Daycare Diligence: Doing your homework before making a decision

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — We hear horror story after horror story of the people you trust to care for your child, doing the opposite.

Leaving your child in the hands of someone else, so you can go back to work,  can be stressful for parents. WWAY spoke with mothers and other experts to give you peace of mind when searching for child care. For moms like Lori Kunak, the process of finding childcare for their children is a tough assignment.

“You need to feel comfortable in whatever setting you’re going to be leaving your child,” Kunak said.

According to the NC Department of Health and Human Services, more than 200,000 children are enrolled in childcare centers across the state, meaning there are many programs to choose from. Many parents told us they rely on friends and family for help, with word of mouth recommendations.

Krista Turner works for Smart Start, a program designed to help narrow down choices for parents by looking at their wants and needs. Turner said the group assesses needs regarding transportation, operating hours, special needs children, and finances. She adds that doing homework ahead of time is essential.

“Parents shouldn’t make a decision based on a list they’re given,” Turner said. “They should call, they should visit.”

Iris King, a mom of two boys, agrees.

“Just walking through, you just get a good feeling of how the children are cared for, so that was important to us,” she said. King said asking friends and family helped her to avoid the not so great centers.

“For me personally, I just pay attention to my feelings and be cautious to the flags,” she said. “When there’s something that’s a red flag, you probably should pay attention to it because there’s probably something more to it.”

Visiting and talking to experts can all be helpful, but did you know all full-time childcare programs are rated with the star rating system? Turner said it’s based on a variety of topics.

“It’s made up of the education of the staff, meaning college-level course work and program standards, which looks at the quality of the programs in terms of teacher-child ratios and just learning materials, curriculum and that kind of thing,” she said. She added that the ratio of children to teacher in a classroom is extremely important.

“The less number of children per teacher adds to quality,” Turner said. But she said that shouldn’t be the only determining factor. Cost is another big part of figuring out where to put your little one and often, the higher the rating, the higher the fee.

There are more five star rated child care centers in New Hanover County than any other rating:

5 stars = 25
4 stars = 17
3 stars = 12
2 stars = 1
1 star = 3

However, when it comes to family child care homes, the majority are three stars, with very few having a five star rating:
5 stars = 4
4 stars = 5
3 stars = 17
2 stars = 3
1 star = 9

CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO GET RATINGS FOR FACILITIES ACROSS THE STATE.

“The star rating can be a starting point when looking for childcare, but it’s not the end all, it’s not a perfect system,” Turner said.

Religious affiliated programs don’t use the star rating system, but Leland Christian Academy director Jill Jones said that doesn’t make them any better or worse than other programs.

“We still have to go through a licensing process, but we receive because we’re church affiliated, a letter of intent saying that we follow the same rules and regulations that a five star or star-rated facility would undergo.”

Regardless of star ratings, Jones agrees you should always do your research.

“They should go by and have a tour of the facility, to see if it meets their needs, to ask questions about the curriculum, the staff, their training and background checks,” Jones said.

It’s homework for parents, so they can be at ease, when they go back to work.