 6 or fewer children are the same as the above requirements for licensed and license-exempt facilities.  

You are still able to attend free child care training online, and paid child care classes online, if they are through accredited bodies okayed through DESE.  

Safe Sleep Training 

Section 210.223, RSMo, requires that child care facilities licensed to provide care to children less than one (1) year of age complete department-approved training on the recent safe sleep recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) every three years. 

Safe Sleep Training must be on the Toolbox safe sleep training report.  A list of department-approved safe sleep training can be found on the MO Workshop Calendar, under the blue “Safe Sleep” tab.  The safe sleep training is offered both as a free child care training in-person and as a child care class online. 

Staying Up to Date on Your Clock Hour Requirements through DESE, OPEN and Child Care Aware® of Missouri 

Trying to stay up to date on all your clock hour requirements can seem like a daunting task.  That is why Child Care Aware® of Missouri, DESE, and OPEN have created a multitude of continuing education resources for our child care professionals.  

Realizing that you are a busy child care educator, we have designed our program to offer as many free child care training and child care classes online as possible.  Our goal is to keep our teachers and facilitators up to date on the latest in child care safety, growth, and well-being.  This in turn carries over to the care that your children receive while learning at one of our Missouri child care facilities.  

Key Takeaways from this Article 

  1. Be proactive in maintaining your clock hours.  You do not want to get stuck at the last-minute scrambling to attain all your credits. 
  2. Utilize the resources listed on the MO Workshop Calendar, DESE, and other accredited websites as mentioned in this article. 
  3. Register in a timely manner for your child care classes online, and especially for those free child care trainings that are in-person, as they tend to book up quickly. 
  4. Add reminders to your calendars so that you are not at risk of forgetting to sign up for your courses prior to when your clock hours are due. 
  5. Lastly, remember that Child Care Aware® of Missouri, DESE, and OPEN are here with you to assist you, your facility, and the children that you teach receive the highest quality of training and care possible.  

How to Be a Good Child Care Educator

Child Care educators are some of the most important members of our society, as it is their job to give the next generation their start in learning. Most, if not all, child care educators have at one point or another in their lives pondered, “How do I become a good child care educator? The best that I possibly can be?”

It’s no easy task. Young children tend to be rambunctious, “selective” listeners, with enough energy to power the hadron collider. Did we mention that everything is new to them as well? Imagine waking up and discovering everything for the first time – you wouldn’t be able to sit down either! 

That’s where our child care educators come in. We all had that one exceptional teacher who stuck with us throughout our lives, and as child care educators, we strive to become that person to our students.  

However, becoming a good child care educator is an undertaking not for the faint of heart. You need endless amounts of patience and are taking on a boatload of responsibility – but the smiles and hugs from your students tend to make up for all the struggles if you have the right personality traits!  

If you’re looking to get kids excited and primed for learning, you should: 

  • Convey your passion in your tone of voice and body language.
  • Demonstrate the value of their lessons through real-life examples.
  • Encourage student engagement, such as questions and comments.
  • Respond positively to signs of curiosity and interest.

If you’re a child care center looking to hire outstanding candidates, the task may be even more difficult for you. It can be hard to know what to look for when hiring child care educators. Everyone is on best behavior at a job interview, so it’s vital for you to understand how to be a good child care educator to spot it in others from a mile away.  

Today, we will deep dive into our top traits that are critical to have as a child care educator, tips on how to be a good childcare educator, and ways to improve your or your team’s performance. 

We will discuss each attribute and what makes it so important. We will also provide you with examples of how you, or your team, can help lead by example and put these traits to work. 

Our goal is to provide you with a comprehensive list of what you should be looking for in a child care educator that is easily referenceable and distributable to assist you and your child care education staff in continually improving, hiring better-qualified teachers, and making a more positive impact on the next generation. 

How to be a Good Child Care Educator Trait #1: Patience.  Patience.  Patience. 

Did we mention that you’ll need some patience?  

Keeping your cool under pressure is the first step when considering how to be a good child care educator.  

As previously mentioned, kids have unfathomable amounts of energy, may have never been away from their parent or guardian, and overall are going through significant life changes during their early child care education years. 

As a child care educator, it is your job to ensure these children are happy, safe, learning, and thriving – a task that is not for the faint of heart.  

Small children can be impulsive and reactive, making your patience, calm demeanor, and understanding nice to have and necessary in running your classroom. 

Children frequently will also not quite grasp “socially acceptable behavior.” As a child’s educator, it’s up to you to help guide them down a path of coming to terms with their emotions and how to handle them better when they do arise.  

It will be up to you or your child care educator team to handle the chaos calmly while ensuring the children are learning and keeping them on track to becoming more emotionally intelligent, confident young people. 

An example of how you can put this attribute to work is simply being patient yourself. Children learn by imitating us. If you can show restraint while also making patience fun (by including patience “games” or activities), your kids will mimic that behavior back to you.   

How to be a Good Child Care Educator Trait #2: Respect and Inclusivity 

We live in a world where people are free to express who they are openly and without fear of repercussion – and children are not an exception. 

Being an inclusive, respectful teacher is of the utmost importance today. Close-mindedness and repression have no place in the classroom.  

Childhood is when children are first learning about other cultures and lifestyles. This new influx of information can confuse a child who may have grown up only seeing what their household is like.  

It’s necessary that educators understand each child’s needs, challenges, values, abilities, and other nuances to be fair, unbiased, and inclusive of all students. 

A teacher may show by example how to be a good child care educator by taking extra time and effort to give a student with disabilities the same learning, play, and socialization opportunities as the rest of the class.   

How to be a Good Child Care Educator Trait #3: Care and Compassion

We can’t discuss how to be a good child care educator without discussing care and compassion.  Childhood can be a difficult time for many children.  You’re not seen or heard in the way you want or wish you where you do not have the support system you often need outside of your parents, and you often feel misunderstood and invisible. 

It’s critical to be a good listener, a fantastic confidant, and an empathetic, understanding person to be a good child care educator.  It’s essential to show the children a level of care and nurturing that makes them feel comfortable and safe in the classroom. 

Your kids are often looking to you as their main external source of care and compassion outside of their home – and not every child’s home life is happy. This means that children are looking to their teachers to show them how to become caring and compassionate individuals.  

It’s crucial for you to be able to feel compassion for these children’s struggles, no matter how large or small.  

To a child, someone coming up and taking their favorite toy can feel like a colossal predicament, and you as a child care educator need to be able to commiserate with that child’s feelings, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to you as an adult. 

A teacher may lead by example in showing caring and compassion by getting down to the child’s level and listening intently to their concerns while they verbalize what is going wrong.  This type of focus and attention will help the child to feel seen, heard, and cared for.  

How to be a Good Child Care Educator Trait #4: Enthusiasm and a Passion for Learning 

As an early child care educator, it’s your job to give children their first taste of real learning.  Because of this, you need to be able to develop a genuine enthusiasm for your subject. 

This enthusiasm then transfers to your students, making them more likely to be excited about learning. 

When pondering how to be a good child care educator, here are a few things you can put into action to get kids excited about learning and improve student outcomes: 

  • When addressing the children, convey your enthusiasm with your body language and tone of voice.
  • Utilize real-life examples that the children can relate to explain the lesson’s value. 
  • Create a classroom with an air of acceptance and enthusiasm to help encourage children to share and vocalize their questions or concerns. 
  • Respond positively to the children’s curiosity, encouraging them to continue to ask questions and get involved. 

Enthusiastic child care educators motivate students to give their all to their studies.  Scientific studies have shown that teacher motivation strongly correlates to a child’s overall success moving forward in their studies.  

How to be a Good Child Care Educator Trait #5: Organizational Skills 

Organized lesson plans are a must to meet the learning needs of the children in your care and be able to stick to those plans. 

You can immediately tell an organized child care educator’s classroom from an unorganized one.  

An organized child care educator can have a continuously well-run classroom, handle unexpected or unusual situations with the care and attention they deserve, and help teach their students organizational skills that will help them throughout their learning careers. 

To be organized as a child care educator, you must learn to formulate structured plans that can change at a moment’s notice without causing extra stress.  

Ensuring your classroom is well-stocked and carefully crafting lesson plans well ahead of time are just a couple of ways to help you become a more organized child care educator.  

Other organizational skills you can implement that will help you lead by example include: 

  • Move to digital! – Digitating your documents can help you cut down on clutter and organize your mental and physical notes. 
  • Prioritize essential tasks – This is something your kids will pick up on. Get the non-negotiables out of the way first thing every morning. 
  • Have a methodology to track students’ progress against key milestones – If this is not something in place at your learning facility, consider integrating it into your teaching repertoire. 
  • In the same vein as point #2, prioritizing essential tasks, you should also establish a well-thought-out routine for your classroom.  Creating and sticking to a routine in and of itself helps children gain a vital life skill. 

Ensuring your routine is well balanced will help cut down on your overall workload, leaving you more time to focus directly on your students and helping you become a more effective child care educator. 

Child Care Aware® of Missouri Helps You Develop and Realize Your Full Potential as a Child Care Educator 

Child Care Aware® of Missouri is here to help our teachers understand how to be good child care educators.  

We offer a wide array of online and in-person classes that can help you develop the skills necessary for any educator to become the best possible educator they can be.  

The Child Care Aware® of Missouri website offers many learning opportunities for teachers looking to become the best they can be.  

Child Care Aware Program Resources 

For child care programs looking for resources to help them navigate how to open a child care program, better their existing child care program, or be a good child care educator in general, Child Care Aware® of Missouri has you covered. 

We offer an in-depth child care program resources page packed with valuable links, resources, and information. 

It is here you will also find all of the trainings we offer.  We have online on-demand, online, and offline options.  

Starting or Expanding Your Child Care Program

For more in-depth information for child care facility owners looking to open or expand, we offer an entire page filled with beneficial resources to help you complete the process. 

We are here to help you every step of the way. It’s our goal to help the child care educators we entrust our children to each day to become the best educators possible.  

“Show Me Child Care Resources” – A Robust Way to Help Childhood Educators and Facilities

Child Care Aware® of Missouri also offers a more robust, paid option that includes resources, materials, and money-saving opportunities for child care educators called “Show Me Child Care Resources.”  

In this resource, some of the information offered includes: 

  • Family involvement and communication tools
  • Handouts for parents about child development
  • Allows you to link directly to the Missouri Workshop Calendar for clock-hour credit
  • Quick and easily digestible orientation sessions on topics such as hand washing and safety 
  • Customizable forms and templates
  • Professional documents made easy (and fast!)
  • Lesson plan and activity ideas
  • Missouri child care regulations 
  • Medical, dental and vision benefits for employees and their dependents
  • Discounts to popular vendors like Discount School Supply and Staples 
  • Individual staff savings to retailers like Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, Apple, etc. 

If you’re interested in signing up for this multitude of resources that will help you discover how to be a good child care educator, please click the link above for more information.

How Child Care Aware® of Missouri Assists Families with Early Childhood Education Needs

Interviewing daycares is not a task any parent undertakes lightly. It can be a confusing and challenging time for families as they try to decipher between the different types of facilities, payment assistance options, and learning modalities that each facility offers.

Whether you’re looking for a daycare in Ballwin, MO, a St. Louis County daycare, or a child care facility anywhere in the state, we’re here with you to find the perfect early childhood learning center for your child.

We emphasize parental choice and use our referral service to help connect families to the services they need, where they need them, and when they need them. 

Between our on-the-ground community outreach programs and our resource-filled online repository, you are sure to find the information you need to become a smart child care consumer.

Here we will discuss how to find the right daycare for your family using our website and resources. 

Child Care Aware – Who We Are

Child Care Aware® of Missouri is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, a member of the Child Care Aware® of America network. We focus on delivering services that improve the experience and environment of children in their first 2,000 days. 

We work for four main groups throughout the State of Missouri:

  1.       Families
  2.       Child Care Professionals
  3.       Businesses
  4.       Community Stakeholders

Daycares that Work for Families in St. Louis County, Missouri, and Other Municipalities

When it comes to child care, parental choice is of the utmost importance to us. 

We work diligently to connect families to child care via our referral service.

It’s our goal to ensure you can find daycare services in Ballwin, MO, early elementary education in St. Louis County, Missouri, or whatever specific care service you need, where you need it, when you need it.

In this article, we will discuss portions of our resource-rich website that will assist you in your search for the perfect child care facility for your family.

Our Impact on Child Care Programs

Child Care Aware® of Missouri works with child care businesses and daycares in Ballwin, Missouri, as we do throughout the state. We assist them in accessing resources, attaining professional development opportunities, and aid them with additional knowledge to help improve their interaction with, and in turn, the development of, your children. 

Child Care Solutions for the Workforce

We are a leading partner of Missouri’s Child Care Professional Development System. We provide training to the staff at St. Louis County daycares and at child care facilities in all other counties in the state. 

We also manage the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri scholarship program and implement health and wellness practices within the early childhood education setting. 

We are a champion for enhanced professional development, with your child’s best interest as the desired outcome from these trainings.

Child Care Aware® of Missouri is a Collaborative Community Partner

We engage with legislative and business leaders and community stakeholders to help attain the highest quality early education for young children possible. 

Types of Licensures for St. Louis County Daycares

The sheer volume of daycare types alone is enough to make parents want to recoil with fear.  Not to worry, Child Care Aware® of Missouri will help you find the perfect daycare in Ballwin, MO, or any other town or county in the state. 

Licensed Child Care Center

A licensed child care center is a group of more than 20 children who are cared for at a separate facility. Often, this type of center has children grouped in classrooms by age.  

Licensed Group Child Care

These daycares are groups of 11-20 children either in a separate facility or an area separate from the educator’s living quarters.

Licensed Family Child Care Home

A licensed family child care home of up to 10 children, cared for in the child care educator’s own home. 

License-Exempt

A religious organization runs many of these programs. Preschool programs operate no more than 4 hours per day.

Exempt

Exempt status is for summer camps, schools, and day programs, among others. When six or fewer children are cared for in the child care educator’s own home, the program is also exempt. 

The Difference Between Licensed Programs, License-Exempt Programs, and Exempt Daycares in St. Louis County and all of Missouri

It’s great knowing what each type of daycare center is, but what exactly does all this mean?

Let’s briefly walk through the difference between types of licensure for daycares in Ballwin, Missouri, and the rest of the state.

You can also find all licensing reports for all Child Care Aware® of Missouri referrals, including daycares in St. Louis County and daycares in Ballwin, Missouri.

Licensed Programs

These daycares have routine fire, sanitation, and health inspections, ensuring that the daycare in Ballwin, MO, that you find will always be up to snuff.

Licensed programs also require a licensing inspection and are required to follow Missouri’s child care licensing rules that regard ratios, group sizes, and training.

License-Exempt Programs

These daycares in St. Louis County and elsewhere in Missouri have a routine fire, sanitation, and health inspections (learn more here), but they do not require a licensure inspection.

Additionally, they are not required to follow licensing rules as previously discussed, including ratio, group size, and staff training. 

Exempt Programs

These daycares in Ballwin, Missouri, and the rest of the state, do not have a fire, sanitation, or health inspections overseen by the state. They do not have licensing inspections typically not included in the Child Care Aware databases. 

You will only see Exempt Programs listed in our database if they have met Child Care Aware® of Missouri’s listing standards, including health and safety certification, agreement to use safe sleep practices, and a Family Care Safety Registry background check. 

How Child Care Aware® of Missouri Can Assist You in Finding Quality Daycare in St. Louis County

Finding affordable, reputable child care is a daunting task for any parent or guardian. Ensuring that our children are in safe, capable hands while you are not with them is of the utmost importance. 

Child Care Aware® of Missouri is here to help. We have positively impacted over 10,000 families, 8,000 early childhood educators, and 138,000 children in 2020 alone, making us a distinguished member of Missouri’s early childhood education sector.  

From locating a suitable daycare in St. Louis County to finding resources to assist with payment to questions to ask potential daycares, Child Care Aware® of Missouri has you covered from start to finish.

Resources Child Care Aware® of Missouri Offers

When you navigate our website, you can see how many resource options we offer for finding a daycare in Ballwin, Mo., St. Louis County, or in the entire state of Missouri itself.

In addition to the navigation feature, which we will discuss shortly, we offer a robust online resource center to answer any questions you may have, day or night. 

Child Care Terms

To make an intelligent decision on the right daycare in Ballwin, Missouri, or any other town in Missouri, for your family, you need to know what each daycare offers and what those specific offerings mean. 

We offer users a glossary of sorts on this portion of the site to help parents and caregivers understand the difference between licensure types, child care payment assistance information, child care types, and much more.

If you need to understand what a specific St. Louis County daycare or child care facility anywhere in the state offers but are unsure of the technical jargon, this is where you should check first. 

Child Care Financial Assistance

We include various financial assistance options that you can select from and see if you qualify for, along with the description of each type of assistance option and what it entails. 

You can also click the link to follow and complete your application to see if you qualify.

There is also a link here to reach your D.S.S. Profile Access and links to Military Family Resources and State Payment Assistance.

For example, if you find a daycare in Ballwin, MO, that you’ve fallen in love with but are unsure how to swing the payments, start here first.

Community Resources

Search by category or county, or both! Locate early child care resources, basic essentials, family resources, and more. Start here if you’re new to the area and looking to understand the ins and outs of daycares in St. Louis County, Missouri. 

Explaining Financial Assistance for Daycares in St. Louis County, Missouri

It’s no secret that finding a good daycare in Ballwin, Missouri, or any other town or city in the country is at an all-time high right now. The good news is that Child Care Aware® of Missouri is here to help you understand your financial options.

Parents are often faced with a double-edged sword when it comes to child care. You need to work, so you need to send your child to a daycare, but at the same time, most of your paycheck goes towards those services each week.

Let’s explain what financial options exist and how to determine your eligibility.

  1.     Subsidy

The Missouri Subsidy Assistance System works with Missouri families across the State to help them afford child care. Eligibility is dependent upon family size and income.  Learn more about subsidy assistance in Missouri here.

2.      Sliding Scale

A sliding scale system is utilized within the subsidy system to determine the expense families will pay for St. Louis County daycare (or whichever municipality you reside in), based on family size and income.

3.      Copayment

The Copayment (or co-pay) is the remaining cost of care due to the parents or guardians after subsidy payment and sliding fees are applied. This method of financial assistance is similar to how your co-pay at a doctor’s office works after your insurance pays its portion.

4.      Multi-Child Discount

Not all daycares and child care programs offer a multi-child discount. Still, some daycares in Ballwin, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, and other municipalities will offer a discount for enrolling more than one child — so it’s always worth it to ask!

5.      Income-Based Payment

Some daycares in St. Louis County, Missouri, and elsewhere charge families based on their income. In this method, the individual daycare works with families to determine what they can pay based on income.

6.      Scholarships

Some child care programs have the funding to offer scholarships to children. Eligibility is based on the individual daycare or child care program.

7.      Military Family Resources

For St. Louis County daycares and other counties in the state, there are financial options available to military families and programs to assist children and families of active-duty members and veterans. To learn more about this resource, please call us at 1-800-424-2246 or email us at [email protected].

8.      State Payment Assistance

Visit the Missouri Department of Social Services to check your family’s eligibility and/or apply for financial assistance for daycare in Ballwin, Missouri, daycares in St. Louis County, Missouri, or any other daycare facility that suits your family’s needs.

9.      DSS Profile Access

Click HERE to access your DSS Profile. You can check your subsidy application and case status through this link, update a DVN, and make all other changes to your account. 

Making a Difference in the Early Childhood of Missouri’s Next Generation

Child Care Aware® of Missouri has a special responsibility. We are tasked with educating and building awareness in families, educators, community stakeholders, and local businesses about early childhood learning and best practices. 

For the year 2022, we have four main focus areas for our advocacy which we will briefly discuss below. We encourage parents and guardians of children in daycares in St. Louis County, Missouri, daycares in Ballwin, Missouri, or daycares anywhere else in this great state to learn more about our child care ambassador program!

1.      To Assist Families and Educators in Advocating on Their Own Behalf

We want to spread knowledge to families across the State of Missouri that gives them the power to speak up for themselves when they know something isn’t right. We offer access to our advocacy toolkit, which helps your understanding of what we are speaking up for.

2.      To Engage and Mobilize Key Legislators Who Will Champion Affordable and Accessible Child Care for Families and a Significant Wage Increase for Educators

Our aim here is to advocate for increasing access to early care and education for parents and children. Another key goal is to inform key legislators and policymakers on the importance of increasing workforce compensation and increasing the capacity of daycares in Ballwin, MO, and all other regions of the State. Lastly, we aim to highlight policies and processes to ease the financial burden of child care on families.

3.      To Reduce the Stigma Associated with the Early Childhood Profession

We plan to create and sustain access for early childhood educators to higher education through the T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI scholarship program and the C.D.A. scholarship program. 

Secondly, we aim to maintain the involvement of decision-makers by elevating the public profile of the child care workforce and wage compensation by disseminating information on the achievements of the early childhood workforce.

4.      To Support the Early Social and Emotional Development of Young Children

We plan to attain this goal by advocating for ongoing financial support and access to higher education and training regarding child safety, health, and well-being.

To address trauma and crisis, we will also increase the awareness of the need for social support networks for children, families, and educators in daycares in St. Louis County, Missouri, and the remainder of the state.

Lastly, we plan to advocate for the physical, social, and emotional well-being of children while under the supervision of child care educators.

Further Information or Assistance in Locating the Perfect Daycare in Ballwin, MO, St. Louis County, MO, or any other Location in the State

Child Care Aware® of Missouri is always available to families for anything they need assistance with.

If you’d like to find more information on our events or donate to Child Care Aware® of Missouri, you can find more information here.

We genuinely hope this article has helped shed some light on the multiple ways Child Care Aware® of Missouri assists families in finding suitable daycare in St. Louis County, Missouri and Ballwin, Missouri. We also hope this has helped you know you’re not in this search alone.

We are here to help you every step of the way. We encourage you to take a look through the links included in this article and our website. For more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time, and one of our knowledgeable team members will return your message as soon as possible.

The Importance of Child Care In America

daycare in kansas city moThe Importance of high-quality child care cannot be overstated. It’s a major factor that keeps children healthy and safe. Proper childcare will help children develop the social, communicational and emotional skills – together with basic mathematical and pre-literacy skills and concepts – needed to succeed in school and the world beyond. Unfortunately, accessible daycare in Kansas City, Missouri can be tough to find.

