Guide to Finding Child Care

First-time parents are understandably cautious about sending their youngest children to school, but often it’s necessary so that parents are able to go to work or attend school themselves. Still, it can be daunting to search for child care for the first time. How does one go about it?

Investigate the Child Care Licensing Portal

In Michigan, child care providers must be licensed by Michigan’s Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). To obtain a license, a provider must demonstrate an understanding of child care administration, child development, and health and safety—and every provider must pass a comprehensive background check at the outset of caring for children and every five years thereafter.

MiLEAP maintains a web portal that makes it easy to find licensed child care providers by ZIP code, city, or county. It also shows the license status and results of all inspections.

Decide on Type of Child Care Environment

Child care providers are broadly categorized into two types: home-based or center-based.

A home-based provider offers care inside their own home to a small group of children of various ages; family home providers typically have the capacity for 6-7 children aged six weeks to five years, and group home providers have capacity for 12-14 children in that same age range. Children in home-based settings are not grouped by age—they all receive care from one or two adults, depending on whether they are a family home or group home.

Center-based providers offer care in a commercial setting to larger groups of children—capacity is based on the size of the space and children are grouped within a center according to their age. Children’s ages can range from six weeks to five years, although some centers do not offer care to children under eighteen months.

Both types of child care settings offer care and early learning opportunities, and each has certain advantages. Home-based providers are generally easier to develop relationships with because parents have a single point of contact. Center-based providers are generally able to remain open year-round because there are multiple staff members to cover if someone goes on vacation.

Check Quality Levels

The quality of a child care program matters, because 90% of a person’s brain develops in the first five years of life. In 2020, a must-see documentary entitled “Brain Matters” highlighted how the first few years are the greatest opportunity to give children the best start in life.

Michigan’s Great Start to Quality Initiative is the system that sets quality standards and evaluates the quality of early care and education programs in the state. Families can search for child care providers by type, ZIP code, and city, and then learn about the attributes and quality level of each provider.

Make a List, Make Some Calls, Take Some Tours

Once families have searched for child care providers using these tools, it is best to make a list of several providers of interest and then call and do a phone screen. There are several specific questions to ask:

Do they have an available spot for the child? If not, how long might the wait be?

Do they offer care according to the schedule needed? Think about which days and which times are deal-breakers; many providers only offer full-day, full-week schedules, and opening/closing times vary.

Are they capable of providing any special care needed?

How long have the teachers been working there, and is there a lot of turnover? A stable workforce is important for creating the bonds that children need to thrive.

Do most of the teachers have credentials in early childhood education? What sort of continuing education do teachers receive?

What are the tuition policies? Does tuition cover attendance (paying for the days a child is there) or enrollment (paying for the spot, regardless of whether a child attends)?

What is included with tuition (i.e., food, milk/formula, diapers, wipes, etc.)? Are there enrichment programs included with tuition (i.e., music, movement, etc.)?

For center-based providers, are they for-profit or non-profit? Who is the owner and/or the governing body?

These questions (and others) are helpful to make determinations suited to each family.

Scheduling a tour is critical. Parents need to step foot into the place they might send their child each day. Once there, families should look for the hallmarks of a high-quality provider:

Administrative organization. The owner/director/tour guide should be attentive to families and knowledgeable about the program, offering information and inquiring about the family’s needs.

Professionalism. Families should be introduced to classroom staff on the tour, and staff should be welcoming.

Engagement with children. Classroom staff should be “in the mix” of whatever the children are doing—sitting on the floor in the block area, or at the table eating a snack, or on the climber outside on the playground. It’s a red flag if teachers stand over children at a table, shout across a room, or cluster with other teachers on the playground.

Affection with children. All staff should appear to care about the welfare of the children. Staff should be smiling, giving hugs, singing with and reading to children, and speaking softly at a child’s level.

The “right amount” of disarray. Where there are children, there will be a mess of some sort. Children learn through play—so their engagement with classroom materials is an indicator of learning—a good thing! A room that is too tidy is just as much a red flag as a room that is too messy.

When families do the preliminary research and then see a few providers for themselves, the task of selecting a child care provider becomes much easier.

The YMCA has Child Care Options

The YMCA of Metropolitan Lansing offers high-quality child care at its Oak Park branch (south Lansing) and Parkwood branch (East Lansing).

The YMCA has been in the business of caring for children for more than 100 years. From early care & education to out-of-school-time activities for kids of elementary age, youth development is fundamental to everything we do.

Professional staff. Exceptional program. Involved families.

Care you can afford—from a name you trust.