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The provider and all persons living in the home must also submit a health evaluation, signed and dated by a health professional, a photo copy of their driver's license or Colorado Identification Card and completed fingerprint card. A large family child care home licensed provider can care for two children under the age of 18 months. Licensing fees vary between the type of license, the number of children, and the ages of the children. In-home licenses have one base fee that they are required to pay, whereas the non-home license requires a base fee plus an additional charge per child if the daycare exceeds 16 children. Obtain the correct daycare license Apply for the correct Colorado State daycare license. There is a four-step process and specific licensing requirements and training certifications that must be completed properly to ensure that the daycare is running legally.
All three have the same steps to obtain the license, but different applications and application fees. The Substitute Placement Agency License is used for emergent childcare needs and can be used either short-term or long-term and requires some of the training requirements to be done before applying. If you provide in-home daycare to more than four unrelated children in Colorado, you need a license. You must also meet several other requirements and complete pre-licensing training to ensure you can meet the needs of the children you care for.
In-Home Daycare Laws in Colorado
However, in-home daycares have a smaller space to work with which limits the number of children they can care for. This means that they do not have the potential to earn as much as non-home daycares do. To learn more on how to start your own daycare checkout my startup course and documents here. The Privacy Act Notification and the Childcare Provider Health Evaluation form should be kept for personal records and may need to be shown during the inspection.
Under the Colorado Human Services Code, an in-home daycare provider is exempt from a criminal record check unless she cares for a child whose care is funded in whole or in part by the publicly funded Colorado Child Care Assistance Program. An application for an in-home daycare provider does not require an inspection from the local health department, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, or the local fire department. All licensing steps must be completed before being able to care for children in a daycare. In total, this process can take approximately 60 to 90 days to complete so it is important to plan ahead of time. Both of these background checks are required for both opening and operating the daycare facility and are required for all employees or volunteers at the facility to complete.
How long does the licensing process take?
Licensed providers will not be required to submit any additional paperwork to utilize this option. The family child care home waiver reduces the current age requirement that allows a licensed provider to care for 2 children under 2 years of age to now care for 2 children under the age of 18 months. Child Care Highlighting Protocol - The Public Health Law Center has reviewed the child care licensing regulations to identify how the setting is defined, how it is regulated, and who is exempt from regulation. The review also identifies public health requirements (nutrition, active play, screen time limitations, etc.), as well as other indicators, such as playground safety, equity and environmental contaminants. Child care providers are important partners in the support of healthy child development. Colorado requires licensure of certain child care providers, and the licensing requirements include regulations about various quality measures including nutritious food and active play.
The Licensing Specialist verifies that the training requirements are completed, that the rules and regulations discussed in these training are being followed, and reviews the health statements. One background check is a criminal background check which looks into the individual’s criminal history. The second background check is the child abuse and neglect background check which looks specifically into the individual’s criminal history of child abuse and neglect offenses. An in-home daycare can be a great business for someone who enjoys looking after kids and has children of their own they need to care for during the day. Before you start an in-home daycare in Colorado, you need to know the licensing laws, because caring for someone else's kids is a big responsibility wherever you do it.
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In-home daycare in Colorado must be licensed when the care provider is looking after more than four unrelated children. "Unrelated" means not directly related to the caregiver by blood, marriage or adoption. There are no Colorado "babysitting laws" as such, in that if you occasionally care for children with no regularity or set pattern, you don't need a license. Opening a daycare in Colorado can be a profitable business and the need for more daycare facilities is rapidly growing. There is also the flexibility of in-home or non-residential daycare options which have their unique benefits to each. The licensing process is not too difficult but does require specific paperwork, fees, and training to be complete.
A "three under two" license allows a provider to care for six children from birth to 18 years with no more than three children under 2 years, and with no more than two of the three children under 12 months. This must be done within 45 days after the application has been accepted so if it gets close to 45 days then it is important to call Colorado’s daycare licensing number to get one set up. Although a daycare business is a good way to make money they are not cheap to set up. In addition to the start-up cost, it costs approximately $60 per child for supplies, classroom materials, and food for each day.
The experienced licensed provider chart will now allow for the following options for caring for children under 18 months, with no more than 2 children under 12 months. A three under two licensed provider can care for three children under the age of 18 months and no more than 2 under 12 months. There are three types of Colorado daycare licenses and before applying you must know how many children that the daycare will be caring for.
Colorado requires both in-home and non-home daycares to follow the same licensing requirements and both must go through the same background checks and inspections. Not all states require in-home daycares to do this therefore, some parents do not feel in-home daycares are as safe. However, since Colorado does require this it makes parents feel safer about sending their children to in-home daycare facilities. The fee for an original application for in-home daycare services for up to six children is $35 in 2018, $55 in 2019 and $65 in 2020 and beyond. For seven to 12 children, the fee is $55 in 2018, $75 in 2019 and $100 in 2020 and beyond. The same fee is payable each year to continue the license, no less than 60 days before the anniversary date of the license.
An individual applying for a non-home license may have a base fee plus an additional charge per child. For one to fifteen children the license fee is $200 with no additional charge per child. For sixteen to thirty children the base fee is $175 plus there is an additional $3 charge per child. This resource identifies the child care licensing language defining and exempting child care settings.
An infant/toddler license is a type of family care home that provides less than 24-hour care for children who are between birth and three years. As a part of its extensive work in the child care setting, The Public Health Law Center has reviewed the child care licensing laws to identify the how the setting is defined and regulated. The review also identifies the public health requirements for child care providers (nutrition, active play, screen time limitations, etc.). The act requires that family child care homes be classified as residences for purposes of licensure and local regulations, including zoning, land use development, fire and life safety, and building codes. The Office of Early Childhood will be providing a statewide waiver for licensed family child care home providers as an emergency relief effort to support families struggling to find infant and toddler care throughout the state.
It can take a couple of months to complete this process so it is important to plan. This resource compares scientifically-based best practices with Colorado’s child care licensing regulations on healthy eating, active play and screen time limits. Non-residential daycares have the potential to grow and expand which will help increase profits over time. They also include childcare centers, school-age childcare centers, preschools, neighborhood youth organizations, and day treatment centers.
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