Current State of Child Care in America

In the United States, The Kids Count Data Center revealed that about a third of children from birth to age 12 have both parents in the labor force. Because of this, about 15.7 million kids frequently spend time in the care of people that are not their parents. This makes the Importance of child care and the financial implications that accompany it a hurdle for numerous families to cross.

In addition, child care needs often become more intense the moment a child starts school. On average, schools close for about 29 days in a school year. This far exceeds the paid days for a regular American worker—and it does not include summer breaks.

Primarily, women carry the bulk of caregiving within a family and the paid child care industry. Placing value on the critical role caregiving plays in influencing early learning would increase opportunities and choices available to women and their respective families. Consequently, more parents would pursue additional training and education or they’ll join the labor force if child care is available. That’s not all, children would immensely benefit from getting the right child care and the culture shift caused by the new economic opportunities for their families 

According to Brain science, early experiences impact every aspect of a child’s development. Also, children need a safe and enriching child care setting to help develop foundational skills, which sets the stage for success in the future.

Benefits of Childcare

Finding the right child care program for a child and for parents is paramount to the development of any economy. Lack of proper child care affects families, children and every American that has a stake in the workforce and economy. Quality and affordable daycare help parents find a job retain a job for longer. Most importantly, quality child care supports healthy development and learning for a new generation. 

Statistics of Childcare in America

Presently, the American economy loses a shocking $57 billion yearly in wages, revenue, and productivity due to problems arising from child care. This figure doesn’t include the cost to families that forgo educational and job opportunities as they battle the day-to-day stress associated with making timely child care payments; finding the appropriate daycare options in areas with limited options or during periods when they aren’t available, or the child care arrangement completely falls through. 

A troubling fact is that the U.S can afford to invest in child care to meet the needs of families. Measuring the percentage of G.D.P. dedicated to child care, the U.S spends the third-lowest among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations. 

Robust investment in child care would approximately cost the same figure as the present economic loss caused by not focusing on child care. In addition, it would enhance the quality of life for several American families while creating an equitable society where every child could enjoy early learning prospects.

Parents who have access to affordable and reliable child care will actively join the labor force. They’ll also suffer fewer interruptions in their career stemming from limited access to adequate child care facilities.

Options Available To Parents

Currently, most families have just three options to get daycare in Kansas City. The first option is for the parents to stay at home and personally take care of their children. However, this isn’t easy, as most families depend on two incomes to stay afloat. Besides, mothers are more likely to take time off paid work to take care of the child than fathers. This inadvertently worsens the lifetime earning gap of mothers. 

The second option is for the parents to pay for child services in Kansas City from their own pockets. As you would expect, this doesn’t come cheap for most families, as it consumes about 35.9% of the monthly budget of a low-income family. 

The third available option for families is to use state-funded or federal child care. Unfortunately, access to publicly funded child care programs is very limited. On a national level, three out of four children are not registered in a state or federal-funded pre-K program.

The growing phase of a child is a critical development period. When a child has access to high-quality child care from their early years, they often succeed in school and in other areas of life too. The brains of young children develop faster in early childhood when compared to other periods in life. It forms more than a million new neural connections each second. Infants understand their environment and absorb language through interactions with adults they trust. 

There are a number of potential options for child services in Kansas City, Missouri. Understanding the downsides, risks, and limitations of each option—and how these choices negatively impact working mothers and families— emphasizes the need for high-quality child care. So let’s explore the options in detail.

Stay At Home Parents

Some decades back, if you suggested that one parent stay at home and give up paid employment to take care of a child, no one would bat an eye. It even made sense both economically and culturally. This was because families used to live comfortably on one income. Also, women had been consigned to the domestic space traditionally. 

However, in the last 4 decades, due to economic and social advancements, most American families have experienced a massive change. Now, the workforce has to provide care, although it comes with evident risks.

Almost all parents now have to work, irrespective of their children’s age. Workers are parents and vice versa which is out of preference and necessity. An estimated 70.5% of mothers are in the workforce, as well as 64.8% of mothers with a child below six years old. In large part, this is because most families in the present economy depend on two incomes to offset bills. 

Now, daycare in Kansas City may cost as much as one parent’s salary. Hence, a worker’s choice to work part-time or leave the labor force to cover these costs may be a rational decision. Short-term economic burdens are often the reason why many women choose to stay at home and take care of their kids. Although, some mothers may decide to stay home for several other reasons. However, this choice also comes with consequences.

When compared to men, women are more likely to leave work entirely or reduce their work hours to take care of their children. This puts them at an economic disadvantage which soon becomes evident. Leaving the labor force – even for a few months – can have negative long-term costs for the career and lifetime earnings of a woman.

Women often take time off work to take care of their children. This is one of the reasons why the gender wage gap keeps plaguing the country. An estimated 10.5% of the differences in earnings of men and women can be linked to workforce experiences. 

Having access to adequate child care is important to a woman’s ability to contribute meaningfully to the labor force. In the same vein, lack of access to appropriate child care negatively affects the work-family balance of men and women. 

In both the short and long term, it is essential that women can make the best choices for themselves and their families. Having suitable access to affordable daycare options in Kansas City can help eliminate roadblocks that force mothers to make decisions that can negatively affect their children and family.

Personally Paying For Childcare Out Of Pocket

The second option for acquiring daycare in Kansas City is to use some of the family’s disposable income. In the past few years, child care costs have hit the roof, placing a lopsided burden on the budgets of several families. For millions of American families, it has become a nearly impossible task to pay for high-quality private child care.

In half of American States, child care costs exceed average rent payments. This means that several families with young kids struggle to make ends meet. The last year for which data was available for this fact was 2011. The average family with childcare payments with a working mother and children below 5 spent about 10% of their disposable family income on securing child care. 

Although this may not look like a severe burden, it amounts to about a quarter— precisely 22.5% —of the earnings of a married mother. This is more than a quarter of the income of an unmarried woman. 

Kansas City daycare costs are even more stressful for younger mothers. Presently, the average age for a mother to give birth to their first child in the U.S is around 26 years old.

It is not surprising that younger mothers often have lower incomes. Due to their age, there’s every chance that they’ve worked in the labor force for lesser periods. When compared to older mothers, they are likely to still be in school. 

But then again, this means that mothers below 25 years with a growing child paying for child care will spend about one-third i.e. 33%, of their earnings on getting care. Again, the reason is not farfetched; it’s simply because they earn less with no supporting income. 

It is extremely important that these women complete their education and gain the necessary work experience. Unfortunately, Kansas City daycare costs can make this an unrealistic prospect.

In reality, it is harder for women already living below the poverty line. According to statistics from American progress, an estimated 26% of working mothers living below the poverty line pay for child care from their disposable income. These expenses take about half (42.6%) of their earnings. 

It is important women get all the work support they need because seeking paid employment is one of the requirements for some government benefits. Also, employment is a vital pathway to breaking into the middle class. On the other hand, when child care is so expensive that it eats almost all their income, it places a heavy burden on these mothers.

For well-to-do families, paying for daycare in Kansas City may be affordable and simple. However, it’s not an option for most families, especially young and single mothers.

Using Subsidized or Publicly Funded Programs

The last option most mothers have to access child care is to go for subsidized or programs funded by the federal or state government. In truth, this may look like a viable option for families that don’t want to lose one parent’s earnings or for families that cannot afford private care, but the fact is that it is not. Unfortunately, the present reality is that Kansas City child services, along with the rest of the country, have a long way to go regarding publicly funded care programs. 

As it stands, only about 22% of kids from low-income families get subsidized child care from the federal government. This is in the face of increasing preschool enrolment across the country in the past years as children from low-income homes are less likely to join preschool programs. 

The damning stats also show that only 28% of children below four years old are in state-funded preschool programs, while only 4% of children below three years old are enrolled. Lastly, 40% of children aren’t enrolled in any preschool program at all. Evidently, what these stats show is that publicly funded Kansas City child care services that are available are not enough to cater to the needs of children, which is a significant problem

In truth, publicly funded child care programs come in handy for families with low-income and young mothers, but getting access is a huge problem. In a situation where families have access to them, the problem is that the quality is sometimes below the required standard. 

As luck would have it, it is not all doom and gloom for young mothers and families with kids, especially those in Kansas City, Missouri. Now, parents can enjoy the best child services in Kansas City, thanks to Child Care Aware.

About Child Care Aware® of Missouri

Child Care Aware® of Missouri is a non-profit that focuses on improving child services in Kansas City. The goal is to uplift the experiences of children in relation to their environment in their first 2000 days – or five and a half years. 

As we’ve stated earlier, proper child care goes a long way in aiding their development while also greatly benefitting families. This is a gap Child Care Aware fills perfectly and the best part is that it won’t cost your family an arm and a leg. Child Care Aware delivers the best services that center on improving a child’s experiences during their formative years. 

Located in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri, Child Care Aware targets the four core groups that suffer from not getting suitable childcare. These groups are the family unit, child care professionals, businesses and community stakeholders. 

Here are the roles Child Care Aware plays for these groups:

  • Child Care for Families

Child Care Aware enables families to find the right child services through their referral programs. This ensures that Kansas City families have access to the daycare options they require. Also, they provide the required information to families and consumers of childcare through their in-depth and resource-filled website, together with community outreach.

  • Impacting Child Care Programs

The non-profit also partners with other daycare programs across Kansas City by helping them access resources. This way, they get and obtain more knowledge to help them improve their interaction with kids while aiding their development too. That’s not all, these businesses are provided with professional development opportunities to enable them to explore new frontiers. Also, Child Care Aware helps educate child care programs regarding the required business standards they need to enhance the sustainability and quality of their current business practices.

  • Workforce Child Care Services 

Child Care Aware, MO is a leading partner of the Child Care Professional Development System in Missouri. In this regard, they train the child services workforce of Kansas City, and they implement wellness and health practices within the settings of early childhood. In addition, they also manage the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri Scholarship Program, which gives children the education they need to be thoughtful, happy, and healthy individuals. 

Child Care Aware is a full-time advocate of improved professional development systems, and they engage in improving all child service efforts across Kansas City.

  • Collaborative Community Partners

Child Care Aware also engages in important conversations with stakeholders in the community. They also take it a step further by engaging business and legislative leaders within Missouri on the benefits derived from high-quality child care and its Importance to both young children and their families. 

In conclusion, finding daycare services in Kansas City, Missouri shouldn’t be a hassle nor should it burn a hole in the pockets of parents. Thanks to Child Care Aware MO, parents are assured that the needs of their children are well taken care of while they go out to their respective jobs.  

Child Development Scholarships in Missouri

Early childhood instructors are so important to our society. Missouri early childhood instructors cultivate ingenuity, knowledge, and sharing in the littlest pupils. Early childhood education programs equip prospective teachers with the skills to do that. Unfortunately, degree and diploma programs on early childhood education in Missouri aren’t cheap. The good news is there are many child development scholarship options available for people who are looking to get started in that field. If you’re considering entering the Missouri early childhood industry to become a preschool instructor or a childcare maven, here are pertinent child development scholarship opportunities to consider.

State-Sponsored Organizations

Missouri has dozens of government-approved and certified educational facilities that offer favorable and comfortable learning environments for preschool educators and childcare personnel. Learners can earn certificates as well as degrees, and many state-endorsed organizations offer financial support to students.

Missouri is among the 21 U.S. states enthusiastically partaking in Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.), which is a national organization created with the goal to deliver fairly compensated, expert, and polished early childhood educators. T.E.A.C.H. Missouri seeks to address two main concerns with Missouri early childhood education: High turnover rates and low wages for child care providers. It attempts to help solve these issues through increasing compensation and training for those providers, helping them achieve a higher level of job satisfaction and status. The project was launched precisely to help lift the excellence of training those undertaking child care curriculums get.

The scholarship is an agreement between T.E.A.C.H. Missouri, the Missouri early childhood learner, and the sponsor. This organization offers a few different kinds of child development scholarship opportunities. So, you can find the right program for you depending on the type of degree or program you’re pursuing.

Although the exact offerings will differ between the different programs, the T.E.A.C.H. Missouri will offer a bonus of $450 upon completion of most of them. That sounds pretty nice, right? The child development scholarship program’s goal is simply to support and advance early childhood education. The Missouri early childhood T.E.A.C.H. program also enhances retention rates for early childhood teachers.

The Federal Government

The United States Federal Government also has several financial aid programs designed to cater to the needs of students attending career schools and colleges. While every U.S. student is eligible for these programs, specific criteria are followed to choose suitable candidates for the loans. There are hundreds of government-approved loan and aid solutions provided by the Federal Government, which are easily accessible on the Federal Student Aid website.

The first type of financial support offered by the United States federal government is grants. There are a variety of grants offered by the government, including Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Pell Grants, and Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants. Grants don’t need to be paid as they’re offered freely to qualifying candidates. That makes them one of the more appealing options when it comes to federal financial aid.

If you’re already in college, you should also look into work-study opportunities on campus. Among the many federal government scholarships available for aspiring Missouri early childhood educators are the federal work-study program, which lets you get a part-time job to help pay for your expenses.

Working students or learners furthering their early childhood education career can also get child development scholarships in the form of student loans. It’s super important to fully understand what you’re getting into when you take out a loan. You’ll need to pay it back with interest once you’ve completed your degree. Federal student loans tend to have a lower interest rate than private ones. Depending on the specific scholarship you apply for, the dispensed loan amount caters to costs such as transportation, tuition and fees, supplies and books, and room.

Colleges

Missouri has hundreds of colleges and universities that offer child development scholarship programs. However, the type of scholarships provided by different Missouri colleges and universities differ between institutions. You won’t find as many universities offering specific Missouri early childhood scholarships, but many of their more generic offerings can be used toward an early childhood-related degree. You can compare dozens of scholarship opportunities at the student’s disposal to decide which one to select.

If you’re embarking on a college or university education, then you should definitely inquire about your scholarship options at all the different institutions you’re considering. Many of them will have merit-based child development scholarship programs. The Missouri early childhood scholarships that are available to you will likely differ depending on whether you’re pursuing an undergraduate or a graduate degree. Know your options.

The selection of Missouri early childhood scholarships to compare before deciding which to choose include, but are not limited to, Dean’s scholarships, transfer scholarships, regents scholarships, and trustees transfer scholarships. Many of these types of scholarships are offered to learners, including prospective Missouri early childhood educators, automatically or after applying for the programs. Don’t leave money on the table — make sure you thoroughly investigate all your options at your specific school

Child Care Aware® of Missouri

Child Care Aware® of Missouri is a branch of a national organization that seeks to advance the child care industry in a variety of ways. Whether that’s connecting families to the right resources for their children or getting child care professionals in touch with helpful resources like child development scholarship opportunities, Child Care Aware® of Missouri aims to make sure everyone has what they need for our children to succeed.

One of the child development scholarship programs it helps administer has to do with the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. This well-known credential has been widely recognized for its ability to help willing Missouri early childhood tutors and students to advance their knowledge and career. The program empowers you professionally and personally, ensuring you can meet all the job requirements in modern markets.

By advancing your Missouri early childhood training with this program, your career options will increase. To qualify to apply for the CDA credential, you’ll first need to acquire a high school diploma, or you can be a high school junior or senior in a related Career and Technical Program. Then, you need to complete 120 hours of education in the eight different CDA subject areas as well as 480 hours of experience working with young children. Lastly, you’ll need to put together your professional portfolio.

CCAMO’s CDA Scholarship

The child development scholarship is something every child care specialist looking to advance their skills and knowledge in that field should consider. If you’re trying to earn your CDA credential through clock hours rather than college credit hours, this is the program for you. You can check out the requirements for that here

As long as you’re eligible and you go through all the necessary steps in the program, this scholarship program will pay for your application fee with the Council for Professional Recognition. Then, once you earn your CDA credential, the organization will give you $215. But that’s not all! If you stay at your original child care program for another six months, you’ll receive another $215.

Professional Associations

Several trusted professional associations have networked to push child development education further in Missouri. These professional groups include qualified teaching experts that network online or meet in person to discuss pertinent issues and support each other professionally and financially. Some associations meet and interact through networking events, conferences, live stream interviews, and online courses. In other associations, there are monthly meetings, job boards, industry blogs, and community activities.

These associations aren’t only made to discuss pertinent issues and push education a notch higher but also help you grow your resume and strengthen your profile. With these organizations, members learn more about the best job opportunities, strengthen their recommendation letters, and keep track of the latest trends in this field. Other top-leading Missouri early childhood professional associations provide scholarships.

For example, check out the American Montessori Society. It’s a leading non-profit organization with the goal to encourage using the Montessori teaching method. The association connects members looking to enhance the quality of education in early childhood schools through research and professional public policy. If you’re interested in this method of teaching and looking to attend one of the Society’s affiliated teacher education programs, then you could qualify for one of the child development scholarship opportunities they offer.

Rethink Scholarships

When you imagine a child development scholarship, you might only be thinking of help paying for university programs or other big, long education projects. However, when it comes to Missouri early childhood education, even short workshops or seminars can make a big difference. Look into your options in that department. When you belong to a professional organization, you might get free or discounted access to those sorts of learning events, as well as a whole host of other materials that can help you further your expertise in your chosen field.

This kind of financial help can be a good fit because of its specificity. Plus, you don’t have to commit to years of schooling to get a little boost in knowledge. If you’re already part of some national or Missouri early childhood professional organizations, of if you’re considering joining, definitely make yourself aware of any financial help they offer for any form of continuing education.

Business Early Childhood Scholarships

Established businesses have also started investing in advancing the quality of education provided in early childhood learning facilities. Businesses need top talent to push their growth a notch higher and increase their annual profits. Recent years have seen many businesses chipping in to provide scholarships to enable learners to further their education. Some businesses train learners and incorporate them into their operations after they are done with school life. Other businesses offer scholarships to support the education of early childhood tutors.

Athletic Scholarships

For those who are attending a college or university to earn a degree in a child care-related field, athletic scholarships might be a possibility. These kinds of future Missouri early childhood professionals that have a knack for sports can also get sponsored to further their education. Scholarships under the athletic category are numerous, and the amounts you can get to support your education are vast, as well. There are dozens of websites and online tools that allow you to search for athletic scholarships. The athletic scholarships cater to the financial needs of learners good at synchronized swimming, basketball, football, and most other sports, as well.

It’s good to understand that most athletic scholarships are made for students experienced and talented in certain sports. Besides, the scholarships are only applicable in specific colleges and universities. The scholarships can cover expenses such as food, tuition, board, and room costs.

Employer-Based Scholarships

Another common type of scholarship early childhood educators can get to pay for their learning costs is the employer-specific scholarship. These types of scholarships are made specifically for students of employees serving certain companies or organizations. The awards and the financial support awarded to the tutors depend on the employer and the needs of the employee’s children. There are many certified and credible organizations and employers all through Missouri that provide scholarships to their workers.

Check with your current employer to see if they have any programs along these lines. They might have a tuition reimbursement program or other type of child development scholarship offerings for you to take advantage of.

Find the right child development scholarships for you.

As an early childhood teacher or child care specialist in Missouri, it’s not always easy or cheap to further your education. Even if you’re not financially stable, you’ve got many child development scholarship opportunities to compare and decide between. You are in a better position to win higher and better scholarships if you’re talented in a specific area. The athletic-based or employee-based scholarships are pretty popular and reliable today. However, state-sponsored and nonprofit organizational scholarships in Missouri are also valid options. These are offered by a variety of well-known and credible state and non-profit organizations. Likewise, there are many professional associations in Missouri that offer scholarships to support the continuing education of early childhood professionals.

Debunking 8 Myths about Childcare in St. Louis

Childcare in St. Louis is an incredibly complex field. As such, it’s no surprise that there are plenty of myths swirling around about these sorts of settings and what all they entail — the general public just isn’t super knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the top daycares in St. Louis. And that’s okay! That’s where we come in. We’re here to set the record straight.

Many of the myths we’ll discuss here are also applicable to the broader state of the child care industry in the United States, not just childcare in St. Louis. We’ll cover these myths from both the family side and the child care professional side. So, no matter what brings you to this article about childcare in St. Louis myths, you should be able to find something that speaks to you. 

With all that out of the way, let’s get into it. Here are eight myths about childcare in St. Louis.

Myths for Families Considering Childcare in St. Louis

First, we’ll discuss all the prevalent falsehoods that many families that are considering childcare in St. Louis might believe.

Myth 1: Childcare in St. Louis is just glorified babysitting.

This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Child care professionals are well-trained in their field and are required to partake in a certain number of training hours each year. There are many regulations put in place by the state mandating the level of care, such as ratios between staff and children. There are safeguards in place to make sure that each childcare in St. Louis is providing the best possible care.

Now, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t do your own research. Choosing one of the top daycares in St. Louis is probably a safe bet, but even still, you should ask questions of the programs you’re considering. You’ll want to make sure your values and ideals align with theirs. You should also be able to tour the place before sending your child there. Make a list of what things are important to you and then compare it to the answers and information you get from your top daycares in St. Louis. 

Myth 2: There’s not enough structure in a child care setting.

Some people get the impression that kids who spend all day at the top daycares in St. Louis are just milling around as they please for eight hours or so. They worry that if they’re not providing the proper structure for their kids, no one will. 

Of course this isn’t true! For the top daycares in St. Louis to function, they need to stick to a schedule. This means having appropriately timed snacks, naps, outside play, and a whole host of other activities throughout the day. Children at the top daycares in St. Louis definitely have some freedom, but it’s misguided to say there’s no structure at all. 

If this is one of your top concerns, bring it up to the different child care providers you’re considering. They might even provide you with a sample schedule for your child’s age group. And even if they can’t, they should be able to have a chat about their philosophies toward a schedule or lack thereof. 

Myth 3: Friends or family are better choices than a childcare in St. Louis.

Now, everyone can make their own decisions here, and having a trusted loved one watch your child during the day can definitely make sense for a lot of families. However, this section is here to point out that it’s a flaw to assume that choosing a family member over a childcare in St. Louis is always going to be the best choice.

As we stated in a previous section, the child care professionals at the top daycares in St. Louis have extensive backgrounds and training in the field. They know what they’re doing. We’ll go over some of the training requirements and opportunities at the top daycares in St. Louis in the later sections aimed more toward child care professionals themselves. 

All that matters here is comparing your options. It’s true that child care costs a whole lot of money these days, and sometimes, the option to have a family member watch your children for free outweighs the merits of a child care professional. That could very well be the case in your situation. However, it’s simply important to note that keeping it in the family doesn’t mean it’s automatically a higher level of care. 

Myth 4: Kids in these programs don’t learn anything, they just play.

