Child Care Information for Parents

You want your child to become happy, proud, and able to go safely into the world some day. But only happy, proud children can become happy, proud grown-ups. Young children grow in important ways during their first five years. They learn to walk, to talk, and to play with others. They learn many things about the big wide world. They also decide if they can trust other people and if they can trust themselves. Their day care needs to be a place they trust. It should be a place that helps them learn and grow.

When you look for a day care center or babysitter for your young child, take this checklist with you. It will help you find a good place to leave your child while you go to work.

The Day Care Center or Somewhere You Leave Your Child Should:

Be licensed, approved, certified or registered by the state
Provide snacks and well-balanced, hot meals
Have a fenced outside play area with outside toys, swings, and climbing cubes that are securely attached to the ground
Have a daily schedule that includes nap and inside and outside activity times
Let you visit whenever you want
Require an application form for each child with spaces for name, medical conditions, and addresses and telephone numbers for parents and doctor
Remove dirty diapers and food scraps and throw away garbage every day
Have some workers who have worked at the center six months or longer
Give workers a small number of children to tend
Tell you the rules for how children should act s Have rules that "fit" the age and abilities of the children
Not allow children to hurt themselves or others
Not allow spanking
Plan activities for each week that "fit" the children's ages
Plan activities that use blocks, measuring cups, dolls, trucks, art materials, and other creative toys
Encourage children to play together and share
Allow children to play alone some of the time oteach children about the world through field trips, poems, songs and books
Always require seat belts or car seats when they take field trips
Require workers to keep learning about child care

The Person Who Cares for Your Child Should:

Tell you every day about your children's activities
Talk to them often
Hold them often
Read books to them every day
Rock them often
Hold babies while feeding them
Smile at the children often
Talk to them in normal tones, never yelling
Make sure children do not have toys so small they could swallow them
Give three- to five-year-olds puzzles to play with, paper and crayons or paints, and blocks to build things with
Let two- to five-year-olds play dress-up or "pretend" and. give them things like old clothes, empty cereal boxes and books to play with
Let one- and two-year-olds crawl and walk on carpet during a lot of the day, watching them carefully
Let one- and two-year-olds play with soft toys that are washed often to kill germs that could make them sick
Wash their hands after changing diapers
Change diapers often and write down what babies ate and number of times they had bowel movements, so they can tell you that at pick-up time
Make children feel good about finishing a project
Sing or hum to the children

Approval Accreditation

There are many programs that have met requirements that are above those set by child care licensing. These programs that have completed the Approval Application and received a qualifying site visit will become Approval Accredited Programs. These programs are either State Accredited or Nationally Accredited to receive this status. To receive the Approval Accreditation, the program must meet the requirements for State or National Accreditation which includes a site visit to verify they have met the higher standards set by the Division of Child Care & Early Childhood Education or National Accreditation. For a listing of Accredited Programs contact the Division of Child Care. For more information on specific types of accredited programs follow this link.

Parents that use these programs will receive a double State tax credit for placing their child in these qualified child care centers or family child care homes. All parents are eligible for a 10% tax credit for child care; however, those parents of children in Accredited programs will receive tax forms for the 20% tax credit.

Please ask if your program that you choose or are currently using is an Approval Accredited program. If they are not ask "Why Not?" For information on how a program can become Accredited you may print the Approval Application for the State Accreditation. For Information on becoming Nationally Accredited for Child Care Centers by NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children at 1-800-424-2460) or Family Child Care Homes by NAFCC (National Association of Family Child Care at 1-800-359-3817).

For more information on accredited programs or if you have questions about the Accreditation process, please contact the Division of Child Care & Early Childhood Education at Little Rock 682-4891 or 1-800-445-3316.

The Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education is here to help you!

For information about where to find child care in Arkansas, call the Arkansas Child Care Resource and Referral line toll-free at 1-800-445-3316 or (501) 682-4892 in Little Rock or search for child care online.

For information about licensing and registration of child care centers and homes, call (501)682-8590 or visit the Licensing/Accreditation web page.

For information about child care vouchers and assistance paying for child care in Arkansas, call toll-free around the state at 1-800-322-8176 or (501) 682-8947 in the Little Rock area. You may also download an Application for Child Care Assistance here or visit the Family Support web page.

For information about the Child Care Special Nutrition program, call (501)682-8869

For information about grants, loans, training opportunities, program enhancement and expansion of early childhood care and education programs, call (501)682-4891 or visit the Program Support web page.

This checklist was made possible by the Southern Early Childhood Association.

DIVISION OF CHILD CARE AND EARLY
CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES

P.O. Box 1437, Slot S140,
LITTLE ROCK, AR 72203
501-682-4891 FAX 501-682-4897