Guidelines help identify quality day care
Parents searching for good child care will find many good options in Fayetteville.
And they'll also find a reliable resource for helping to find that good child care.
"If they are looking for child care, we're a one-stop shop to assist parents," said Stephanie Johnson.
Johnson is parent referral specialist for the Partnership for Children of Cumberland County.
"We give them programs in their area, tools to look for and questions to ask," Johnson said. "We can conduct specific child care searches for them."
That help can be especially important to families moving to the area who may be unfamiliar with available child care. Day care centers must meet certain criteria to qualify to be on the Partnership for Children's referral list.
Those qualifications are set by the N.C. Division of Child Development. At the division's Web site, you can search for providers by name, facility type, permit type and location — city, county or ZIP code. You also can search for facilities that accept children of certain ages and for facilities that do and don't accept subsidies for child care.
The site also will tell you a provider's most recent sanitation score and its license rating. North Carolina has a five-star rating system for licensed child care providers. Facilities are graded on adherence to state program standards, staff educational levels and compliance with basic safety regulations.
Things to look for in a good child care setting include:
Staff to child ratio
Teachers' education Curriculum
Is the child care center or family child care home licensed by the state?
Are you encouraged to make unscheduled visits?
Do the providers have their N.C. Child Care Credentials?
The Partnership for Children can help parents understand important considerations such as: Star-rated license information Sanitation scores Complaint investigations Visits made by Division staff Any administrative actions taken
Important links
Partnership for Children of Cumberland County: Call 860-2277 or go to www.ccpfc.org.