This one often goes hand-in-hand with the myth about lack of structure. People are under the impression that playing is just a way for the children in the top daycares in St. Louis to pass the time so they don’t get bored waiting for their guardian to come pick them up, or they’re just having fun. Nothing deeper than that.

The truth is that kids learn a lot of valuable things through playing. Motor skills are a big one, but there are also many important life skills that begin with playing. Plus, some of these child care programs are preschools, which help kids get ready for kindergarten in a variety of ways, including academically.

So, here are the two main takeaways from the truth about this myth: 1. Playing is a valuable thing for young children and 2. Child care is about a whole lot more than just playing!   

Myths for Child Care Workers

We’ve covered the main myths families looking for the top daycares in St. Louis might have when starting their search. Here, this section will cover all the common misconceptions people who are starting out in the child care field might harbor. 

Myth 5: Once I get hired at a childcare in St. Louis, I don’t need to participate in further training.

We already touched on this in one of the myths that families need to debunk, but it bears repeating here for obvious reasons. 

Yes, there are the mandatory training hours required by the state, but it’s also a good idea to pursue other types of continuing education. These sorts of courses and programs will make you look a lot more appealing to potential future employers. If you want to work at the top daycares in St. Louis, or if you have dreams of one day moving up the ladder and owning your own center, then you’re likely going to need more than just the bare-bones education.

The good news is that there are all kinds of opportunities for continuing education in this complex industry. You can check with the state to find a whole list of free training opportunities online. If you’re looking for something a little more involved than a simple one-time training seminar, then you might want to look into earning your CDA credential. And there are a whole lot more opportunities where that came from. 

Myth 6: The age of the children in the program doesn’t really matter; they’re all more or less the same. 

There’s a big difference between caring for an infant and caring for a two-year-old child. That should be pretty obvious. This myth might not be as pervasive as most of the other ones we’ve put on this list, but it still deserves to be disproven.

The important thing to remember is that if you want to work with infants, you’ll need to take extra and specialized trainings. Sleep safe training is a major requirement. The top daycares in St. Louis all understand this and only use the absolute best practices when it comes to caring for your children.

Even beyond the (perhaps obvious) special considerations you need to keep in mind when you’re working with babies, child care workers need to keep in mind developmental appropriateness with every age group. There are different programs that will teach you everything you need to know in that department, but you should be aware of what ages you’d like to work with, or are going to work with, and plan accordingly. 

Myth 7: Preschoolers are naturally so active that they’ll get plenty of movement without us focusing on it.

It may be true that preschoolers are active and don’t tend to sit still for long, but as the child care professional, you should still be trying to make sure they get different kinds of movement in their daily routines.

Much of this goes along with our previous point about how child care professionals at the top daycares in St. Louis need to make sure they’re offering developmentally appropriate activities and opportunities for the children in the program throughout the day. This is especially true of movement and exercise. It’s not like toddlers need to hop on the treadmill or hit the weights, obviously, but they do need to be given opportunities to grow their coordination, flexibility, and strength in a variety of ways with a variety of equipment. 

One program that can help the top daycares in St. Louis improve their offerings when it comes to movement is the MOve Smart program. A childcare in St. Louis, or anywhere in the state of Missouri, can apply to become recognized by MOve Smart — to achieve recognition, they need to prove that they meet certain requirements. You can find all of that here.  

Myth 8: Working in a childcare in St. Louis is easy. Anybody could do it.

It takes a certain personality type to be a high-quality child care provider. Patience is key. And as we’ve already reiterated numerous times at this point, a truly qualified child care provider has completed the necessary trainings and more, showing a true interest in this incredibly complex and important field. 

The exact requirements will vary from state to state and even from program to program. Nevertheless, it’s not a good idea to think you can just waltz into any of the top daycares in St. Louis and automatically get a job.

And as you’re probably already aware, people who work in childcare in St. Louis are notoriously underpaid. If you’re looking for an easy job that compensates you handsomely, you are definitely barking up the wrong tree with childcare in St. Louis. It’s a difficult profession, but it’s certainly a rewarding one. If you’re looking to get into it, just know that you’ll be directly responsible for getting young kids on the right track for the rest of their lives. That’s a huge responsibility and far from easy.

There you have it — eight child care myths, totally debunked.

There are probably a myriad more myths where these came from, but those are the major ones we wanted to address. Now that you’ve got the truth about childcare in St. Louis, you should feel more confident about your child care decision. And if you’re considering joining the child care field and any of these spoke to you, then hopefully you should be prepared to make a more informed decision about the future of your career. 

We hope we haven’t scared you off from finding more information about the top daycares in St. Louis. This is all a lot to take in. Just know that your decisions about childcare in St. Louis, whether from a career perspective or from a family perspective, should be as informed as possible. Now that you’ve made it to the end of this post, you should be well on your way to that goal.

If you need more resources about childcare in St. Louis or anywhere else in the state, we here at Child Care Aware® of Missouri have got you covered. Our site has a lot of helpful information both for families and for child care professionals. You can use our database to find the top daycares in St. Louis, as an example, or you can read more about continuing education options in the child care field. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for there, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love to help connect you with the resources you need to make sure all our children are well cared for.

Where can I find DSS approved daycare in Missouri?

Three children playing with toys in DSS approved daycareIt’s no easy feat to find the right kind of care for your child when you’re not around. We may all want to be the one watching them and nurturing them all the time, but that’s simply not feasible when we have jobs to do and life to live. Or, maybe you run some kind of child care facility and you’re looking to become a DSS approved daycare. You’re sure your practices are great and up to date, and you’re looking for official recognition of how well you do your job.

We’re here to give you some insight. Whether you’re looking for a DSS approved daycare to send your children to or you’re just trying to find some information on how to comply with state guidelines, we’ve got the information you need, and if not, we can always point you in the right direction. After all, the Child Care Aware phone number is just one call away — but more on that later. Here, we’re going to talk about all the different aspects of what you might be looking for if you’re searching for DSS approved daycare. Spoiler alert: Everything is not what it seems, and we’ll have to cover a lot of different topics to try to get at the root of what you need.

Before we get into that, though, we need to make sure everyone’s on the same page. Let’s define some important terms.

What is DSS?

You can’t find DSS approved daycare if you don’t know what DSS means. So, we figured this is as good a place as any to start. You might decide to dial to the Child Care Aware phone number for more information, or you could just read on.

DSS stands for Department of Social Services. This is a government department within the state of Missouri that handles, you guessed it, social services. Those types of things include public assistance, health care coverage, child welfare services, and specialized assistance to troubled youth. Part of providing those services includes combating fraud, waste, and abuse within those programs. Audits of Medicaid and compliance initiatives are both parts of that secondary mission, as is supporting law enforcement efforts to protect children. 

If you’re curious about how DSS is set up and organized, we have answers for you, too. There’s a governor-appointed and state senate-approved director. The director is in charge of choosing division directors to work with them.

This is all true for the state of Missouri and not necessarily anywhere else. If you’re looking for an equivalent at the federal level, you’d be looking for the Administration for Children and Families, which is within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Note that we haven’t listed DSS approved daycare anywhere in our list of what they do. There’s a reason for that. Read on to find out if DSS approved daycare is even something you should be looking for. And if you need more information than we end up providing here, you can always call the Child Care Aware phone number or do some more digging on our site.

Where can I find a DSS approved daycare in Missouri?

Now that we all understand what the DSS is, we can talk about the central question at hand. As it turns out, there isn’t a list of DSS approved daycares in the state. In fact, the licensing procedures go through the Office of Childhood, which lives within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, not the Department of Social Services. Tricky, we know. 

So, while it might seem like the Department of Social Services is the place to go for DSS approved daycare, there’s no official channel for them to confer that designation. This means that if you see a child care facility claiming to be a DSS approved daycare, they’re not being completely truthful. Find the Child Care Aware phone number and see if they can help you find a reputable facility instead.

Two forms of child services that definitely fall under DSS approved daycare, though, are the Head Start and Early Head Start programs. We’ll go over both of those in the next section.

Head Start and Early Head Start

These programs might count as DSS approved daycare, but they are so much more than that. They are federal programs aiming to improve the lives of children who might not have as many resources. Since they’re federally run, they’re not technically something DSS approves either, but they do fall under the Administration for Children and Families, which we mentioned earlier. 

Head Start tends to be a little more well-known than Early Head Start. If you’ve heard of it, then you don’t need the Child Care Aware phone number to call and ask what it is — you already know that it’s a program offering free preschool and other support for families that fall at or below the federal poverty line. Early Head Start is very similar. It serves infants and children up to age 3. 

Head Start and Early Head Start programs aren’t only child care programs. They endeavor to help the entire family. They offer home visits and all kinds of other services that go beyond the other kinds of child care we’ll discuss in later sections. 

If you think you might qualify for one of these programs, you’ll want to check them out. Your local Child Care Aware phone number might be a good place to start calling — their goal is to connect you with any resources you might need, and these programs definitely fall under that umbrella. If you’d rather skip the step of dialing the Child Care Aware phone number, you can see a list of all Missouri Head Start locations here.

If there aren’t DSS approved daycare facilities, where can I find reputable child care?

There are different resources out there for finding the right child care facility for your family. One of them is Child Care Aware® of Missouri. You can peruse our website for a directory of child care facilities within the state that meet our requirements. Find your local Child Care Aware phone number and give us a call if that’s giving you trouble.

Of course, if you’re not looking for child care within the state of Missouri, you can find the Child Care Aware phone number for the branch that’s in your neck of the woods. You can also find their website if you’re more digitally inclined. They should have much the same resources available for you, and if they don’t, they should be able to refer you to somewhere that does. 

If it’s not through DSS, how does the state approve child care facilities?

As we mentioned earlier, licensing child care facilities goes through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, or DESE. The requirements depend on the type of child care program that’s being considered for licensing, and not all facilities need a license. The license-exempt child care facilities include religious preschools and non-religious programs that run for four hours or fewer per day. 

These kinds of programs need to have regular fire, sanitation, and health inspections by the state, and fully exempt programs (like summer camps or programs run by school systems) aren’t required to have any inspections. All other types of child care settings need to be licensed by DESE in the Show Me State, and if you call up the Child Care Aware phone number or visit our website, we have a directory of them. Here are the different categories those facilities might fall under and the requirements for each.

Family Child Care Home

This kind of program can only accommodate a maximum of ten children at a time. As the name suggests, these programs are run in the educator’s own home. Family child care homes need to be licensed by the state, which means they need to go through regular safety and licensing inspections. Those licensing inspections are there to make sure the program is following all the rules set out by the state, which includes stipulations like the number of children in the program at any given time as well as general safety concerns. The full list of rules is pretty extensive, so we won’t list them all here. Suffice it to say that family child care homes are held to fairly high standards, as are the remaining child care settings on this list.

Like the other kinds of child care we’ll cover in the next sections, if you’re interested in enrolling your child in a family child care home, you can look through databases or find the Child Care Aware phone number and give them a call. They’ll be able to point you in the right direction.

Group Child Care Home

At first glance, this category of child care settings might not seem any different from family child care homes, which we just went over. However, group child care homes are held to different standards than family child care homes, even though they must also be licensed by the state. 

To be considered a group child care home, there needs to be separation between the educator’s living quarters and the area where they run the child care program. That might just be a separate wing of their home, or it might be in a completely different facility. Unlike family child care homes, group child care homes can accommodate up to 20 children at a time. 

There are specific requirements for the physical area where the children are cared for, like any licensed child care facility. There are also specific stipulations on ratios of staff to children as well as other concerns. We’ve already suggested calling your local Child Care Aware phone number for more information on any of this, and that stands for group child care homes, as well.

Child Care Center

This is the largest kind of licensed child care facility. They can accommodate more than 20 children (sometimes a lot more than that), and they are always run in a facility that doesn’t double as the main educator’s home. The children participating in one of these types of programs are typically separated into different classes or rooms according to their age.

The licensing rules governing child care centers are actually much the same as those for group child care homes. There are some differences, like the number of children that can be in the facility, but most of the other requirements are the same. 

If you have any more questions about the differences between your options for licensed child care facilities in the state of Missouri, the Child Care Aware phone number would be a great place to turn. We’ll be able to provide you with some relevant resources. 

So, this has been your basic primer on the licensed child care facilities in the state of Missouri.

You may have started out looking for DSS approved daycare, but now that you’ve reached the bottom of this piece, you know that DSS approved daycare is not even something you can ever attain — at least within the state of Missouri. The moral of the story is that you need to look elsewhere to find licensed child care programs in the state, and even more than that, you need to look at other considerations other than just licensure to make sure you’re sending your children to a reputable facility. If you’re on the other side of things as a child care worker, then you need to know that it usually takes more than just the bare minimum licensing requirements to run the best child care program possible, and that you shouldn’t look to DSS for those but rather DESE. It’s a similar acronym, but they’re two completely different departments. 

We want to leave you with a few calls to action. If you’re in search of more information or assistance, find your local Child Care Aware phone number and give them a call. They’ll be able to help. And if you’re on the child care provider side of things, the Child Care Aware phone number works just the same for you. The goal of the organization is to connect both parents and child care workers with the resources they need.

What is MOve Smart, and how can it benefit you as part of your child care professional training?

Child playing on playgroundIf you’ve heard there’s a program in Missouri that promotes healthy physical activity in child care settings, then you’re probably thinking of MOve Smart. Curious readers have found themselves in the right place — we’re here to take you through all aspects of the program, from child care professional training to earning the distinction for your child care facility.

We’re going to spend a lot of this piece exploring why physical activity is an important aspect of early childhood care, and that’s because MOve Smart is all about promoting those youngest kids getting active. If you don’t believe that’s a worthwhile goal, then you’re not going to care one way or the other about MOve Smart and its associated child care professional training. We’ll go through the specifics of the program first for anybody who doesn’t need to be convinced of its importance, and then we’ll move into explaining more of the rationale behind those guidelines. 

In one of the last sections, we’re going to debunk several of the common myths surrounding physical activity for kids under 5. Lots of adults are only thinking about it as exercise through their own lens, and they might fail to consider some important details of children’s specific needs in this department. 

Before we get into that, we’ve got to make sure everyone’s on the same page. So, let’s get some basic information out of the way.

What is MOve Smart?

Like we said at the top, MOve Smart is a program in the state of Missouri that aims to help child care workers get kids active in age-appropriate ways. There are two pieces to this. Individual instructors can take the MOve Smart child care professional training, but child care facilities can also earn MOve Smart recognition. There’s a core level recognition as well as an advanced one. Here are the criteria for each:

Core Level Criteria

  1. A written activity policy communicated to staff and parents
  2. At least 60 minutes of unstructured physical activity built in to toddlers’ and preschoolers’ daily schedules
  3. At least 30 minutes of physical activity led by the teacher for toddlers and preschoolers each day
  4. Staff modeling and promoting active play
  5. All staff completing the MOve Smart child care professional training
  6. Never withholding physical activity as a punishment

Advanced Level Criteria

  1. Having an indoor play space that allows for moderate to vigorous physical activity
  2. Having an outdoor play space for active play
  3. Structured physical activity is regularly integrated into learning activities at least twice per day
  4. Children under 2 years old are allowed no screen time, and older children are allowed no more than 30 minutes per week of screen time for educational or physical activity purposes
  5. Except for naps and meals, children are not sedentary for longer than 30 minutes at a time throughout the day
  6. Area includes visual materials that promote physical activity, like books, posters, or pictures

Who can receive MOve Smart recognition?

The MOve Smart Child Care program is open to all early care and education facilities in the state of Missouri, as it’s awarded by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. That includes traditional child care centers as well as family child care homes and group homes. Head Start sites, which are branches of a federal early childhood program, are also eligible to pursue MOve Smart recognition.

Again, it bears repeating that the recognition and the child care professional training of the same name are by no means the same thing. Anyone can complete the child care professional training on the state’s website. It’s an hour-long, online course. 

What are the benefits of receiving MOve Smart recognition? 

There’s more than just the satisfaction of knowing the children in your care are getting the right level of activity and kinds of movement to promote their health. One of the next biggest rewards is that your facility will be listed on the DHSS website, and your status as a MOve Smart-recognized program will be included in the Child Care Aware provider search and Healthy Child Care newsletter. You’ll be signaling to your current families as well as prospective ones that your facility is a great place for children to start off their physical activity journeys.

You’ll also be able to promote your MOve Smart recognition on your own through using the logo on your website and any printed materials you might have made. The DHSS provides all of the recognized programs with a certificate of achievement, window cling, poster, and sample press release, so you’ll be prepared to celebrate and advertise your new standing however you see fit.

How do you apply for MOve Smart recognition?

Now that you’re sold on the benefits of this kind of recognition, you’re ready to complete the associated child care professional training and/or apply for recognition. Here’s the process for that application:

  • Decide if you want your facility to be recognized at the Core or Advanced level.
  • Send an email to [email protected] letting the department know you’d like to apply for the recognition. They can get you in touch with some support and resources that might help you along in your application process.
  • Go over the requirements and make any necessary alterations to your child care facility in order to meet those criteria. This includes making sure all staff members have completed the necessary child care professional training. 
  • Submit the application, including relevant documentation

That’s it! You’ll hear back about the goodies you receive with your recognition shortly. Do keep in mind that the recognition is only valid for one year at a time, so you’ll have to renew annually with a self-assessment.

Why is physical activity important for young children?

There are all kinds of reasons why getting young children active will benefit them, both in the long run and more immediately. It’s pretty apparent that physical activity positively impacts bone and muscle strength, flexibility, and blood pressure. Those bodily benefits almost go without saying. What might be more of a surprise to you are all the mental benefits that go along with them. Physical activity can help the brain think better as well as improve moods and sleep quality. These are all important aspects of a child’s overall wellbeing, not to mention performance in school. A child care professional training on this subject will cover all these topics in more detail than we have space for here, if you’re interested in learning more.

Some Common Misconceptions about Physical Activity for Young Children

Many of us are far more familiar with the rules and guidelines surrounding exercise for adults and maybe even for school aged kids. When it comes to physical activity needs for toddlers and even younger kids, though, there’s usually a lot more confusion and uncertainty. Here are some of the more common misconceptions about physical activity for the youngest kids and the truth about what they need to thrive.

Myth: Continuous activity is always better than sporadic activity.

Since adults tend to block out a specific portion of their day or week for exercise, many people are under the impression that physical activity for just a few minutes at a time isn’t worthwhile or is inferior to spending 30 minutes or more on movement. 

Fact: Physical activity should be built into a toddler’s schedule throughout the day.

Young children don’t have the attention span for “workouts” as adults are used to them. As is exemplified in the MOve Smart criteria, building in brief periods of activity throughout the day to add up to 30 or 60 minutes is a great way to get young kids moving. That way, their natural spurts of energy can be utilized and followed up with rest periods or instruction where they need to be still. 

Myth: How often children are active at very young ages doesn’t really influence how active they are later in life.

When a child is jumping around with scarves or climbing on the playground, it’s hard to imagine that those little activities are going to have much of an effect on how often they hit the gym when they’re older. Many people think that kids will outgrow sedentary ways once they get to school or once they’re able to workout in the ways we typically imagine. 

Fact: Attitudes toward and habits around physical activity start young and last a long time.

Those who start out with a sedentary lifestyle don’t magically become active once they hit adulthood. Building those habits and mindsets starts at a very early age. According to the MOve Smart workbook, “Physical activity patterns develop in childhood and tend to last through adulthood.” You’ll learn more about this principle in relevant child care professional training.

Myth: Structured activity is better than unstructured play time.

Many adults are under the impression that in order for physical activity to be useful, an adult needs to lead it. Making sure kids do the “right” kind of activity is very important, and you need to have very specific child care professional training in order to lead the kids correctly.

Fact: Free, creative physical activity is vital to children’s development.

While it’s true that having structured ways to get active is an important aspect of a child’s daily routine, it’s not any more important than letting a child loose on a playground or with active toys where they can create their own activities. As you’ll learn in the MOve Smart child care professional training, both elements should be built into each day’s schedule.

While it’s true that specific trainings can help teachers with ideas on the kinds of activities to lead, you don’t need to be a physical education teacher in order to encourage and participate in healthy movement.

Myth: You don’t need to be concerned about physical activity for infants — if they can’t even crawl, why bother?

Infants seem to be the very definition of sedentary for many adults. They can’t do anything by themselves, it seems, so why even waste a moment trying to build physical activity into their daily routines? They’re definitely not going to be playing hopscotch or throwing a ball for quite some time. 

Fact: There are lots of ways to promote proper physical activity with infants.

Even infants can benefit from a focus on physical activity, and many good child care professional training courses will tell you this. They need supervised tummy time every day — you can start with 3 to 5 minutes and then increase from there. You can also encourage them to reach for toys. That may not sound like much, but for the littlest kids, that’s as good as a trip to the gym. You should also be taking infants outside 2 to 3 times each day if possible, and you should try not to keep them confined in places like strollers and swings for more than 15 minutes at a time. 

MOve Smart child care professional training can help you shape a new generation of active kids.

Now that we’ve seen just how important regular physical activity is for children under 5, it should be a no-brainer to pursue MOve Smart recognition for your early childhood care facility. You can refer back to this piece during the process if you need any help along the way. We went over all the steps you need to take to achieve that recognition, and we’ve also covered why it’s such a good idea on several fronts, if you need to do any convincing. 

Making sure the next generation has everything they need to succeed is the number one job of child care workers. Promoting appropriate physical activity at every step along the way is a vital part of that mission, and MOve Smart child care professional training can help you get there.

If you need any other child care resources, check out the rest of what we do here at Child Care Aware® of Missouri. You can also reach out to us here if you need help with something you can’t find. We’re always happy to do our best to connect you with the best resources we can.

Finding Quality Child Care Centers in St. Louis, MO

A woman and a toddler laughingStarting your search for child care centers in St. Louis, MO can be daunting! Maybe you’re new to the area, perhaps you’ve made the decision to get back into the workforce, or maybe your work arrangements have changed and you need to start going back into the office after working from home for a while. Whatever the reason, beginning the search for child care can be intimidating and scary. But, never fear! Our team of experts is here to help! 

Finding child care centers in St. Louis, MO might seem like too difficult a task to even start, but that’s where we come in. It may feel overwhelming if it’s the first time you’ve started to look. It can be an emotional time looking for care for your child, as it may even be the first time that someone other than you or a family member might be looking after them. Our goal is to help you find the right fit for your family and connect you to resources to assist you along the way in this process.

Different types of Child Care Centers

The best place to begin with any search is first to identify what options are available in your area. One of the first differences to be aware of is that child care centers in St. Louis, MO and beyond can be licensed or licensed-exempt. That said, most child care centers will be licensed. 

Licensed Child Care Centers

Licensed child care programs have to pass regular fire, sanitation, and health inspections for their facilities as mandated by the state. They also have inspections by the Section for Child Care Regulation each year. The child care license should be displayed close to the facility entrance and available for all parents and guardians to view.

There are different types of licensed child care programs: licensed family child care home, licensed group child care home, and licensed child care center. Licensed family child care home programs are for up to ten children, who are not related to the family child care business owner, in the provider’s home. 

Licensed group child care home is a medium-sized program for between 11 and 20 children not related to the business owner. These programs can be attached to the owner’s home or in a different location. 

Licensed child care centers are facilities for more than 20 children and must be separate from the owner’s home. All of these programs follow certain rules depending on the number of children to caregivers. Licensed child care centers must follow these specific rules:

  • Birth to two years of age: 1 adult to every 4 children;  
  • Two-year-olds: 1 adult to every 8 children;  
  • Three to five-year-olds (not in school): 1 adult to every 10 children; and  
  • Five years of age and up (in school): 1 adult to every 16 children.

Licensing reports can be viewed by the public and shows how well a program meets child care licensing standards.

Licensed child care centers in St. Louis, MO also require that employees pass a background check. You want to keep your child as safe as possible and background checks ensure that everyone interacting with your child and others has nothing questionable in their history. Background checks must be completed before the candidate is hired at the facility and must be done every five years.

License-Exempt Child Care Centers

These child care centers do not need to be licensed by the state but do need to follow some of the same regulations as licensed centers. License-exempt child care centers are programs run by a religious organization or programs for preschool children that are open no more than four (4) hours per child per day. These programs must follow health, sanitation, and safety rules and requirements but are exempt from the requirements for the number of caregivers based on the ages and number of children in care, discipline practices, and staff training.

How to Find Quality Child Care Centers

Now that you have a better understanding of what type of child care center you’re looking for for your family, let’s discuss how to find the perfect child care centers in St. Louis, MO. The first step would be searching Missouri’s database of child care providers here.

If you know the specific name of a child care center you’re interested in, you can search directly for their records. You can also search for a particular location using a specific city, zip code, or county. This search also allows you to narrow down your search depending on the type of program you’re most interested in, such as licensed or license-exempt care facilities. These results will let you view the most recent inspections of each facility. You’ll also be able to see if there are any pending violations and the nature of any of those issues. 

Once you’ve narrowed down your search and selected a handful of child care centers in St. Louis, MO that fit your criteria, you’re ready to begin the process of really getting to know these facilities and their staff. This will be the time to reach out to ask any specific questions you may have and potentially schedule a tour to view the facility in action.

Things to Look for in Your Child Care Search

Every family has different needs for their child care program. You’ll need to be sure that any child care centers in St. Louis, MO you select are a perfect fit for your family and the only way to be sure is to ask plenty of questions. Here’s our list of important items to consider.

Family Involvement

Great child care centers in St. Louis, MO will have an open-door policy with family members. A program that encourages open communication and family involvement is always a good sign. It shows they are open and have nothing to hide.

Group Size and Ratios

In a licensed child care facility, the size and ratio of children and caregivers are mandated by the state. For child care centers in St. Louis, MO, the ratio specifics are mentioned just above in this article. When there are groups of mixed ages, these guidelines become a bit more complicated. To learn about these regulations, you can read more here

Ideally, the lower the ratio, the better. Fewer children to caregivers allow for your child to receive personalized care and attention. A lower ratio means that your child won’t be lost in the hustle and bustle of a busy child care center. With licensed child care centers in St. Louis, MO, this won’t be a problem because they have to follow state regulations, but it’s great to know the specifics of each facility you’re interested in.

Staff Training and Credentials

It’s important for child care programs to have their staff stay up to date with the ever-changing child care industry. With licensed child care centers, employees are required to earn 12 hours of clock hours of training a year. Often caregivers will attend more than 12 and some even earn college credits to continue their education.

Another item to consider with staffing is a program’s turnover rate. A high-quality, well-run facility will often have employees that want to stick around for the long haul. Low turnover can be indicative of a supportive and positive work environment and allows for caregivers to bond with the children in their care. Employees typically want to stick around if they feel appreciated and valued.

Other things to consider might be how a facility disciplines a child when they’re in trouble and how they are comforted if they’re upset. It’s good to know that a child care center aligns with your discipline and comfort practices and whether or not it agrees with your parenting style and philosophies.

Health and Safety

With the ever-changing health landscape in this day and age, it’s important to know what precautions that the child care centers in St. Louis, MO you’re interested in are taking to ensure your child’s health and your family’s. Important things to also know about would be how often a facility cleans and sanitizes, what procedures are followed if a child gets sick and what the criteria are to send a child home, field trip safety, or how allergies are handled.

Accreditation

Child care centers in St. Louis, MO that are accredited will meet the standard state requirements and usually go above and beyond these regulations. Accreditations from organizations like the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs, or the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation are a great place to start. Ask your chosen child care centers in St. Louis, MO what accreditations they have if any. They’ll be glad to tell you all about them!

Specific Needs of Your Family

While the above items are very important to consider, every family has specific needs and requirements for their child. Make a list of important items or practices you need in child care centers in St. Louis, MO and be sure to include these things in your checklists as you begin your visits. Your family’s needs may differ and a great child care program will be able to fit those needs exactly. You want to make sure its a great fit!

Additional Things to Consider for Infants

When looking for child care centers in St. Louis, MO for infants and toddlers, there are certain items to ask a program about. Does the staff have training related to safe sleep practices? Are there daily logs regarding feedings, diaper changes, and naps? Are all feeding choices accommodated and respected?

Additional Things to Consider for School-Age Children

Similarly, there are certain items to consider for school-age children as well. Are there plenty of reading materials and educational games? Is there transportation to and from school available? Is care available during school vacations or days when school is not in session?

Still have trouble finding child care?

If you’re still having trouble finding the right child care centers in St. Louis, MO that fit your family’s needs, give the Child Care Aware phone number a call! Calling 1-866-892-3228 can connect you to one of our Resource Specialists who can help you find new options as they become available. You can also fill out one of our forms and a specialist can reach out to you. We want to make sure that the child care you choose is perfect for your family. Every family is different and child care centers in St. Louis, MO are also different.

Another option is to try searching in a different location. You might find there are great options near your work, school, or other places nearby to your day-to-day life. There might be some real gems just a touch outside of your search radius.

Open the conversation up! Talk to friends, family members, neighbors. Check-in with your local library or community center. They may know of child care options available in your area and connect you with them. Some may have recommendations for an excellent facility that you never even considered. Use your community to your advantage!

Be sure to get on any waiting list for any programs you think might work well for your family. It never hurts to cover all your bases and the worst that could happen is a spot doesn’t become available. If you never get on the list, then you would never know if something opens up! 

Let the hunt begin!

We’ve talked about different types of child care, how to find quality care centers, things to look for during your child care search, and how to troubleshoot if you’re still having difficulty finding the right fit. Now it’s time to get out there and see what works for your family. 

No matter how you go about your child care search, we’re always here to help. We want to make this as easy and pain-free as possible. With our team of Resource Specialists, we’ll be able to help you find the perfect fit for your family that works in every way imaginable. We know how important it is to feel comfortable with your child care provider, it’s a big deal!

Our Best CDA in Child Care Tips

Toddlers eating a snack at a small tableLots of child care professionals want to pursue their CDA in child care. If you’re not aware, CDA stands for Child Development Associate credential. Earning a CDA in child care is a big deal. It signals to your peers and potential employers that you’re serious about your chosen profession.

Earning the credential involves a lot of steps. You need training hours, an observation, a portfolio, and to pass an exam. All told, that’s quite a bit of effort on your part. That’s why you’ll need all the help you can get. We’ve broken our tips into sections accordingly: One for the training requirement, one for the exam, and one to guide you through the verification visit by a Professional Development specialist. We’ll go over everything you need to do to get your CDA application in order at each of these stages.

While you shouldn’t get all of your information about your CDA application from one little blog post, we should be able to give you a great jumping off point for completing your CDA in child care. So, let’s get into it. We’ll start with the required training hours.

Tips for your CDA Child Care Training Hours

This is unquestionably the biggest part of the CDA credential, and it’s one of the tallest hurdles you need to get over for your CDA application. As such, you might think you need the most help to get it done. We’ve got some great advice to help you accomplish this feat.

Take a CDA child care specific course.

One part is choosing the right training. A key component of a CDA in child care is the 120 hours of training across eight fields that’s required. A crucial distinction — the requirement is 120 total hours with 10 hours in each of the eight CDA child care subject areas. Those are:

  • Planning a safe and healthy learning environment
  • Advancing children’s physical and intellectual development
  • Supporting children’s social and emotional development
  • Building productive relationships with families
  • Managing an effective program operation
  • Maintaining a commitment to professionalism
  • Observing and recording children’s behavior
  • Understanding the principles of child development and learning

There are a lot of different CDA child care courses out there. If you choose to opt for one, make sure it will cover all of those areas adequately. Also be sure to collect proof that you completed those training hours — if the program offers a certificate of completion or other documentation, make sure you hold onto it. You’ll need it for your portfolio.

Get your training done before submitting your CDA application.

Once you turn in your CDA application to the Council, you’ve only got six months to complete all of the requirements and earn your credential. So, it’s a good idea to get what you can out of the way before the clock starts. Your 120 training hours are one of those things to knock out before you ever submit that initial application. It’s also great to do because if you start with a CDA child care course, you’ll have a lot of resources to help you through the rest of the process.

Make sure you have the right resources.

In addition to courses to fulfill your training requirements, you can also purchase books that will help you through the process. The right kinds of guides will offer a lot more help than we ever could in a little blog post. However, you don’t want to overdo it. If you’re participating in a comprehensive course that covers all aspects of your CDA application, then you should have the right resources to find success. 

Tips for your CDA Child Care Exam

Testing anxiety is a real concern. For people who struggle with that, this component of your CDA in child care is going to be the most distressing. With the right preparation, though, you can definitely ace this test. Here, we’ve got you covered with some advice going into your CDA child care exam.

Brush up on your multiple choice skills.

All of the questions on the CDA child care exam are multiple choice. So, you should go back to the basics of optimizing any multiple choice test. Definitely try your best to answer every question, even if you have to guess (incomplete questions are marked as wrong). Eliminate options that are clearly wrong and try to pick the best one from the remaining answers. Go back over any questions that you’re not sure about if you have time at the end of the test.

Know what they’re going to be asking.

Most of the questions are situational, which means you’ll be asked to pick the option that most closely resembles how you would respond to the given situation. While you won’t be able to know the exact questions that will be on your exam, you should be able to get a general idea of the kinds of questions from taking practice tests. There are plenty of resources for those. If you’ve got a good idea of what sorts of situations and quandaries they’ll pose, then your CDA application is more likely to be successful. It’s basic studying, so fall back on what worked for you in school.

Tips for your CDA Child Care Verification Visit

This can be one of the most nerve-wracking parts of the process following your CDA application, especially if you’re not too bothered about taking the exam. The Professional Development specialist you select will come to your place of work for about four hours. The first hour will be spent reviewing your portfolio, followed by two hours of observing you at work. Then, their visit finishes with an hour sitting down with you and discussing various relevant things (we’ll go over what they’ll want to talk to you about in more detail later). Those are the basic steps in the CDA child care verification visit process, but we have some more specifics about what they’re looking for. Here are our tips.

Make sure you’re signed up for the right kind of CDA.

This might sound too obvious, but in a field this complex, it’s easy for little things to slip through the cracks, and discrepancies do sometimes occur between your CDA application and what’s on your competency standards booklet. You should have the opportunity to fix it before your verification visit, and take that opportunity if you need to. Your PD specialist should be able to help you make the proper arrangements to get you signed up for the right setting. The verification visit can’t go forward if you’re not signed up for the right kind of setting.

Complete your portfolio before you have your verification visit.

While it is possible for your PD specialist to continue their visit without a completed portfolio on your part, you’re going to get docked for that. You’re also wasting the valuable time you have to spend with an expert in your field. We’ll talk a little bit more about the relationship between you and your PD specialist later, but for now, just keep in mind that you have an hour to speak with a qualified professional about your strengths, weaknesses, and goals as a child care worker. 

Make sure your portfolio reflects you. 

It’s possible that you might need to be in a room that’s not yours for your observation. Maybe you’re normally the secondary teacher, or maybe there are staffing issues going on that day. Whatever the reason, you might not be on your home turf for your observation. That can be stressful. Part of what the PD specialist judges your CDA application on is the environment: Are cleaning supplies locked away? Are the books age-appropriate? Those kinds of considerations are very important. But when you’re in a room that’s not your own, you might not be in control of those things. 

If you’re concerned about this, making sure the portfolio element of your CDA application accurately reflects you is a way you can get across anything you don’t get to during your observation time, whether that’s because you’re not in your own environment or simply due to time constraints.

Be prepared.

One of the reassuring things about the PD specialist’s visit is that you know exactly when it’s going to happen. Since the visit won’t be a surprise, you can tailor the activities for that day around what the PD specialist is looking for. You can find all of those guidelines in the back of your competency standards booklet. They’ll take those exact pages to guide their observations, so you’ve got all the important information at your fingertips. So, take a look at those, and try to plan out your day around what they’re expecting to see.

Don’t talk to the PD specialist during the observation period.

You’ll probably be a little nervous about an expert watching you work. It’s not every day that someone’s evaluating you! It’s totally normal to be nervous about the fate of your CDA application, but try not to ask the PD specialist for reassurance while they’re observing you. It’s generally best to just go about your job like you normally would. You’ll have time to chat with them during the reflection period after the observation.

Collect as many family questionnaires as you can.

Part of the portfolio that you’ll present to your PD specialist is an overview of some questionnaires filled out by families who send their children to your place of work. PD specialists don’t read the family questionnaires, but they do count how many you get back in comparison to how many you sent out. You need to collect more than half of what you distribute and then condense what they’ve said into the appropriate forms. 

Make it clear how the pandemic changes things

The current situation regarding COVID-19 means that not everything in your child care environment will be ideal. For social distancing reasons, you might have certain toys assigned to each child or other special considerations that would otherwise be unreasonable. As long as you communicate this during your interview time, your PD specialist should be understanding.

See your PD specialist as a mentor rather than a disciplinarian.

The PD specialist observing you isn’t trying to dock points just for fun. They’re there to ensure that you’re practicing everything that you’ve put into words in your portfolio. We already mentioned that at the end of their visit, they’ll sit down with you for an hour-long discussion about what they saw and what you wrote in your portfolio. If they didn’t get a chance to see part of your daily routine due to the time of day of the observation, then they’ll ask you about the typical procedure or how you incorporate those elements into your work.

This reflection period and interview isn’t another exam. Yes, you’re being judged, but it’s all in an effort to make you a better child care professional. Make the most of the time you have with an expert in your field who wants to see you succeed.

The biggest tip: Don’t go it alone.

The biggest piece of advice we can give you about your CDA application is to find resources to help you with it. This blog post is a great place to start with your CDA child care instruction needs, but it’s definitely not the last place you should go. You’ll benefit from whatever support you can get.

As we discussed in the first section, taking a CDA child care course is a great way to get that initial help. Not only will that take you through the 120 hours of required training and all of the important subject areas, but it will also give you access to more resources to get your CDA application filled out properly.

If you need any further help with anything child care related, don’t be afraid to reach out to us here at Child Care Aware® of Missouri. We’ve got plenty of resources for parents and child care professionals alike, and we’re happy to try to point you in the right direction if you need something we don’t provide. Best of luck with your CDA application!

Resources at a Child Care Resource and Referral Network

Two adults showing a leaf to a toddlerThere’s a huge demand for child care resources in this country. The need for high-quality child care as well as its benefit on society at large are well-documented, but it’s not always easy to find. Between the soaring costs of child care and the current climate changing the way we work, a child care resource and referral network can do all kinds of good. 

If you’re searching for some kind of family resources list, a child care resource and referral network is a great place to turn. Here, we’ll explain the work they do and how they might be helpful for you and your family. We’ll touch briefly on the other kinds of invested parties they serve, but we’ll mostly narrow our focus on families in search of child care and a family resources list. Before we get into all that, though, let’s define our terms.

What is a child care resource and referral network?

A child care resource and referral network is an organization that has a goal of connecting parents and child care providers to the resources they need to thrive. They’re also sometimes just called child care resource networks or CCR&R networks. No matter what they’re called, they strive to help this incredibly complicated field by making sure those who offer services and resources can reach the families who need them and vice versa.

For Child Care Providers

This is less relevant to our purposes here, but an important part of any child care resource and referral network’s work is to get child care providers in touch with the training they need to offer the best possible care. These include offerings like professional development opportunities and regular training courses as well as more formal education. They might point you in the right direction toward scholarships, information, and anything else pertinent about certain training programs.

For Parents

The more pertinent side of what child care resource and referral networks offer, though, is what they can do for families. Like we said earlier, these organizations are great places to find localized family resources lists. A child care resource and referral network is going to have plenty of information on what kinds of services are available to you, and if they don’t have what you’re looking for on hand, they’ll be able to link you up with an organization that does. We’re talking about help paying for child care, what to look for in a child care provider, and all kinds of other relevant tips regarding child care. We’ll get into the specifics in the following sections — after all, that’s what this blog post is all about! 

So, a child care resource and referral network is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It’s an organization that’s a great first stop when you’re looking for anything in relation to the child care field. Now that we’ve got that baseline definition out of the way, let’s dive a little deeper into a family resources list. We’ll go over some of the different kinds of resources you can get in touch with through a child care resource and referral network.

What You Can Get at a Child Care Resource and Referral Network

Now that we’re aware of what a child care resource and referral network basically is, we can list what they offer in more detail. Keep in mind that they provide a whole lot more than this for different kinds of invested parties. And if you need something outside the scope of these services, go ahead and ask. The child care resource and referral network might be able to get you in touch with the right organization, even if they aren’t familiar with your specific need. No matter what item on your needed family resources list you’re looking for, these organizations can be a great place to start.

With all that said, here’s our non-comprehensive list of what a child care resource and referral network can help you with.

Referrals to Local Child Care Providers

This is probably the biggest ticket item on any family resources list. Parents want to know that they’re dropping their kids off at a reputable child care facility every day, but it can be hard to be sure of that. Any child care resource and referral network worth its salt is going to have some kind of way to search for local child care providers. They can give you the contact information for high-quality child care in your area, and you can take it from there. We’ll get deeper into what else they can do on the child care front in a later section, but for now, just know that these organizations are great places to start your child care search. 

Information on State Licensing Requirements

This kind of information is there to make you feel more equipped to make that all-important child care decision. By understanding the different types of child care facilities out there, you’re better able to make the right choice for your family. It’s great to find more localized organization to help you with research about this topic because the rules vary from state to state. So, if you can find an organization in your area with information about local guidelines, then you’re going to be sure you’re getting everything relevant to your state.

In Missouri, at least, there are four different types of child care operations when it comes to licensing: Licensed, license-exempt, exempt, and six or fewer. You can learn more about what each of those categories entails with the help of your local child care resource and referral agency. It might not be as vital to your day-to-day as a family resources list, but it’s still a helpful way to narrow your child care search.

Information on Where to Get Help Paying for Child Care

It’s a well-known fact that child care in this country is prohibitively expensive for many families. Finding places that will help you pay for that essential service is a great way to make use of your local resource and referral agency. Part of any good family resources list includes financial help, especially when it comes to child care. They’ll have ideas on where to go for assistance, both at the state level and at more localized organizations and opportunities. Definitely take advantage of the help you can get.

Some opportunities might be somewhat obvious, like getting a discount at a child care center for sending multiple children, but others are less advertised. A child care resource and referral agency can direct you toward assistance you might never have thought of otherwise. And even if you think you’ve exhausted your options, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Community Resources

One of these agencies or networks in your area might allow you to search for the kind of community resource you need to build out your family resources list. Different categories you might be looking to fill could include safety, health, recreation, education, family supports, or any other kind of community resource that could help your children or your family. 

This is another benefit to seeking help from a local network. These community resources are based within the neighborhoods they serve, meaning they’re going to be dialed into the specific needs of the area. It takes a village, after all. Getting in contact with all the resources within that
“village” or community is a great way to fill out your family resources list. Put together all the different help you can get, and you’ve got a great start to a better life for your child. A child care resource and referral agency can help you do just that.

State and National Resources 

It’s true that we just touted the benefits of looking for very localized resources, down to the county or city level. That way, they’ll be more in tune with your specific community’s needs. However, there’s also a huge benefit to looking at the resources at broader levels, like state and national resources.

The items at this level on the family resources list aren’t just financial help or child care centers. They might include organizations, programs, or activities that help you find a job, housing, or other basic needs. If you can’t find enough assistance at the local level, go broader, and vice versa. A child care resource and referral network can help you find the right mix of support and solutions.

General Child Care Information

We’re talking about terms and definitions relevant to this complex field as well as tips and tricks of the trade. As we already mentioned, these agencies can help you learn about the different forms of licensing for child care providers in your area. They’re also a great resource on what to look for when you’re considering different places to send your children. They’ll have definitions on what each type of child care setting entails, and they might even have lists of things to look for and questions to ask when you’re contacting those different providers. 

If you’re looking for any type of general information about anything on your family resources list, one of these agencies or networks is a great place to start. They have a wealth of knowledge and experts backing them, and they should be able to answer your questions. If they can’t, they should be able to put you in contact with someone who can.

What You Can’t Get at a Child Care Resource and Referral Network

Given that we’ve already given a pretty expansive view on what you can get through a child care resource and referral network, it should already be pretty obvious what you can’t get. However, for the sake of completion, we’re going to clarify a few things in this section. We’ll start with the family side of things, since that’s been our main focus here, and then we’ll move into the topics more relevant to child care providers.

First of all, child care resource and referral networks do not actually care for children. They’ll give you all the information you need to find high-quality child care in your area and give you a family resources list, but they won’t take the kids themselves. The groups are mostly very localized, though, so they should have a good idea on what’s available near you. 

For any child care providers looking to get something other than a family resources list out of one of these organizations, know that they’re not handing out degrees or certifications. They don’t usually put on training events themselves. However, like we’ve already said, they’ll be more than happy to point you in the right direction. They might also offer their own programs to help you pay for certain kinds of trainings. But again, they’re usually not offering that education themselves.

You should also ensure that you’re reaching out to the right organization for the thing you need. For example, there are national networks and more local ones. You should be in contact with the child care resource and referral network in your specific area to get the best local recommendations. The national networks are generally more focused on policy advocacy.

Now you know what you can find through a child care resource and referral network.

With this wealth of information at your fingertips, you should be chomping at the bit to get in touch with a child care resource and referral network in your area. By now, you’ve got a good grip on all the different kinds of assistance one of these organizations can provide, and you’re also aware of the aspects of this field that they don’t touch. We covered all the different information that you can find with these sorts of agencies, and if anything rang true for you, you should definitely reach out.

If you’re looking for a place to start your search for a family resources list, you can always turn to us here at Child Care Aware® of Missouri. We’re a local arm of Child Care Aware of America, one of the most well-recognized child care resource and referral networks in the country. Feel free to check out our website for some extra information, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out here.

How to Make the Most of Child Care Training Online

A man taking a child care training onlineThe past couple years have forced us to get used to lots of life happening online. Child care training online is no exception. Of course, online child care workshops have existed for a while, and they’re by no means new, but they’re particularly well-suited to our current climate. You can learn a lot about the field without having to leave your home. Plus, since different states require child care workers to complete a certain number of training hours each year, they’re a great way to stay on top of your obligations. 

Taking child care training online has some benefits over in-person classes. The biggest one for many people is that it’s vastly more convenient. You won’t have to travel at all — you could even do it in your pajamas! The flip side, though, is that you’re missing out on any potential hands-on experience an in-person training might provide. Online courses are notoriously less engaging than in-person ones, and even though they’re more convenient and practical for our current situation, it can still be tricky to make them feel as impactful as a face-to-face option.

That’s where this post comes in. We’ll give you seven tips on how to make the most of taking child care training online. Our suggestions cover all sorts of different aspects of online child care workshops, and hopefully, you’ll be ready to take them head-on by the end of this piece. But before we get into all that, we have to cover some basics.

First, you have to know where to find them.

You can’t make the most of a training that you don’t sign up for. Therefore, we wanted to start with some tips on how to find child care training online. First, if you live and work in Missouri, you can always check out the Office of Childhood within the Department of Health and Senior Services. They have a list of all the different online child care trainings they offer. Starting here has two main perks: First, you’ll be sure that all of them count toward your required training hours for the year. Second, they’re all completely free. 

There are plenty of other places on the internet to find child care training online, but starting with a trusted resource like the DHSS is a great first move. That way, you’ll be sure that you’re getting good, reliable information and that you’re not wasting any time or money on courses that don’t fulfill your requirements. Other places to look for online child care workshops include any professional organizations that might offer them, especially if they’re ones you’re a member of or ones you’d like to join.

Also think about the specific kind of child care training you’d like to take. Then, try to find an organization that specializes in that area of the field. They might have online child care workshops that fit your needs. 

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get into the tips for taking child care training online.

Tip 1: Take it as seriously as you would an in-person training course.

Online child care workshops might not feel as official as their in-person counterparts, but if you can treat them as such, then you’re well on your way to making the most of child care training online. Come into the experience with the right attitude. You want to learn everything you can to increase your knowledge and abilities as a child care provider, and you’re taking child care training online as a means to that end. Most of the following tips all fall under this umbrella, and they’re more specific ways to make sure you’re staying on top of everything. 

Basically, this is a mindset thing. When you’re sitting on your couch with your laptop in front of you, it’s easier to be in relaxation mode instead of focus mode. At an in-person training event, you’re going to be primed to be more focused because you’re in a space designed for the workshop or class. You won’t be in the same area as all your typical chores and relaxation like you will be at home. So, when you’re taking child care training online, you need to put a conscious effort into treating it as seriously as an in-person class. This will help you get the most out of the experience.

Tip 2: Stay focused.

This is, of course, much easier said than done. This tip also dovetails nicely with the previous one. Since you’ll likely be at home to take child care training online, you’ll have all the things around the house that typically distract you. Try to eliminate as many of those as you can before starting online child care workshops. Set up a work zone somewhere with minimal distractions, or at least turn off the TV before you get started. If there are other people in the house, let them know when your online child care workshops are so that they won’t bother you during the training (as long as they remember).

Another way to increase your focus is to choose the right time to do your training, provided that it’s an on-demand situation. If you’re doing some kind of synchronous class or participating in a Q&A session with an expert in the field, then you’re not going to have much of a choice when it comes to the timing of your class. However, if you are able to choose when to complete your training, doing it at a time when you’ll have the least amount of distractions and are at your most focused is a great idea.

Tip 3: Supplement with in-person options when you can.

Okay, so we’ll admit this is less of a tip for child care training online and more of a suggestion in addition to those courses. Lots of hybrid options can be a great way to combine in-person experience with the convenience of online courses. Online child care workshops are definitely missing the kinds of face-to-face connections that you can get from in-person offerings, so see if you can add that component in elsewhere. You might learn about first aid in an online course, for example, and then take a hands-on CPR class to complement that theoretical knowledge with some practical experience. 

This strategy isn’t feasible for every type of child care training, but it’s a good one to keep in mind when you’re scheduling your different classes for the year. Finding a good mix, when possible, can help even things out.

Tip 4: Take notes.

What you learn in a child care training online can serve you for a long time to come. You’ll want to be able to remember what you learn in online child care workshops, and keeping notes of what went down is a great way to ensure that longevity. You’ll have them to look back on for as long as you can keep track of them, and it might also help you retain the information better.

How you choose to take notes is up to you. Some people prefer to type up their notes while others are dead-set on pen and paper. Especially since you’re taking the child care training online, it might be helpful to have one solid, non-digital element like physical notes to fall back on. Whatever method you choose, it can be helpful to stay organized. Get a notebook specifically for your training classes and take all your notes there. Make sure you write down the name and date of the course. Or, if you’re choosing to go digital, keep your notes in one document or folder that has a descriptive name. That can help you find them later.

Figure out a system that works for you and stick to it. You’ll have an easier time recalling the information as well as pulling up your notes when you’d like to refer back to them. Even though you’re probably not going to have to take a big final exam for any of these comparatively low-stakes online child care workshops, you’ll still want to be able to feel like you learned something to truly make the most of it.

Tip 5: Get your technology in order.

You want to make sure everything works before a scheduled child care training online. That includes a stable internet connection, a computer that won’t randomly crash in the middle of the workshop, speakers or headphones that you’ll be able to hear clearly out of, and potentially a microphone, if it’s a live class where participation is encouraged. Make sure your setup includes all the things you’ll need for this particular child care training online. That way, you can avoid any mid-workshop catastrophes, and you can stay focused on learning instead of trying to troubleshoot any technical issues. This will make your training time much more efficient. 

Enlist help if you need it. There might be resources within the class you’re taking, or you might have to seek outside assistance. Whatever the case, you should make note of exactly what you’ll need for this specific course and then ensure you’ve got all those things ready to go. You won’t gain anything from online child care workshops you can’t access, so make sure you’ve got the digital resources you need.

Tip 6: Network, if possible.

This one is a bit of a stretch for a lot of you taking child care training online. However, we figured it was worth mentioning just to underscore how important it is. Not all online child care workshops have the option of getting to know other people taking the training, but if there is some kind of chat function, make the most of it. 

Most of these trainings are just going to be watching some videos and taking some quizzes, but if you do end up in a more traditional online course, you might be able to meet some like-minded professionals. Networking is always a good idea to set a foundation for advancing in your chosen field. And surrounding yourself with other child care providers who value gaining new information and insight through online child care workshops is never a bad idea.

So, this is all to say that if it’s at all possible to connect with other people taking the courses you are, then you should definitely go for it. Building a network takes work, and this can be the start of a great one.

Tip 7: Keep track of what trainings you take.

This is a great way to finish out your online child care workshops strong. You want to make sure you can refer back to which trainings you’ve already taken, and you’ll want to be able to prove that you have successfully completed the class. Get documentation if it’s necessary and available. That might mean printing off a certificate at the end of the course or saving a screenshot of it. You might also be able to prove you’ve completed a child care training online in another way, so just make sure you know what your options are with the specific courses you’re taking. 

The last thing you want is to be short training hours at the end of the year because you assumed you’d taken enough but hadn’t kept track, or because you can’t prove that you really did take enough classes. Keeping good records of your child care trainings will help prevent these headaches.

Now, you’re set up for success with child care training online.

By now, you’re fully aware of the basic steps you need to take to make sure you’re getting the most out of your online child care workshops. You can find, participate in, and learn from some great online child care trainings, and you know how to keep those benefits for years to come.

If you need any other help finding resources related to child care, whether that’s training for child care providers or any other element of this very complicated field, you can always start with us here at Child Care Aware® of Missouri. You can reach out to us here if you have any further questions. We’re always happy to see if we can connect you with the right resources to meet your needs, whether that’s online child care workshop-related or otherwise.

How to Get the Best Results from Your Child Care Search

A child playing in a daycare found from a child care searchEmbarking on a child care search is a daunting task. It’s a very complex field, and it’s hard to know what to look for in child care providers. Plus, emotions are running high. You’re looking for someone to take care of your child, which is pretty high stakes, and it might be the first time you’ve left them in the hands of someone you don’t know personally. If you’ve been having trusted family members watch out for your little ones when you can’t, making a change can be hard. A child care search has to take into consideration all these factors and more.

We’re here to make it easier for you. Here, we’re going to take you through all the things you need to look for in your child care search. Whether you’re looking for daycare in Columbia, MO, infant care in Springfield, or any other kind of child care anywhere else in the state, Child Care Aware® of Missouri is here to help. Our goal is to connect you with the resources you need to make sure your child care search comes up with good results and you feel confident in leaving your children in capable hands. 

Now, let’s get into it. First, we’ll look at how to identify good candidates in the initial stage of your child care search.

Where to Find Good Child Care

You can look up Missouri’s database of child care providers here. You can search for the records regarding a specific child care facility you’re interested in, or you can search for a particular location and find a list of child care providers in that area. These geographical searches can be narrowed down to a specific city, zip code, or county. You can also narrow down your search depending on the type of facility you’re looking for. If, for example, you’re not comfortable with license exempt programs, you can exclude those from your search.

Then, you’ll get the results of your initial child care search. You can look at the results of their most recent inspections and check if they have any pending violations, and if so, the nature of those issues.

Once you’ve got a handful of facilities you’re interested in that are conveniently located, then you’re ready to reach out to them to ask some questions and potentially get a tour. That leads us to our next section.

Questions to Ask in Your Child Care Search

When you reach out to these child care providers, you’re going to have other things you need to know to make sure they’re a reputable place to entrust with your children. We’ve put together some of our most important questions to ask them.

1. Family Involvement

How involved are the families allowed to be? If spontaneous visits from parents aren’t allowed, that’s a potential red flag. You want to make sure there’s good communication between you and your child’s caregiver, and making sure the whole family can get involved is a good step in that direction.

2. Group Size and Ratios

In a licensed child care facility, the maximum group sizes and ratios of children to caregivers are mandated by the state. Check your local authorities for the rules where you live. In Missouri, there must be one adult for every four children under the age of two, one adult for every eight children who are two years old, one adult for every 10 children three through four years old, and one adult for every 16 children who are five and up. The rules are a little different and more complicated for groups of mixed ages, and if you’d like to read the whole guidelines, you can check them out here.

Obviously, the lower the ratio, the better. Especially if you’re looking at larger centers in your child care search, you’ll need some assurance that your child is getting individualized attention. You want to make sure that your child won’t get lost in the shuffle. As long as the facility is following the state’s regulations, it should be fine, but you should still ask to make sure!

3. Training and Staff Credentials

You might want to assume all the staff members at a reputable child care center are fully qualified for their jobs, but you should definitely double check. Ask what kind of training they receive on an ongoing basis and what their credentials are. You might be surprised. 

This is also the spot to point out that you need to be asking about staff turnover rate. If lots of the child care providers want to leave after a short time working there, it’s probably a good idea to move on with your child care search. A high turnover rate is often indicative of poor management — people tend to want to stay at well-run child care centers.

Most of these questions have been targeted toward bigger child care centers, but if you’re more interested in a family home or other small facility, you still need to do your due diligence. Ask how long they’ve been running their family child care home, and you can ask for references of other families who have been happy with their services.

4. Health and Safety

These questions to ask in your child care search are wide ranging. Let’s first focus on food. Ask what kinds of snacks they serve, if any. If your child has any allergies, you’ll definitely need to know how those will be accommodated. 

Also, are they planning any field trips? If they’re going to be taking your children anywhere, you need to know there are appropriate safety precautions in place when it comes to travel. If the facility offers any kind of transportation services, you need to know that safety is taken seriously while en route to the destination. Ask about all these things and any other safety concern that comes up.

5. Accreditation

You’ll need to find out if the program you’re interested in is accredited by a reputable organization. Look for accrediting bodies at the state or national level. These sorts of organizations hold child care programs to high standards, and they’ll check in periodically to renew those accreditations. You’re looking for accreditations from organizations like the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs, or the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation. You can also use their websites to begin your child care search. 

6. Unique Needs of Your Family

We’ve put forward what we think are the top five things to ask about in your child care search already, but we’re never going to know what your family needs as well as you do. You should take stock of what you’re really looking for in a child care provider and make sure anything we haven’t listed here are at the top of your list of questions. 

Daycare in Columbia, MO: An Example

Now, we want to move into a practical way to use this information about child care searches. Let’s take daycare in Columbia, MO, as an example. We’re going to compile all the child care search steps we’ve already identified in this piece and put them together in a hypothetical situation with a fictional parent looking for daycare in Columbia, MO. 

We’re choosing a search for daycare in Columbia, MO, because it’s a good size for comparison. If you’re looking for daycare in Columbia, MO, then you’ve got some options to choose from, but probably not as many as you would have in a bigger city. If you were conducting a child care search in a more rural area, then you might really have your work cut out for you. Plus, since we’re mainly focused on Missouri child care searches here, it’s centrally located. That combined with the fact that there are enough facilities providing daycare in Columbia, MO, make it a good example.

Daycare in Columbia, MO: Initial Child Care Search

So, imagine you’re a parent in Columbia. You’re ready to go back to work after welcoming your first child, and you need to find a reputable person or facility to care for them. How do you start your child care search?

Like anywhere else in Missouri, a great place to start looking for daycare in Columbia, MO, is the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s search engine. The parent in our example would select Columbia as the city, or they could put in a zip code or search all of Boone county, depending on how far away they’re willing to go for child care. They can also narrow their search according to the type of facility they’re interested in. Let’s say they’re looking for child care centers only. They would check that box and hit “search.” 

Daycare in Columbia, MO: Sifting Through Results

Then, they have a whole list of child care centers for our hypothetical parent to scroll through. You can see their hours as well as the ages of the children they serve right away. Since this parent has an infant, they’ll be looking for a daycare in Columbia, MO, that caters toward those youngest kids. They can quickly rule out any that only take care of older kids. They can also scan for the hours that work best for their schedule. Finally, they can make note of the addresses and telephone numbers of the options for daycare in Columbia, MO, that fit their needs.

You can also click on any child care centers that catch your eye and check to see how they fared in their most recent inspections. The state keeps records of any violations they uncovered and when those were resolved, if they were. This information can help you move to the next stage in the child care search process.

Daycare in Columbia, MO: Making Decisions

Now our imaginary parent has a short list of options from their initial child care search. It might be tempting to call the first one, enroll, and call it a day, but as you already know, there are other considerations in play.

Our example parent needs to reach out to the different child care centers on their short list and do some research to make sure all the questions we outlined are answered. Some might be addressed on their website, if they have one, but others will be more opaque. Our parent will need to give them a call and potentially schedule a tour of the facility. There are quite a few options to choose from when it comes to daycare in Columbia, MO, so these questions and criteria can be a good way to figure out which ones stand out from the rest in your child care search.

Finally, our hypothetical parent takes all those answers into consideration and chooses a child care center. Their child search for a daycare in Columbia, MO, is a success!

Now you’re prepared for your own child care search.

Hopefully, our little example paired with the rest of the information we’ve given you here is enough to get you started on your own child care search. You should be armed with a good place to start, whether that’s through the state’s database or on an accrediting organization’s website. 

Then, you’re ready to ask some questions. There are the basics you should always cover, like health, safety, and caregiver credentials, and then there are the qualities you’re looking for specific to your family. You might need specific hours, or you might prefer one kind of preschool philosophy over the others. Location and price are also considerations, as well as what type of child care facility you’d prefer. There are small, family-run child care operations that care for a handful of children in their home, and there are also big child care centers that employ many teachers and caregivers. There are also lots of options in between. You’ll need to consider the pros and cons of each style of child care before you choose one.

Now, you should have everything you need to find a reputable place to care for your children during the day. Whether you’re looking for daycare in Columbia, MO, or elsewhere in the state, you can check out Child Care Aware® of Missouri for further resources. We’ve got lots of great information about child care where this blog post came from.

How to Find Free Child Care Trainings

A preschool teacher reading to students who benefited from free child care trainingsKeeping up with all the latest advances in the child care field is so important — it’s an incredibly complex field that’s hard to understand. That’s why child care online training courses are a great resource for child care providers. And free child care trainings are even better. Both of these kinds of options make education more accessible to more child care providers, and that’s always a good thing. 

It’s important to make sure we’re getting our kids the highest quality care possible. There are all kinds of reasons that we should be making sure our child care professionals are as highly trained as possible, and we’ve already written about those here. We’ll give you a brief summary in this piece as well, though, in case you don’t want to read an entire other blog post. The gist of it is that our society is stronger with better education and care for our children. Their parents are able to be more productive at work, and they have a better shot at success later in life. Plus, at least in the state of Missouri, child care workers are required to complete 12 clock hours of training each year. 

Lots of the free child care trainings we’re going to list here will count toward those hours. Sometimes child care online training courses don’t count, but not always. We’ll make a note of any child care online training courses we mention that wouldn’t qualify for your yearly hours. And even if they don’t, if it’s a high-quality class, then you’re still getting something out of it. 

Here, we’ll give you some advice on how to find free child care trainings and what to look for when you’ve found them. Read on.

Check out your online options.

Searching for free child care trainings is going to be a lot harder if you limit yourself to in-person classes and seminars. It should be clear why child care online training courses are easier to make free than in-person ones. There’s no need to rent space, buy or print any materials, or any other costs that in person events must incur. Plus, you won’t need to pay for travel costs to get there.

On the flip side, though, don’t assume all child care online training courses are going to be free by default. There are still a lot of costs associated with child care training. The organization offering the training will have designed the course, bringing on experts in the field to design the right kind of curriculum. That’s not free. 

So, it’s true that online child care training classes are often more accessible than their in-person counterparts. But don’t be tricked into thinking just because it’s online it’s automatically free. 

DHSS Child Care Online Training Courses

In Missouri, which is the state we’re based out of, the Department of Health and Senior Services has a lot of free child care trainings for you to peruse online. One of the best parts of choosing these child care online training courses is that you can be absolutely sure they’ll count toward your required clock hours for the year. 

There are all kinds of topics you can learn about in these child care online training courses. From licensing to social and emotional health and from poison safety to transportation and much more, there’s sure to be a course to interest you among those that the DHSS offers online. You can learn more about these free child care trainings here if we haven’t sold you on them yet.

Make sure the course is offered by a reputable source.

Especially when you’re looking at child care online training courses, you need to double check the credibility of the program and the organization who runs it. How diligent you need to be about this is going to depend on how you find the course. If you’re just looking on the DHSS website, then you don’t need to worry. All of those free child care trainings have been vetted and approved.

But when you happen to find free child care trainings elsewhere on the internet, then you might not be sure right away whether this is a reliable organization. Of course, you’re going to need to be more wary about paid courses, since you need to be careful with giving out your payment information, but don’t be lulled into a sense of security with free child care trainings. There are always going to be people trying to take advantage of others, especially online. Bad child care online training courses might not be as obviously shady as poorly planned in-person ones, which means you need to be extra aware. Make sure you’re not wasting your time. 

See if you can find information about the organization that put the course together. If there’s not much out there about them, that could be a bad sign. 

Don’t waste your time on online child care trainings that don’t serve you.

For those who need free child care trainings to fulfill their yearly clock hour requirement, you have an extra layer of inspection involved. It would be a real shame to complete a course and only later discover that you can’t count it toward your hours. So, while you’re checking that the child care online training courses you’re interested in are actually reputable, you should also be making sure what you’re learning is relevant to your job and your interests. If you never work with infants, for example, then you might not benefit from a sleep safe training course. Look for courses that are relevant to what you want to improve.

Scholarships can cut down on costs for training courses that aren’t free.

The unfortunate truth of the matter is that many high-quality child care training regimens aren’t accessible to everyone because of their cost. Free child care trainings are great when they’re available, but if you want to advance in the child care field, you’ll want to look beyond your free training options at some point. 

You’ll also want to look at comprehensive training programs rather than just one-off courses. An example of this would be earning your Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. There are different programs out there that will cover the cost of the application and test. Some of them will even pay you an extra stipend to achieve this credential. What could be better than getting paid to learn more about your field?

Think about your interests and specialties.

There are plenty of widely applicable and fairly generic online child care classes out there, but those will only take you so far. It might be beneficial to pursue a more specialized course of study. 

For example, if you’re a member of the American Montessori Society, then you’ll have access to free child care trainings on that organization’s website. Since you have to pay membership dues for this one, it’s not technically free. However, it’s still something you might have access to without incurring an additional cost. Looking for opportunities like this is a great way to find accessible training resources. Check through the different organizations you belong to or might like to join to see which ones have child care online courses — that might be a deciding factor for you.

Free child care trainings are only going to take you so far. If you want to further specialize in one area of the industry, then at some point, you’re likely going to have to pay for it. Picking an organization whose philosophy and methods you believe in is a good way to start. As we talked about in a previous section, you can also search for scholarships that can drastically reduce the cost of more traditional child care courses, if not make them free outright.

Check with your local child care resource and referral agency.

These organizations are dedicated to making sure that child care providers and families with small children are connected to all the resources they need. If you need more help than a simple blog post can provide, don’t be afraid to reach out to your local branch of Child Care Aware or another resource and referral agency.

You won’t need to worry about the quality of the free child care trainings that Child Care Aware recommends. They’re experts in the field, and they only associate with reputable, helpful, and totally above board resources, whether they’re child care online training courses or any other help you might want. Child care resource and referral agencies are great places to start a search for any child care-related need, training classes included.

Ask your colleagues.

Maybe you’re a step ahead of us and you’ve already tried this one, but we thought it deserved a spot on this list just in case. Don’t be shy about asking around for free training opportunities. Especially if you’re new to the child care field, you’ll probably have a lot to learn from your more experienced coworkers. They’re a great resource, as long as they’re willing.

Your employer might even schedule free child care trainings in order to increase the quality of their operation. Definitely take advantage of any opportunities you find through your work. We’ve already talked about how scholarships can help make training courses more affordable, but you should also check to see what your employer’s policy is on reimbursing you for continuing your education. If they don’t schedule their own trainings, they might be willing to pay for you to attend a relevant conference or class. There’s also the possibility of tuition reimbursement for pursuing more formal training. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.

Think about what will set you apart from your peers.

This is especially important if you’re not working in a child care center. Maybe you’re an independent child care provider trying to find clients whose homes you can visit. If that’s the case, you’re going to have to stand out from your competition. Consider what kinds of skills would make parents more comfortable leaving their children in your care. That can help you refine your search for child care online training courses.

Another situation where you’d want to carefully consider how to improve your child care skills is if you’re looking for a new job. No matter what type of setting you prefer to work in, there are likely going to be other applicants you’re competing against for a job. You want to have the right kinds of skills, training, and experience to land the position. This might go beyond what you can get out of free child care trainings, but it’s important to think about.

The Bottom Line

There are plenty of great child care training courses out there, you just have to find them. In order to find good, free child care trainings, you need to be vigilant. You can go to a trusted source like the DHSS or Child Care Aware® of Missouri and search from there, or you can take it to the wider web. 

Make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. When you work in child care, online training courses can be hugely beneficial due to their convenience and accessibility, but they can also be potentially problematic. You just need to do your due diligence and look into the organization that’s offering the child care online training courses.

Now, you’re fully aware of what to look for and how to go on the hunt for child care training classes. You can check with those organizations we’ve mentioned, check with your employer and coworkers, or just scour the internet. There are plenty of options, as well as places to go for help paying for any courses that aren’t free.

In some ways, no child care training is really free. There’s always going to be a cost of time or missing out on other things you could be doing instead. Even if it’s just a brief training video as part of child care online training courses, there are probably lots of other things you’d technically rather be doing. Nonetheless, it’s an important pursuit. Good luck!

What Is Child Care Aware of America?

A woman, man, and toddler sitting on the floor reading a book, a good practice according to Child Care Aware of AmericaOkay, so maybe this seems like an easy question to answer. Child Care Aware of America sounds like fairly straightforward name. However, it’s really not as simple as it seems. The child care field can be incredibly complex, and understanding all the nuances of the important work Child Care Aware of America does can go a long way to illuminating that field. 

It’s no secret that good, affordable child care can be incredibly hard to come by, especially in certain regions. There’s a lot of good work going on from Child Care Aware of America and child care resource networks like it to combat those difficulties for working families, but if you don’t know that help is out there, you might flounder all on your own. So, it’s important to make yourself aware of your options.

Here, we’re going to take you through the core aspects of what makes this child care resource network tick. We’ll go over their main services, a little bit of their history, and how their work impacts families all across the nation. If you’re already familiar with a Child Care Aware affiliate in your neck of the woods, then you’re already probably pretty well-versed in what the national organization does, but there are some key differences. We’ll go over those a little bit later. Right up front, though, we just want to focus on the basics of the national arm of the organization and all the good work they do.

Let’s start at the very beginning.

So, what is Child Care Aware of America?

Founded in 1987, Child Care Aware of America takes on the important task of working to advance the child care field. In pursuit of that goal, they split their efforts up into several different areas. You can categorize those areas by who the organization is striving to serve. 

One of those groups is parents. They want to connect parents of young children with the highest quality services they can. Another group is child care providers — CCAoA works to make sure that those professionals have all the training and resources they need. The final group is all of society, really. They do that through their advocacy work, getting involved in the policies surrounding child care at the national level.

But the national arm of Child Care Aware doesn’t do this all on its own. Child Care Aware of America works with a whole host of child care resource and referral agencies — over 400 of them nationwide! These are the organizations that can connect parents with the best child care providers in their area, and they do more localized work.

The national organization is also membership-based. Individuals and organizations (like child care resource and referral agencies) can buy a CCAoA membership and receive access to additional resources. These benefits range from being the first to know about Child Care Aware of America’s annual reports to discounts on event registration and so much more. 

Child Care Aware of America also acts as one of the primary child care resource networks in the country. That brings us to the next logical question…

What’s a child care resource network?

A child care resource network is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. You might also hear them called child care resource and referral networks. Basically, one organization will connect parents and child care providers to different relevant resources. 

On the child care provider side, a child care resource network is going to link them up with training and professional development opportunities. They might offer scholarships for certain programs, and they’ll have more information about the regulations in their area of focus. Local child care resource networks are going to have all the information on what kinds of trainings you need to complete and what your options are for completing them. They’re plugged into their local community to get the right resources to the right people. 

On the parent side of things, a child care resource network also has a lot of information to offer. If you need assistance paying for child care, they can point you in the right direction. They can also give you good tips on what to look for in a child care provider, and they’ll also have tips on how to best care for your children yourself, or they’ll be able to guide you in the right direction to get that education. Child care providers aren’t the only ones who can benefit from child care trainings, and a child care resource network will be able to connect you with courses that might be helpful, like basic first aid.

Who does Child Care Aware of America serve?

As we stated in a previous section, this organization (like most child care resource networks) has three main areas of focus: Connecting parents with relevant resources, advancing child care providers’ careers, and advocating for better child care policy.

The organization’s main focus is on children up to 5 years old. It’s a well-known fact that the first five years of life are absolutely critical to brain development. The brain is developing rapidly, quicker than at any other point in our lives. Excess stress on children during this period can have long-lasting effects on their abilities to thrive later in life. Without high quality early childhood education and strong, responsive relationships with adults early on, children aren’t going to be as successful. This kind of good care can reduce the chance that children will have developmental delays. 

These are all reasons why Child Care Aware of America and its affiliates focus on childhood before kindergarten. With that in mind, the organization narrows its focus to families with children under 5, as well as child care providers who care for children before they hit kindergarten. Their advocacy and policy knowledge also focuses on pre-k children and child care systems. So, to answer the question of who the organization serves, it’s really anyone in the field who has an interest in bettering the conditions of children from birth to 5 years old.

Professional Development

A huge part of what this national child care resource network does is help child care providers hone their skills through different professional development programs. There are always new discoveries and advancements being made in the child care field, and keeping on top of them is no small task. It’s important to do, though, because it ensures that our youngest kids have the best possible care and therefore the best opportunities to succeed later in life.

Military Focus

Child Care Aware of America also does a lot of work with military families. The organization serves more than 10,000 military children each year. The specifics of the program will depend on which branch of the Armed Forces your family is part of, but no matter which one you fall under, you might be eligible for help with your child care costs if you don’t have access to an on-base child care provider. Those eligibility requirements will vary from branch to branch, so if you’re interested in one of these programs, definitely check for specifics. Child Care Aware of America is proud to help the families of those who serve our country, and they’d be happy to connect you with the right resources for your situation, if they can.

Advocacy

Another aspect of Child Care Aware of America that might not be immediately obvious is their advocacy. They want to make positive change to the child care field at the structural level, and that includes advocating for better resources from the government. They also have a lot of information for others to advocate on their own. Child Care Aware of America is a trusted source for how best to advance the child care field in this country. Their experts have a complete understanding of where child care policy has been in the past, and they use research and data to inform their ideas on how today’s policies can be improved.

They also have information and resources for individuals who would like to join their advocacy efforts. In the Advocacy section of their website, you can find all kinds of helpful resources, from sample social media posts on relevant topics to ways to contact your representatives and ideas of what to say when you do.

What doesn’t Child Care Aware of America do?

It should be pretty clear by now what Child Care Aware of America’s core services are. We’ve gone over them in several different sections, and we’ve also talked about who specifically the organization serves. Their main purpose should be pretty clear by now. However, we also wanted to make note of what the organization does not do, just so we’re all on the same page before we wrap this up. 

First of all, Child Care Aware of America doesn’t actually care for children. The organization (or one of its affiliates) can refer you to high-quality child care providers in your area, but they won’t take the tots in themselves. And while they can connect child care providers to resources and professional development opportunities, they’re not handing out degrees or anything like that themselves. As a child care resource network, they’re mostly just there to point you in the right direction for all your child care needs.

Also know that you’re often better off reaching out to your local child care resource network rather than going straight to the national branch. The national organization isn’t going to be up to date on all the goings on in your area, so keeping it local can help you get more specific information. That’s not to diminish how important the national organization is, but just keep in mind whether the information or resources you’re looking for is relevant to the whole country or just to your area.

Child Care Aware Near You

We’ve spoken about how Child Care Aware of America works with more local child care resource networks. You can find one through their website, but if you live in Missouri, we wanted to point you toward the Child Care Aware affiliate in your state. Child Care Aware® of Missouri does a lot of the same work that we’ve discussed previously when it comes to child care resource networks, and they’ll be able to help you find the right resources in your area. Child Care Aware® of Missouri serves families and child care providers statewide — check out some more specifics about them here.

This is just the start of what Child Care Aware of America is all about.

We’ve covered the core components of what makes this child care resource network so great, but that’s just the beginning. We couldn’t possibly get at every single detail of their organization in a single post. If you’re interested in learning more, you can check out their website for more information.

CCAoA is doing important work every single day, and no matter who you are, you have something to gain from their efforts. If you’re a parent, they can point you in the direction of helpful resources in your area. Whether you need help paying for child care or just need some ideas on what to look for in a child care provider, they can get you some answers or put you in touch with the right people. 

If you’re a child care provider, then you can get all sorts of resources for your profession through CCAoA. You might even join as a member, and then you’ll get all kinds of helpful information to increase your expertise. 

And if you don’t fit into either of those categories, know that Child Care Aware of America is working to better our whole society. In that way, you’ll still benefit from their work. When parents can access high quality child care, they’re more productive, and their children grow up to be more successful and productive members of society. So, we all have something to gain from the great work this child care resource network does, and now you know some of what that important work is.

10 Helpful Child Services in Missouri

A child and a man smiling outdoors who could use child services in MissouriMaking sure your child has everything they need to thrive from their very first breaths is a daunting task. There are so many things they need, and only so many hours in the day. Plus, when you’ve got to go to work and leave them in the hands of a child care provider, how do you know they’re being well cared for? All these reasons are why child services in Missouri are so important.

You don’t have to go it alone. We’ve compiled 10 of the most helpful child services in Missouri, ranging from educational information on best child care practices to daycare resources. We’ll take you through how to get connected to each of the different organizations in our great state that offer some form of child services in Missouri. Our list is in no particular order; all the organizations we’ve got here are doing important work. Some of them definitely overlap a bit, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding one that at least can point you in the right direction of the services you need. If you’re in need of child services in Missouri, checking any of them out can be a great way to get your kids the help they need.

Plus, some of the organizations we’re listing are actively looking for people to get involved through volunteering or other ways to help expand their efforts. If you’re passionate about child care advocacy, then you might find a new organization to get involved with among these, too, if not a place to go for more support, like daycare resources.

We’ll get to each of these great organizations, but before we get into listing them, we want to go over why child services in Missouri are so important as well as all the different needs these organizations are trying to help alleviate. 

Child services in Missouri are critical.

We know how important it is to make sure kids have every possible opportunity to succeed in life. When children are well cared for, they’re more likely to grow up to be productive members of society. Specifically with daycare resources, we also know that when parents aren’t worried about their children and have safe, stable, high-quality care for them, then they’re also more productive at their jobs. Parents need to know that they can care for their kids properly, but they’re not always in the best place to do that all by themselves. 

That’s where all these different organizations and services come in. They do the important work of filling in the education and funding gaps for parents in Missouri, providing all kinds of highly helpful resources. Some of them have to do with all aspects of healthy living at home, while others are focused on supporting child care settings with daycare resources.

Also keep in mind that when we’re talking about the very youngest Missourians, sleep safe training is absolutely critical. Both as a part of required daycare resources and for parents, making sure babies are in safe sleeping environments is a key way to lower infant mortality numbers and avoid tragedies. According to the most recent data from the CDC, there are 6.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in the state of Missouri, which is slightly higher than the national rate of 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. That means we need to be taking steps to protect our infants, and several of the organizations on this list are taking great strides in that direction. 

Okay, now that we’ve established how important the work of these organizations is, let’s jump into it. Here are 10 helpful child services in Missouri.

1. Missouri Foundation for Health

This is an organization that’s working to “eliminate inequities within all aspects of health.” That’s a lofty goal, and to achieve it, the organization does important work in several different sectors. In terms of child care and daycare resources, they’ve got a lot of information about healthy living and combatting childhood obesity. That mostly targets older kids, but they also do important work preventing infant mortality. To do that, they work with two more localized organizations, Bootheel Babies & Families and FLOURISH St. Louis. 

2. MissouriFamilies

This site run by the College of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Missouri is a wealth of information for all kinds of Missouri families. They even have some training opportunities for child care providers, as well. Check out their website for all kinds of information and daycare resources.

3. Parents as Teachers 

This organization isn’t as focused on daycare resources as it is on making sure parents have all the knowledge they need to foster their child’s healthy development and get them ready for school. A big part of their work is sending parent educators to make home visits. Those professionals will regularly check in with the family from prenatal through kindergarten, ensuring a consistent, positive presence throughout those earliest years.

Parents as Teachers began in Missouri in the 1980s, and it has since expanded across the country and beyond. In all that time, they’ve placed a strong focus on basing methods and guidelines in the most recent research, and they’ve done a lot of good work. If you’re interested in elevating your parenting expertise, then getting involved with this organization is a great step to take in that direction.

4. Missouri Alliance for Children and Families

A lot of these organizations have similar names, but they’re by no means redundant. This organization helps children and families engaged in the foster care system. They endeavor to provide full case management services for those children and families, building bonds and connections between family members. The foster care system can be incredibly difficult, and this organization tries to help out where they can. The Missouri Alliance is driven to help strengthen families through their services. 

5. Missouri Early Childhood Special Education

There are all kinds of ways to get the extra help you might need to care for a child with disabilities. Different organizations that provide child services in Missouri will often also have resources for children with disabilities, but there are definitely organizations specifically devoted to helping those populations, as well. We’ll talk about at least one more of them a little later on, but first, there’s Missouri Early Childhood Special Education, which can help you get your child into programs they’ll really benefit from.

6. Ready Readers

This is a great volunteer opportunity if you live on the eastern side of the state. Ready Readers provides special kinds of daycare resources, bringing in books and volunteers to read them at early childhood centers and preschools. Getting kids excited about reading is a great way to set them up for success in school and in life, and Ready Readers endeavors to foster that lifelong love of reading. 

The downside here is that this is one of the few organizations on this list that doesn’t offer daycare resources throughout the entire state. However, if you live outside of the counties they serve, you can still check out their website for book suggestions and a lot of other helpful resources for optimizing your child’s reading experience. 

7. Missouri WIC

Most of the organizations we’ve listed so far are independent non-profits that work with the state of Missouri but aren’t government agencies. Here, we wanted to look at one of the offices run by the government that has a goal of helping children and families, especially those kids under 5 years old.

The first one is Missouri WIC (The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, to be more precise). This organization strives to make sure babies and kids under 5 have access to proper nutrition. According to their website, “the program is designed to help families improve their health and nutrition behaviors.” With their focus on home health and nutrition, you won’t find daycare resources among their offerings.

8. Early Head Start and Head Start Programs

This is technically a federal program, but they have many locations within the Show Me State. You’ve probably heard of the Head Start program, which offers free preschool for families that fall at or below the federal poverty line, but you might not be as familiar with Early Head Start, which serves babies and children up to age 3. This is definitely one of the most comprehensive daycare resources on this list, and these programs do a whole lot more than that. The goal is to help the whole family while also getting those kids ready for school, giving them the best possible shot in life. 

If you think you might qualify for one of these programs, make it a priority to check them out. You can see a list of all Missouri locations here.

9. Missouri Family to Family

Remember how we said there were several organizations that worked to help those with disabilities and their families? This is another one of them. Missouri Family to Family is run out of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, but it’s a statewide network of support. This organization offers peer mentoring for families who have a member with disabilities. They’re also happy to answer any questions you might have about benefits or getting connected with other organizations. They want to help you find the right resources, much like the goals of this list of child services in Missouri. Although Missouri Family to Family doesn’t focus specifically on pre-k kids, the organization should still be able to steer you in the right direction for those daycare resources. Give them a call to find out.

10. Child Care Aware® of Missouri

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention our own services on this list. While we don’t actually care  for children, we can provide you with a lot of resources on where to find the best care for your children 5 years old and under. If you need help finding specific child services in Missouri, we have a lot of ways to get you in contact with the appropriate agency or organization. 

Are you on the hunt for high-quality child care in your corner of the state? We have a database for that. We also have plenty of other daycare resources for you to peruse — what you should be looking for when you’re considering a child care program, questions you should ask, and what the licensing requirements are in our state, among other information. We’re a great resource for anybody trying to find the best child services in Missouri.

Our organization also helps create some of the best child services in Missouri. Through our child care provider training resources, we can help those caring for our youngest Missourians to do the very best job possible. It’s all about elevating the level of care and making sure people have access to it.

You can check out our website to try to find what you’re looking for, or you can contact us here

Now get out there and find the best child services in Missouri.

At this point, you’ve got plenty of places to start looking for child services in Missouri. No matter what kind of resources you need, you have different options to choose from. If you need financial aid to pay for child care, you’ve got plenty of places to seek that help from. If you just want educational materials on how to be the best parent possible, then there’s no shortage of ways to get that information. 

We’ve attempted to limit this list to organizations that offer child services throughout Missouri. However, there are also a lot of great organizations that are doing more localized work, especially if you live in a more metropolitan area. If you can’t find the right services from a statewide agency, like perhaps local daycare resources, then definitely look into organizations that are focused on your specific community.

Parenting is hard. You deserve all the help you can get. There are plenty of organizations that offer some form of child services in Missouri, and there’s no shame in availing yourself of those resources. That’s literally what they’re there for. It’s all in the name of making sure our children have the best possible opportunities to thrive, and that benefits everyone.

Answering All Your Questions About CDA Certification in Missouri

Child care provider helping a student, using her CDA certification in MissouriBecoming more highly qualified as a child care provider has so many benefits — benefits for you, for the children you care for, for their parents, and for society at large. Those are some big incentives. Even if you want to advance your knowledge and career, though, it might be hard to find somewhere to start. That’s where a CDA certification in Missouri comes in. 

If you’re asking, “What is a CDA in child care?” then we probably need to start at the very beginning. CDA stands for Child Development Associate. A national organization called the Council for Professional Recognition sponsors this prestigious certification, and it’s recognized worldwide. We’re here to answer all your questions about this certification, going far beyond just, “What is a CDA in child care?” 

Embarking on a journey like achieving your CDA certification in Missouri can be a little daunting, but hopefully, having all the relevant information will make the process slightly less intimidating. We’ve attempted to compile some of the most common questions about the certification, from basics like, “What is a CDA in child care?” to more in-depth questions like how long the process takes and how often you have to renew a CDA certification in Missouri. We’ll even direct you to more resources, where appropriate.

Okay, without further ado, let’s get into it. Here’s your (mostly) complete guide to achieving your CDA certification.

What is a CDA in Child Care?

A CDA in child care is a certification that proves you have what it takes to be a successful early childhood care provider. It’s a way to quantify your knowledge and expertise in this very complex field. Earning your CDA certification in Missouri is going to be a major boost toward advancing your career in early childhood education. 

Because the process of earning a CDA has multiple steps, there are several different pieces involved in answering the question, “What is a CDA in child care?” There are three main elements: An exam, an observation, and a professional portfolio. We’ll give you more detail on those in the “How do I earn my CDA certification in Missouri?” section a little later on, but the goal right here is to provide a high-level overview of the certification. 

The bottom line is that the CDA is a well-respected credential, and if you’re interested in furthering your career in early childhood education, it’s definitely something you should look into.

Do I need child care experience to apply for a CDA? 

Yes. Before you can even start the process, you need to complete 480 hours of experience working with young children and 120 hours of formal training. The specific requirements for that training will depend on which track you’re choosing. You can pick from Center-Based Preschool, Center-Based Infant-Toddler, Family Child Care, and Home Visitor. No matter which track you choose, you need that training to cover eight different areas. They are:

  • Planning a safe and healthy learning environment
  • Advancing children’s physical and intellectual development
  • Supporting children’s social and emotional development
  • Building productive relationships with families
  • Managing an effective program operation
  • Maintaining a commitment to professionalism
  • Observing and recording children’s behavior
  • Understanding principles of child development and learning

There will be slight variations depending on the track you’ve chosen. In terms of experience, you also need to keep the observation component of the CDA in mind. You’ll need to be actively working or volunteering in a child care job in your chosen track in order for the CDA PD specialist to observe you working with children. We’ll dive deeper into the exact requirements of the different stages of the process in the next section. For now, it’s just important to note that you do need a fairly significant amount of child care experience and training before you can begin pursuing your CDA.

How do I earn my CDA certification in Missouri?

To earn your CDA certification in Missouri (or in any other state, but since we’re located in Missouri, that’s where we’ll keep our focus), you need to prove that you’re a qualified child care provider. There are several steps to this process. You can view them all in detail on the Council for Professional Recognition’s site, but we’ll give you a brief overview here. We touched on the three main components of the CDA in the “What is a CDA in child care?” section earlier, so now, let’s get a little more detailed. 

The Exam

This test consists of 65 multiple-choice questions, and they’ll be a lot tougher than, “What is a CDA in child care?” You’ll take the exam on a computer at a testing center. It covers different aspects of child care. You might leave your test anxiously wondering whether you passed or not, but that’s not how this exam works. The Council takes your exam results and weighs them with the other aspects of your application, and you’ll only hear if you achieved the credential or not. You won’t know if you “passed” the exam or not. So, take all the different components seriously, and one you’re stronger in might balance out your weaker spots.

The Observation

A CDA PD specialist will visit the place where you work or volunteer with children and assess how you do. Before they can do that, though, you’ll need to find a PD specialist in your area and contact them — you can start that process here

Once you’ve found a PD specialist to conduct the observation, they’ll look over your professional portfolio, which we’ll touch on in the next section. They’ll also speak to you in a reflection period, discussing your different strengths and weaknesses that they’ve identified from their observations. 

The Portfolio

The professional portfolio is the final piece to the CDA certification in Missouri. You will need to submit several different kinds of documents as part of your portfolio: Education documentation, family questionnaires, reflective statements of competence, resources, and a professional philosophy statement. Remember that the PD specialist will review your portfolio as part of your observation.

Who recognizes a CDA certification in Missouri?

CDA enjoys worldwide recognition, so any child care provider worth their salt in Missouri should be duly impressed by your CDA certification. They’ll know all the steps you had to take to go from learning what a CDA in child care is to earning one for yourself.

What kind of barriers to entry are there?

There are definitely financial barriers to completing your CDA certification in Missouri. The application for the test alone costs upwards of $400, and that’s not factoring in any training or studying costs. You’ll have to buy the CDA Competency Standards book when you apply for your initial credential, and there are two other books the Council offers to help you prepare for your portfolio and exam.

Depending on your area and circumstances, you might struggle with other aspects of the process, too — you might have trouble locating a suitable PD specialist, or you might face difficulties scheduling training and work experience hours. Fortunately, there are other organizations that can help you diminish these barriers to entry, specifically the cost.

Can I get help paying for my CDA certification in Missouri?

Yes. There are definitely CDA scholarship opportunities out there to help you earn that credential. For example, Child Care Aware® of Missouri offers a CDA Scholarship Project, paying for your application fee, a bonus once you complete your CDA certification in Missouri, and supporting you along the way. If you’re interested in earning a CDA certification in Missouri, Child Care Aware® of Missouri is definitely the place to go for assistance. 

However, if you live in a different state, you should check with your local child care resource and referral agencies. You should be able to find assistance with earning your CDA no matter what state you live in.

How long does it take to achieve a CDA certification?

It will depend. If you’re counting from when you find out what a CDA in child care is to the time you’ve completed your certification, it can be quite some time. You have to rack up all those training and experience hours before you can apply, take the exam, and complete your observation, after all. You’ll definitely want to take your time studying for the exam and compiling your portfolio items. But once you’ve completed all of the components, it shouldn’t take more than a handful of business days to find out whether you’ve achieved the certification or not.

When do I have to renew my CDA certification in Missouri?

A CDA is valid for three years. That might not sound like very long, but with a field this complex, it’s important to stay up-to-date. You won’t be asking basic questions like, “What is a CDA in child care?” anymore, but you might still have questions about that important renewal process. 

There are certain requirements you have to meet before you can apply for renewal. You need to have completed a certain amount of training, including approved first aid and pediatric CPR training (check out this PDF for more specifics). You’ll also have to be a current member of an early childhood education professional organization when you apply for renewal, and you’ll need someone to serve as your verifier. The last component (other than the $125 fee) is verification of 80 hours of work in your chosen child care setting.

Do make sure you renew your CDA before it expires — you can submit your renewal application as much as six months before that expiration date. If you want to change the track you chose for your CDA, you’ll have to go through the regular process again, not the renewal process.

If you have any more questions about the process, you can get free renewal guides from the Council for Professional Recognition. 

Where can I go for more help in this process?

Like we said at the beginning, the Council’s website is a great resource for more in-depth information on all the different steps in the process. There, you can also look up organizations that offer further assistance. Plus, we’ve also mentioned Child Care Aware® of Missouri as a good place to go for more help, specifically if you’re trying to earn a CDA certification in Missouri.

How will I benefit from achieving my CDA certification in Missouri?

We’ve already touched on how you’ll benefit in the “What is a CDA in child care?” section — namely, through opportunities for career advancement. Having this sort of well-recognized credential to add to your resume can open up all kinds of new career opportunities. 

Not only will you benefit, but so will the children in your program. Through the training, exam, and reflection components, you’ll grow as a child care provider. You’ll have the skills to give the children in your care an even better jump start on their futures. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Now you know the answer to, “What is a CDA in child care?”

We’ve answered that question quite thoroughly — at least, we hope we did! To dive into all the intricacies of a CDA certification, we answered that initial question as well as a lot of other, supplementary ones. We went through the initial process of earning a CDA as well as the basics on how to renew the credential before it expires. Now, you should know how to set off on your CDA journey, what resources you’ll need, and how you’ll benefit once you achieve your CDA certification in Missouri. 

From “What is a CDA in child care?” to “How will I benefit form a CDA?” all your most pressing questions about this certification should have been addressed here. If not, we also directed you toward other resources to help you along the CDA process, and they’ll be more help than a simple blog post ever could be. 

You may have started out by asking, “What is a CDA in child care?” We hope you’ll end up earning that credential and spreading the wealth, explaining what a CDA in child care is to the next group of interested child care professionals.

The Top Benefits of Child Care Professional Training

Woman caring for a crawling boy in child care professional trainingWe live in a society that doesn’t always value child care professional training. There’s a pervasive cultural myth that child care providers are glorified babysitters and that pretty much anybody could do a fine job. That’s simply not true. Just like any other professional, child care providers need specialized training in order to do the best possible work.

Extra training isn’t the easiest sell for some people. It takes valuable time, and it might cost some money to get into certain training programs. However, those costs are definitely worth the end result. 

Here, we’ll try to convince you of that. We’ve broken the different benefits of child care professional training into the different groups it helps, detailing how each segment of the population has something to gain from increased training in whatever form that takes, from college courses to on-demand child care training. Those groups range from very specific, like parents and children, to very broad, like society at large. By the end, you should realize that everyone has something to gain from increased child care professional training.

Benefits to Child Care Facilities

Child care centers and other types of child care facilities might not see the immediate benefits of providing child care professional training for their employees. After all, if they were qualified enough to get the job, how much more training could they actually need?

Turns out, quite a lot.

Exceed Expectations

First of all, not all states have very strict requirements for the amount of training required for all entry-level child care workers. In Missouri, not all child care providers are required to have a license — namely, religious organizations and small, in-home child caregivers. The state of Missouri requires caregivers in licensed child care facilities to complete 12 clock hours of training each year. However, if you’re working in one of these license exempt settings, you’re not required to take the trainings that others are. So, a baseline qualification often doesn’t really cut it in terms of giving potential clients peace of mind. 

This is all to say that especially if you run a license-exempt operation, offering and encouraging more training can help you stand out from the pack. Just because it isn’t required by the state doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea.

Keeping Up with the Industry

Perhaps an even more important reason, though, is that the child care world is always changing. New research uncovers new best practices, and new data informs new rules and regulations. It’s important to keep up. Child care professional training is one of the best (and only) ways to make sure your staff is studying up on any new recommendations or methodologies. 

Attracting More Business

Keeping your staff well educated with child care professional training will also make your facility more attractive to parents looking for a trustworthy place to care for their children. We’ll talk more about how parents benefit from child care professional training in a little bit, but it’s worth mentioning here that parents definitely care about child care professionals’ backgrounds. If they’ve done their homework, they’ll likely ask about it before enrolling their children. Child care providers will want to have a good answer for their questions about the level of child care professional training offered to their staff. 

In-Person Trainings

So, this is all to say that it pays to have a well-trained staff, and making that training accessible to them is one way a child care center can increase the level of child care professional training among its workers. On-demand child care training definitely has its benefits and is appropriate in some settings, but one of the main benefits of child care professional training provided by a child care facility is that it can be in person. If you offer up your space to a seminar, then that makes getting hands-on training that much more accessible for your employees.

Benefits to Child Care Providers

Of course, one of the main benefits is compliance with the law. Missouri child care workers need to log 12 clock hours of training each year, and if you live in another state, you should definitely check out the requirements in your area. This is one area where on-demand child care training can be super helpful. In Missouri, you can go to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Childhood website and find various on-demand child care training courses you can take to count toward those annual hours. 

Increased Earning Potential 

Especially if you earn a prestigious form of child care certification or degree, you’ll qualify for higher paid positions, and you’ll have the leverage to negotiate a higher salary. The more training you’ve gotten, the more you’re potentially worth to a child care facility.

In addition to simple courses like on-demand child care training, you can go after well-respected certifications. One of those is the Child Development Associate Credential. It’s a fairly involved process, and although it’s not as accessible as something like a basic on-demand child care training class, it can definitely be attainable. Learn how we can help you earn your CDA here.

New Opportunities

How many new positions you become qualified for after you complete some training will largely depend on what kind of training it was, but the point stands that generally, the more knowledge you amass, the more different kinds of positions you can excel in.

Maybe you’ve been a child care worker for some time now, and you’re interested in moving into a different role in that sector. Gaining a new position will likely be a lot easier with the right kind of education under your belt. One on-demand child care training class isn’t going to change your life or your prospects, but it might open some doors to other types of experience you can get. 

Benefits to Children

How children benefit from child care professional training should be pretty obvious. We’ll explain it in detail anyway, though, because we’re nothing if not thorough.

School Readiness and Lifelong Success

When those kids get higher quality child care, they have a better chance at success. The best early childhood care will help young kids gain communication and social skills, early math and pre-literacy knowledge, and foster healthy brain development. They’ll also be more aware of the roles different people play in the world around them. Early childhood is a critical period in brain development, and making sure kids have access to highly trained professionals is a great way to set them up for later success.

These different benefits all work together, too. Child care workers who receive proper benefits from their employers, like continuing child care professional training, are less likely to leave. That reduced turnover rate will benefit the children in the program because they’re able to form bonds with the people caring for them. According to the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, fostering responsive relationships between children and adults is one of the most important steps we can take to ensure healthy development. Providing the appropriate child care professional training is one way to help make sure that happens.

Increased Safety

Not only are kids who receive high quality care more ready for school and life beyond, they’re also safer. Of course, basic safety training is a requirement. Courses like CPR and sleep safe training are absolutely vital to ensuring children’s safety, and they shouldn’t be considered extra add-ons — they’re just necessary. However, there are also further classes you can take to increase the safety of your charges.

Even on-demand child care training can teach important safety practices for child care providers. While some things, like CPR, really benefit from an in-person practice component, others can be effectively taught through on-demand child care training. That makes for an accessible way to increase the education level of child care providers.

Safety is always of paramount importance. Children are safer when the people caring for them are more highly trained.

More Inclusivity

Some trainings are designed to broaden the capabilities of child care facilities and their workers. Child care providers can struggle to care for children with disabilities if they don’t have the proper tools, resources, and training. More child care workers taking part in courses that focus on the proper ways to care for children with different disabilities will mean more children will have access to care that works for them.

Benefits to Parents

Sending your child to a child care facility with highly trained professionals is going to give parents much greater peace of mind. And when parents don’t need to worry about the kind of care their children are receiving, then they can be more productive members of the workforce.

Plus, it doesn’t hurt for parents to check out on-demand child care training videos for themselves, either. Child care professional training might not be appropriate for them, but there are plenty of on-demand child care trainings that are relevant to parenting, too. Since they’re so readily accessible, they might be a good option for many parents looking to increase their knowledge and skills when it comes to caring for their children. Important skills like CPR and first aid fall under this umbrella. 

Parents often struggle to pay for child care. It’s notoriously expensive, and that leaves them in tough situations. They might have an easier time justifying the cost if they’re completely certain their children are receiving high-quality care, and training is a huge part of that.

Benefits to Society

Maybe this subheading seems a bit lofty. You might doubt the fact that a few on-demand child care training courses could actually have any meaningful impact on society at large. However, it’s a lot more than that. 

The positive impacts of child care professional training don’t stop at those who are directly influenced. A whole community can see the benefits of high quality child care professional training. 

Think about it. If child care workers are providing higher quality care, the children are better cared for, and their parents are more confident leaving them to go to work. You’ll get more productive workers that way. Plus, the workers of tomorrow will be better equipped to contribute meaningfully to society. Setting kids up for success at an early age is a great way to invest in the future of our society. 

So, maybe a few on-demand child care training classes don’t seem like much. But add up all those other benefits, and you’ll see just how impactful child care professional training can be.

Child care professional training has wide-reaching benefits.

As we’ve discussed, employing more highly trained child care workers is a benefit to everyone in a myriad of ways. Some child care centers might be reluctant to spend time and resources on training. However, as we explained, it’s definitely worth it for them, for their employees, for the children in their care, for those children’s parents, and for society at large. That’s a big burden to carry, but even something as simple as an on-demand child care training class can make a great step in the right the direction. 

And if you’re a child care worker whose employer doesn’t provide professional development, there are ways you can get more training without them, too. You’ll see more doors open for you, especially if you pursue one of the more well-respected and well-known certifications or degrees in the field. Children receiving that high-quality care will be better set up for success in the future, and their parents will be more comfortable leaving them and going to work. Society benefits from both of those things, getting a more productive and less worried worker today and a higher-quality worker in the future. 

That’s our high level summary of why it’s a great idea to make child care professional training more accessible. One way to do that is to pursue on-demand child care training, which can be a great option for a lot of different courses. Definitely look into your options to seek more training if you work in this field, or how to support those efforts if you don’t. We’ll all thank you for it.

9 Essential Kinds of Child Care Providers Training

A woman with a baby in child care providers trainingWe probably don’t have to tell you that child care providers training is one of the most vital ways of ensuring our children are well cared for. When child care providers have the appropriate knowledge and skills, they can use their expertise to provide the highest quality care for all the children they are charged with.

As such, many states require a certain number of child care providers training hours each year. In Missouri, you need to log 12 clock hours of approved child care providers training in order to remain a licensed caregiver. Not all of the types of child care providers training on this list will fulfill that requirement, but they are all programs that will make you a better child care provider, which is its own reward.

Some of the programs listed here are geared more toward getting you ready to start your career as a child care provider, while others are intended for those who are already established in the field. Skim through and identify which ones would best suit your needs, then you can use that as a jumping off point for the kinds of child care providers training that you want to pursue. We’ve included information about ways you can get help paying for some of these programs where appropriate, like a CDA scholarship (more on that later). 

Okay, with all those caveats out of the way, let’s get into it. Here are nine child care providers trainings that can help take your career to the next level.

1. CPR and First Aid

This is likely the most basic child care providers training course out there. CPR and First Aid classes are very common and very easy to find. Not only is it an essential child care providers training, but it’s also vital to many other types of positions. 

You’ll learn a lot of valuable skills in this type of course. By the end, you should be prepared to react in emergency situations and provide the right kind of care. There are special instructions when it comes to CPR for children and infants, so you should make sure the course you take covers those, too.

We decided to start with this one because it’s easily accessible, vitally important, and it’s also required by the state of Missouri. To count for those state requirements, the training must be conducted at least partially in person. You also have to take the training from one of the approved models (you can find the list here). 

CPR and First Aid training will count toward your annual clock hours as long as the person or organization that trains you was approved by the Section for Child Care Regulation. If you opt for a CPR and First Aid course that is partially online and partially in person, the online portion will not count toward those clock hours. 

2. Water Safety

Maybe you don’t anticipate being in the water in your child care job, but adding on water safety skills to your child care providers training can be a nice bonus. It might open up all kinds of other opportunities for you. Plus, it’s better to be over prepared than underprepared. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to watch children around a body of water, you’ll be glad you took this type of training, even if it seemed unnecessary at the time.

Much like CPR and First Aid training, this sort of course is not all that difficult to come by. You’ll learn how to reduce the risk of drowning as much as possible with a focus on young children, and you’ll learn various concepts and techniques for how to prevent a tragedy in the water. There’s also often an emphasis on applying these ideas and methods to common situations you might encounter. By the end of the training, you should be fairly confident in your abilities to keep children safe around pools and other bodies of water.

This probably isn’t the first training you think of or one of the first you should complete on your journey to becoming a child care provider, but it’s a nice one to add on, especially if your job involves water. This next kind of child care providers training, however, is one that’s absolutely essential.

3. Sleep Safe Training

The state of Missouri requires this type of course for child care facilities that are licensed to care for kids less than one year old. You’ll need to take this class once every three years to stay up-to-date on all the latest best practices. These will also count toward your yearly clock hours. There’s a list of approved providers that you can find here, if you’re interested.

In one of these trainings, you’ll learn all about how to keep infants safe while they’re sleeping. You’ll learn about the position they should be in (on their backs), what should be in the crib with them (essentially nothing), and all the other essential information on making sure babies are sleeping properly and with the lowest chance of harm.

In 2019, about 1,250 infants died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in the United States, and another 960 died due to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. In a sleep safe training course, you’ll learn best practices to prevent more avoidable infant deaths. We’ll talk about other child care providers training programs that are geared toward those caring for the youngest kids a little later, but a sleep safe training is a great place to start if you want to work with babies.

4. DHSS Online Training

This is less a type of child care providers training and more of a training resource. The Department of Health and Senior Services offers a variety of online courses to help you fulfill your clock hour requirements. They cover a range of topics — licensing, social and emotional health, poison safety, transportation, and more.

Even though these are completely online, they will count toward your yearly clock hours, and each course should tell you how many hours you’ll receive before you begin. There are quite a lot of rules and regulations regarding these, so make sure to read through them before you get started. All that information can be found here.

5. Youth Nutrition Specialist

Everybody has to eat, and making sure kids eat well is a key part of effective child care. Although these types of certifications are typically geared more toward existing nutritionists and health professionals, it can also be an addition onto your other child care providers training programs. You’ll learn about how to create nutritional plans and strategies for individual kids and all the things that go into that, which will support kids’ healthy growth. 

Unlike the CDA and CDA scholarship opportunities, which we’ll get into in more depth later, there aren’t very many financial aid options here. If you want to earn a degree in nutrition or a related field, that’s a bit of a different story. With just a certification, though, you’ll likely be on your own to cover the cost.

6. Certified Children’s Fitness Specialist

Much in the same vein as the youth nutrition specialist training, this one is not a required child care providers training, and it might not be one everyone’s interested in. Especially if you’re going to focus on caring for infants, fitness training might seem unnecessary to your career.

However, it might be a good add-on training if you’re passionate about getting kids moving. Childhood obesity affects one out of every five children and adolescents in the United States, making it a huge issue to tackle. This isn’t just a problem for older kids, either — the CDC’s most recent data shows that obesity affected 13.4 percent of 2- to 5-year-olds.

Again, like the nutrition certification, you’re probably going to have to pay for this one on your own. There are a lot of different organizations out there that provide this sort of training, though, and they come at various price points. Make it happen if your calling is increasing kids’ fitness levels.

7. Special Needs Care

Although this type of training isn’t required, it’s essential to making sure all children are cared for properly. There are a few options for this in Missouri. One is to look on the Missouri Workshop Calendar to find an inclusion specialist providing training, which will count toward your required clock hours. The other is to contact the inclusion specialist in your region and set up a session with them. That course will cost a small fee. The plus side, though, is that it’s so small most people shouldn’t have any trouble paying it and don’t need a program like a CDA scholarship. Which brings us to our next form of child care providers training…

8. CDA

One way to prove that you’ve had adequate child care providers training is by achieving your Child Development Associate (CDA). That’s a well-recognized credential that includes exam, observation, and portfolio components. We’ve been mentioning it and CDA scholarship opportunities throughout because it’s one of the most comprehensive child care providers trainings on this list. If you earn a CDA, you’ll be signaling to the world and your profession that you have the knowledge and skills to provide high-quality child care, and that you’re dedicated to your profession.

CDA Scholarships

If you need help paying for the program, you might be eligible for a CDA scholarship. The CDA costs $425 for an online application and $500 for a paper application, and that’s not including all the professional education hours you need to have completed before you ever submit an application. That can make it prohibitively expensive for some looking to break into the child care field. 

That’s why a CDA scholarship can be so beneficial. CDA scholarships are available through several different programs, and the CDA scholarship you opt to apply for will depend on how you want to earn those hours. Some states will offer a CDA scholarship to anyone who is income eligible, paying for some or all of your training, and potentially covering the assessment fee, as well. You should check with your state to see if you’d be a good candidate for their CDA scholarship program, if they have one.

If your state doesn’t have a CDA scholarship program, don’t let that stop you from achieving this designation. You should look into any other CDA scholarship options that might be available to you — reach out to your local child care resource and referral organization to get help.

9. Newborn Care Specialist Association Certification

This will be a helpful child care providers training if you want to work with infants. They require specialized care, so even if you’re great with slightly older children, it helps to familiarize yourself with their specific needs. That’s what this type of child care providers training accomplishes. 

To achieve this certification, you have to pass the exam set by the NCSA. To be able to do that, you’ll need to have taken the correct courses.

Unlike a CDA scholarship, an NCSA scholarship might come from the organization itself. You’ll need to contact them for more information about that, but if you can show that you need help paying for the training, the NCSA might offer you a scholarship.

Child care providers training is vital.

This list of potential training opportunities is far from exhaustive. There are nearly countless ways you can improve your abilities as a child care provider, and these are just a few of the most common, most important, and most accessible ones. We’ve taken you through opportunities that are quick classes and others that are intensive programs. We’ve also pointed out where you might have a good chance of getting help paying for those programs, like with a CDA scholarship. 

We definitely encourage you to do more research into any of these training courses that you think could advance your career or just make you a better child care provider. If you have any questions or need any resources, don’t be afraid to reach out to us here.

Back-to-School Child Care Resources

Woman and child coloring, making use of child care resourcesIt’s back-to-school season, and even if your child isn’t school-aged, that can mean big changes from your summer schedule. Maybe they’re ready to start preschool, or maybe you’re headed back to class yourself. Whatever your situation, the changing season will often bring a changing need for child care resources. 

That’s where we come in. This article is here to help you fill the gap between the child care resources you needed over the summer and the ones you’ll need this fall. We’ll point you toward the child care community resources available to you. You should definitely take advantage of them.

Here, we’ve compiled some of our best tips and also some suggestions on other places to seek out information and child care community resources. We’ve split them up into six different groups for your convenience. Some are based on the sector they serve, like healthcare, finance, and education, while others are focused on the types of people they serve, like parents who are also students or child care providers. We’re also giving you suggestions on where to look in your specific area for further child care community resources. So, without further ado, let’s get into it.

Healthcare Resources

Every child deserves access to high quality healthcare. The child care resources in this section recognize that and endeavor to make certain services as widely available as possible. 

There are also child care community resources in the healthcare space. Check to see what kinds of programs your local community center and government are putting on to get everyone ready for the fall and back-to-school season. Some areas put on vaccination clinics to make sure all kids are up to date on their immunizations before they head back to class. Check with your local government or other community organizations to see about the free or low-cost healthcare services available to you and your family.

Some child care facilities employ the services of child care health consultants. These are experts in child health and development, and they work with child care providers to ensure that their environment is safe and healthy. We’ll touch on some more child care resources for child care providers in a later section, so stay tuned. But these professionals are a great healthcare resource to get started.

Financial Resources

We know that child care can be expensive. Many families in Missouri and nationwide struggle to pay for appropriate child care, and as a result, they’re often searching for child care resources that can help them meet that need. If you find yourself in need this back-to-school season, it’s important to know what your options are. 

To read more about all your different financial help options, you can check out our post about it here. If you don’t want to read an entire other post, though, we’ve still got you covered.

Basically, your financial child care resources can be broken up into a few different groups. One is programs funded by the child care facility your child attends. Another grouping consists of child care community resources, like those offered to members of a specific group, or ones paid for by the state with certain income requirements. Check if your workplace has a child care option, and if not, ask if your employer offers any other child care resources you could take advantage of. There are also state-funded child care subsidies that you might qualify for if you meet certain requirements. 

The basic premise here is that there are lots of organizations that can offer you financial child care community resources, you just need to figure out which ones you qualify for.

Educational Resources

You were probably more in need of educational child care resources over the summer, but we’ve still got some ideas for you this back-to-school season. A great place to start is your school district or your child’s teacher, if they have one.

However, maybe you’re looking to enroll your child in a preschool program this fall, and you’re in need of some things to look for in the schools you’re considering. We’ve got you covered.

What to Look for in a Preschool

If you’re going to be dropping you child off at a preschool program for the first time, you’ll want to know that they’re going to be well taken care of. It can be a little nerve wracking to leave your child in the care of someone you don’t know very well, but there are certain steps you can take to ensure that you’re leaving them in capable hands. 

Check for licenses and accreditation.

The first thing you want to be sure of in any school environment is that the staff has the proper credentials to be caring for and educating your child. Don’t be shy about asking about their experience and credentials, and be extra sure that everyone working with your child has passed a background check. 

Not all preschool and child care facilities are required to have a license in Missouri. Specifically, religious preschools do not have to have annual fire and safety inspections. Keep that in mind when you’re looking at different places. For most other organizations, though, you should ask to see a copy of their license, registration, certification, and inspection history. You can also check out one of the online child care resources offered by the state: Their inspection report archive. You should be able to find details about any issues these inspections might have uncovered over the years. If the program you’re considering has a good track record, proceed with a little more peace of mind.

Ask about the staff.

Beyond licensing, though, there’s a lot more you need to know about a potential preschool for your child. You should ask about the school’s staff turnover rate. A large amount of staff leaving after only a short time is a red flag. You don’t want your child to have to get used to a bunch of different teachers. Plus, you don’t want to get mixed up with a place where the staff doesn’t want to stay — that could indicate something’s off with their practices or that they don’t have the appropriate child care resources on hand.

Know what your child will be up to.

You’ll want to know how your child will be spending their time at preschool, so you should ask about what activities the school has planned and what a typical day might look like. This includes things you might not initially think of, like what food will be served and how discipline is handled.

You can also inquire about their curriculum. It’s important to find a preschool that uses a curriculum that’s based in science, meaning it’s been proven that it gets children ready for school. There should be clear learning goals set in place, and the activities that your child participates in should be linked to those objectives. You will probably also want to visit the preschool so you can see what kinds of materials and other child care resources they have to facilitate learning. Also make sure that the program’s ideals and beliefs align with your own.

Ensure there will be open communication going forward.

How your child is going to spend their time at the program is super important, but there are also more procedural and behind-the-scenes factors to consider. We could spend all day talking about the little details of what makes a preschool program stand out from the pack. However, we’ll hold back from getting too far deep in the weeds — let’s end this section on a broader point about how your child care resources should communicate with you.

You want to be sure that you’re sending your child to a program that’s going to involve the whole family in their education. There should be protocols in place to let you know what kind of progress your child is making. Definitely ask about this if the preschool doesn’t make it abundantly clear.

Child Care Community Resources 

Many of the resources we’ve talked about thus far could technically be considered child care community resources, but we thought it would be a good idea to round up some of the best child care community resources under one convenient subheading for you.

Your local library is always a great resource. Check to see what kinds of programs they host, both for you and for your child — you might be able to get the whole family excited about reading. If you have a children’s museum in your area, check out what kinds of child care community resources they might offer. You’re probably already be aware of the Head Start and Early Head Start programs, but they offer some very comprehensive child care community resources for those who qualify. 

Other sources of child care community resources include your local government, community centers, and other service organizations based in your area.

Resources for Students

If you’re the one strapping on your backpack and going back to school this fall, then you’ll likely need additional help to make sure your child is well taken care of. The first option you might want to look into is any child care resources offered by your school. They might have an on-site child care facility for students and staff, or they might offer financial assistance with external child care. They also might not offer anything at all in the way of child care resources, but it doesn’t hurt to look into it and ask. 

There’s also the possibility of other child care community resources for students with children. Do some digging into local organizations, and see if they offer any child care resources for students like you.

Resources for Child Care Providers

Up to this point, we’ve been targeting families with young children who need additional child care resources. At this juncture, we’d like to take a bit of a detour and point out some specific child care community resources for those who provide the child care itself.

If you’re a child care provider, you know it’s a demanding profession, and you can benefit from any help you can get. If you want to head back to school yourself this season, there are all kinds of trainings and classes you can take to further your education and become an even better child care provider.

One thing you can do is work toward achieving your CDA. We’ve written more about that whole process elsewhere, but here’s the long story short: To prove you’re a high-quality care provider, you can take an exam, submit a portfolio and documentation of training hours, and then be observed by CDA PD specialist. If you need help paying for it, you can check out one of your CDA scholarship opportunities here.

Like we told the students needing child care resources in the previous section, you can also reach out to all those organizations that offer child care community resources to see if they have any programs specifically for child care providers. 

There are plenty of child care resources out there.

The world of child care resources can definitely be confusing, but as we’ve pointed out, there are so many places to get the help you need. One way to start can be identifying what type of child care resources you’re looking for. Since it’s such a wide and complicated field, narrowing in on one segment of it can help focus your efforts. 

That’s not to say that you should limit the kind of child care community resources you’re seeking out, though. All the programs we’ve mentioned are there to help you first and foremost, so don’t worry about asking for too much — they’re here to help you out when they can. If you qualify for assistance, take advantage of it.

At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you, your child, and your whole family are getting all the resources you need to thrive. Hopefully, we’ve listed most of the ones you might need here, and you should have some good resources for more research if you need something we haven’t covered. We couldn’t possibly get all the child care community resources available to you on one little list, but we did our best. With these resources backing you up, you should be primed to have the most successful back-to-school season possible. Good luck! 

Careers in Early Child Development and Care

A baby playing with an early child development and care worker It’s no secret that affordable, quality child care can be hard to come by in the U.S. The facilities are often understaffed and overworked, and the costs can be difficult for families to keep up with. In spite of all this, many compassionate professionals feel drawn to the early child development and care industry. Whether they’ve always liked kids and just want to tap into those skills or they are ready to take on a new challenge, there’s plenty of opportunity in this field.

To get into the early child development and care space, there are certain steps you need to take. It’s a career path that requires specialized training, so you’ll need to complete some kind of program to prepare you for that. Some people decide to get bachelor’s or even master’s degrees in early child development and care or related fields. Others can’t spend the time and money to get a degree. 

If you’re in that second boat but would still like to start a career in child care, there are options for you. Earning a certificate in child care and education can open up that world to you in a much more attainable timeframe. Below, we’ve explained a little more about what that process looks like. Then, we’ll take you through the different ways you can put that certificate in child care and education to good use.

How to Get a Certificate in Child Care and Education

Earning this kind of certificate is an essential first step in pursuing a career in early child development and care. Many schools offer programs to earn these types of certificates. To find one, you’ll need to do some searching in your area. You might also have some luck finding an online option if the in-person courses around you are few and far between. These programs will also include an internship component. It’s a great way to gain some experience in this line of work while still learning the fundamentals. 

Careers in Early Child Development and Care

So, now that you know how to earn a certificate in child care and education, you’re ready to find the right career utilizing that training. The next step is exploring all your different options in this field. We’ll start you out with some information on a bunch of potential roles within this sphere. Then, you can go out and do your own research. The following list should help you find the right niche within the early child development and care space. 

Preschool Teacher

Let’s start with the obvious. Many people get a certificate in child care and education to teach in a preschool setting. However, this might not always qualify you for the role. Some preschools require their teachers to have associate or bachelor’s degrees. This isn’t the case in all schools, but if you really have your heart set on being a preschool teacher, a certificate in child care and education might not be your first choice. See if you can find any information about the requirements in your state before making a decision. 

However, this kind of certificate plus some experience in early child development and care can take you a long way. To get a bit of a better idea about what being a preschool teacher is like, let’s look at some of the different preschool environments you might want to work in.

Montessori Schools

While most preschools aren’t as structured as, say, a high school class (you won’t see many 3 year olds sitting quietly doing their math homework), this type of preschool is even looser than most. It prioritizes the child’s individual desires. The goal is to let the child lead — they’re allowed to decide what they’d like to do, and there’s little formal instruction. Teachers will literally and figuratively follow their students and try to support them that way.

The Montessori method is very popular, but it’s also not for everyone. Some people won’t thrive in that kind of unstructured environment. If that sounds like you, you should probably look into a different kind of early child development and care career.  

You will also need more training than just a certificate in child care and education to work in this kind of environment. To provide a true Montessori education, you’ll need to be well versed in the ins and outs of that whole philosophy. That’s where the extra training comes in. We singled out Montessori schools because it’s one of the most popular preschool philosophies, but there are other methods out there, too. Do some reading into the different mindsets toward early child development and care, and then you can pick the one that speaks the most to you.

If you strongly believe in this manner of educating youngsters, then it’s definitely worth a little more reading — plenty of people have written about the theory over the years. If this doesn’t sound up your alley, though, don’t worry. Keep reading for more places you can utilize your certificate in child care and education.

Religious Schools

Your comfort level with this sort of school will likely depend on your personal relationship with religion. The actual religious component of the curriculum will vary from preschool to preschool. Some include a lot of instruction about the particular views of the school, while others hardly mention it. 

Public and Private Schools

Obviously the above types of preschool programs can fit into either of these categories, so this might seem somewhat redundant. However, we wanted to talk about the differences between them in their own section.

Teachers at public preschools need to meet certain requirements set at the state level, while private preschool teachers are not held to those same standards. That’s probably the main thing you need to think about when pursuing a certificate in child care and education. There are other big differences for parents between these two categories (namely cost), but that’s not all that relevant here. 

Both public and private preschools can be good environments for those interested in working in early child development and care. You just need to make sure you have the right qualifications for the job.

Teaching Assistant

This sort of position is often more attainable for those without a degree in early child development and care. As a teaching assistant, you’ll be there as support for the main preschool teacher, who likely has some sort of degree in early child development and care or a related field. You’d likely help manage the classroom, but you’d also probably be needed to work with kids who require a little extra support for whatever reason.

Child Care Worker

Most people with a certificate in child care and education will opt for this sort of a job. It’s a wider age range than what a preschool covers, so if you’d rather care for kids younger than 3 years old, a child care worker job could be perfect for you. The designation “child care worker” covers a lot of different roles in a lot of different environments, so you’ll need to sift through your options carefully. Read on for some of the most common places child care workers are needed.

Family Child Care Homes

Most of us would balk at the idea of letting a bunch of kids into our homes and being tasked with their care, but other people find it a rewarding profession. One way to get involved in early child development and care is to open your home.

Keep in mind, though, that just because the care takes place in your home doesn’t mean there’s no oversight. States keep a close eye on home child care facilities and have very specific requirements they have to meet. A state inspector will periodically check up on your home child care business to make sure everything’s going according to their guidelines.

Child Care Centers

A setting like this is going to be much bigger than an operation run out of your home. Child care centers typically have a larger staff, a larger building, and a larger amount of children to take care of. The kids are usually divided up into rooms by age, and child care workers are often assigned to one group. So, for example, the child care center might have kids from newborns to 5 years old, but you might only work in the infant room.

Head Start and Early Head Start

You’ve probably heard of these before. They’re government-funded programs that include preschool and child care for low-income families, but their services go far beyond that. Getting parents involved is an important part of this program. Early Head Start is for children under age 3, and Head Start is for children ages 3 to 5.

Vacation and Summer Child Care Programs

Since our focus is on early child development and care, we won’t spend too much time on these. They’re mostly meant for school-age children. However, some places will also have options for younger kids, too. 

This kind of seasonal work might complement other ways you use your certificate in child care and education. Or, it might be the only thing you do with early child development and care, and you work in a different field for the rest of the year. The activities and duties here are much the same as they are in other child care programs. The difference is just the time of year.

Care in the Family’s Home

You as the child care worker would go to the child’s home and care for them there. This type of child care work is not regulated, so you might not even need a certificate in child care and education to start this sort of job. However, the parents you work for will likely want to know that you’re a competent caregiver, so it won’t hurt. 

Tutor

Now we’re getting into the less well-known areas of the early child development and care industry. Most people probably associate tutors with older students having trouble with their geometry homework, but preschool-aged children can absolutely benefit from tutors, too. 

Early childhood tutors are mostly focused on getting their students ready for kindergarten. They work to teach those important skills on an individual basis, and they track their students’ progress. This could be a good option for you and your certificate in child care and education if you prefer working with individual students rather than running a whole classroom. It might also be a good supplement to other forms of work.

Personal Care Aide

Again, this career being in the early child development and care space might come as a surprise. Most personal care aides assist the elderly, but some children with special needs also require this kind of assistance. A certificate in child care and education might be enough qualification to jump into this career. 

As a personal care aide, you’d be helping take care of a child’s basic needs. When their parents are busy or too overwhelmed to handle it themselves, you’ve got them covered. The goal is often to get the family ready to join a more formal education setting. If you’d like to work one-on-one with kids that need some extra care, this could be a great career option for you.

There are so many opportunities in the early child development and care field.

The need for child care is not going away any time soon, so if you’re interested in one or more of the niches we’ve listed here, go ahead and jump in. Once you’ve earned a degree or a certificate in child care and education, you’ll have plenty of options in this space. 

If you’d rather work with kids one-on-one, then becoming a tutor, personal care aide, or even a teaching assistant can bring you opportunities for that kind of work. If you’d rather work with a large group, however, managing a classroom as a preschool teacher or a child care worker could be right up your alley. Consider the age range you’d be most comfortable working with, and also read up on the different types of preschool education methods to find one that speaks to you.

Think it through, do some more research, see what the regulations and requirements are like in your area, and then dive right in. There are a lot of great resources out there to help you get started.

Your Child Care Assistance Options

Two girls playing with the help of child care assistance

It’s no secret that child care can be prohibitively expensive. The average family that pays for child care spends around 10 percent of their income on it, and it can easily cost more than that for some people in certain areas. At the same time, you can’t just leave your kids at home while you go to work and hope for the best, nor can you stay home all day and monitor them. Parents want to know that their children are safe and well cared for when they can’t be around. That leaves them in a difficult situation: Can’t afford it, but can’t afford not to have it, either. As such, child care assistance is top of mind for many families. In a lot of cases, there’s just no other option. 

Day care assistance is there for many of those families. Here, we’ll walk you through some of the different kinds of child care assistance you might be able to access. But first, let’s get into why child care assistance is so important in the first place.

Why is child care so expensive?

This question has stumped a lot of people over the years. The child care industry really took off in the 1970s and ‘80s when women started to enter the workforce in higher numbers, and it’s just been getting more and more expensive ever since. 

Where that money is going might be kind of confusing, though, because child care workers are not paid exorbitant wages. In fact, many of them can’t even afford child care for their own children. So, why do so many people require day care assistance?

The short answer is that child care costs a lot to provide. Between staff and facilities, running a child care operation costs a lot of money. An easy way to cut costs would be to increase the ratio of children to staff, but there are state regulations in place preventing that. The exact guidelines vary, but here’s an example: In Massachusetts, a child care center can only have three infants per staff member. There are also state guidelines for how big a child care center must be, which affects costs for the building and maintenance. 

These restrictions are important in ensuring high quality care for children. Everyone wants their children to be cared for in a safe, educational environment with individual attention from qualified professionals. However, it’s a simple fact that these regulations also drive up the price. That’s why child care assistance is so important. 

Some day care assistance is only available to certain groups.

Now that we’re aware of how much need there is for child care assistance, let’s get into the different organizations that offer it. First, we’ll take you through more exclusive forms of day care assistance, where you have to be part of a certain organization to qualify.

Military Family Child Care Assistance

There are special programs for Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps members who need day care assistance. Each one is separate; the offerings differ depending on the branch you’re a part of. If you cannot access an on-base child care provider, you should look into these programs.

Demand for some of these programs outpaces the supply, so you might be placed on a waiting list. That can be a difficult period. Try to have a plan in place if there’s going to be a gap in your day care assistance. 

Once you’re off the waiting list, you’ll have access to funds to help you pay for child care going forward.

Employer Child Care Assistance

Certain employers understand how difficult it can be to find affordable, high-quality child care. They know that when children are properly cared for, their guardians can be more productive. 

These types of workplaces might offer onsite child care services, which might be one of the best forms of day care assistance. Some employers have relationships with local child care providers and can get you a discount with them. Still others will let you put part of your paycheck into a fund specifically to be used for child care. That way, the money you use for child care isn’t taxed. That might not be enough child care assistance for a lot of people, but it can definitely be an option worth looking into if your employer offers it.

Ask your human resources department about your options. If your employer has any of these kinds of programs, they should be happy to explain what types of child care assistance you could qualify for. 

School-Based Day Care Assistance

This will only apply to you if you’re currently a student. Certain colleges and universities run child care programs within their campuses, and if you’re a student (or a faculty member, for that matter), they might give you a discount if you choose to enroll your child. 

This form of child care assistance can be majorly helpful for those trying to get a degree and also raise their family. Juggling all those different responsibilities can be difficult, and if your school can step in and help out even a little, that can take a lot of weight off your shoulders. 

There are also sometimes options for high school students struggling to pay for child care. Different states have different programs for this type of funding, and it might not even be available in your state. Do some digging and contact your local child care resource and referral agency if this applies to you.

Subsidies

Every state, Missouri included, gets money from the federal government for these kinds of subsidy programs. Since these funds are doled out at the state level, the requirements to qualify are different for each state. Missouri’s requirements are fairly straightforward.

To qualify, your child needs to be under 13, unless they have special needs, in which case you may qualify even if they’re older. You’ll also have to meet certain income requirements depending on the size of your household and the program you’re looking at. You have to be employed, searching for work, attending school or a job training program, disabled, or homeless as well.

Then you need to apply for child care assistance. We’ll link you here for the specifics on how to get that form to the Family Support Division. Do note that just because you’re eligible doesn’t mean you’ll immediately see benefits.

Also keep in mind that you’ll likely still be responsible for a portion of the costs. There’s a sliding scale within this subsidy system for how much child care assistance you’ll receive. The remainder is called your copayment, and it should be proportional to your need.

That’s about it when it comes to government child care assistance here in Missouri. However, there are definitely other ways to get help from the programs themselves. Look for programs that offer…

Multi-Child Discount

Costs can balloon quickly when you’ve got to worry about securing care for multiple children. Paying for a single child’s day care expenses can be too much for some families to handle. Add in more children on top of that, and you’ve got an even bigger problem to solve. 

Thankfully, some programs offer a day care assistance discount for families with more than one child enrolled. Definitely look into that if you’ve got multiple kids to care for.

Scholarships

It’s hard to speak about this kind of day care assistance in broad strokes because each program decides on their own requirements. If scholarships are something you’re interested in, you’ll have to inquire about them with each child care facility you’re considering to find out if you’re eligible. Child care centers that have funding to offer scholarships should be more than happy to let you know if you would fit the criteria. They’ll also have information about how to apply.

Nonprofits in the area might also offer child care assistance in the form of scholarships. Do some digging to find out which ones might help you out, or you can contact your local child care resource and referral agency to see what kind of information they have on hand.

Income-Based Payment

Much like the scholarships, the information on this type of child care assistance is going to be highly individualized. There’s not really a way to cover all the options here. Some child care centers will sit down with you to figure out what you can afford and go from there in regards to charging you. 

This sort of arrangement can be a helpful form of day care assistance for many families. Instead of asking for a flat rate from everyone, these child care providers take each family’s income into consideration and use that to inform their pricing. 

If you’re interested in this kind of pricing structure, definitely ask about it when you’re looking into different child care providers.

Tax Credits

Getting day care assistance through tax credits can sound complicated, but it can also be really beneficial for many families.

There are two main kinds of tax credits you might qualify for. The first is the child and dependent care tax credit. If you pay for child care in order to work or look for work, this type of child care assistance is likely available to you. The other type of day care assistance tax credit is the earned income tax credit. This one is meant to help people and families with moderate or low incomes.

Keep in mind that you will have to file a tax return to claim these sorts of credits, even if you otherwise wouldn’t have to. If you do this and you qualify for these tax credits, then the amount of tax you owe will diminish. That might result in a refund from the government. It’s definitely not the most straightforward way to get day care assistance, but it can also be a big help to families that qualify.

Head Start and Early Head Start Programs

For families that fall at or below the federal poverty line, Head Start programs provide free child care. Day care assistance doesn’t get much more comprehensive than that. In fact, the Head Start and Early Head Start programs go a lot further than just child care assistance. They provide help for the whole family. You’ll have access to services that promote healthy behavior and parent education in addition to Head Start’s general goal of getting children from low-income families ready for school.

Early Head Start is for children up to age 3, and Head Start serves children age 3 to age 5. Children served by these programs will receive academic, social, and health education. 

To get help from the Early Head Start program nearest you, you’ll need to find them and contact them. Here is a link to the list of all Missouri locations. 

Don’t hesitate to seek child care assistance.

As we’ve seen, there are so many options to get help paying for child care. Not having a plan in place can be scary and isolating, but you don’t have to go it alone. Reach out to any of the service providers we’ve mentioned and see what they can help you with. 

Some ways to get child care assistance are simply monetary — a tax credit, a discount based on your income. Others are more comprehensive, like a child care facility at your workplace or the Head Start program. Organizations you’re already affiliated with, like your school, might have resources for you, or you might have to reach out to a new organization to see what they can help you with. No matter what kind of child care assistance you’re interested in, there will likely be options available to you.

It’s hard to pay for child care. It’s one of the biggest expenses facing American families, and it’s only gotten more difficult in the past year. If you’re facing a tough time, unsure how you’re going to pay for child care, just know that you’re not the only one, and there are plenty of people and organizations who want to help.