WM: How did you find your DCP?

gibbonlove · July 2011

We have a little bit of time on this, but I'm thinking of it now because I likely will not be able to take more than six weeks mat leave. And I'm an obsessive planner. So,

How did you find your daycare provider (specific online site, word of mouth, google?)

and

what was your reasoning with going with an in-home or center facility?

I'm obviously very new to this, so thanks for your help!

ETA: Okay, just found this post, but if anyone else wants to chime in, please do!

Cooper81 · July 2011

We toured all the centers around us and got on waiting lists for those (all, but one center around us had waiting lists) around 30 weeks and then called some in-homes as back ups-we preferred a center-and our state has a website that lists all the licensed providers in your area. We ended up getting a call for our #1 choice center when DS was 3 weeks old.

mrsseguin · July 2011

We felt more comfortable with a center. We like that there are a lot of workers around for accountability reasons. We have 3 good friends and a family member that used a particular center. We toured it, liked it and chose it based on what we saw and our friends recommendations.

madladybride · July 2011

I asked for recs from my local nesties and I used the state childcare website to look at in-home places. I also looked at some other local message boards. I interviewed 2 centers and 2 in-homes. 1 center I didn't like, most of the in-homes did not have any openings/expect any openings. The 2 in-homes that I intereviewed, 1 asked for me to pay in advance to hold the spot, i.e. I would pay 1/2 price up until DD started, so that would have been like 6 months! The other place was out of the way for DH and I would have to do all pick-ups/drop offs.

Initially, I wasn't sure about a center, but I like it for accountability reasons (as pp said), plus they are only closed a few days a year, so I would only have to take off from work 2 or 3 days.

We've been there for almost 4 months and it has been a good experience so far!

superned · July 2011

I would recommend this site: Child Care Aware

In the bottom right-hand corner you can search for your local CCR&R (which, they don't list, but it stands for Child Care Resource and Referral Agency). They can help you by providing a list of child care programs in your area, as well as some good consumer education materials about finding quality child care.

I used to work at a CCR&R and they are wonderful resources!

BillysGrl27 · July 2011

I used a local Family Child Care association to find my in-home provider then checked her on the state licensing website. The provider we went with only has one infant (mine) and is a parent at the school I teach at and her son was in my class several years ago. She was also willing to do part-time at a great rate which all the centers we looked at were not, I just wasn't willing to pay for services we didn't need.

angelame1979 · July 2011

We went to a few but knew ultimately that DD would go the place my niece went. We love the staff/teachers and they knew us all already too. It's great! Ask friends/family if they have any ideas.

gibbonlove · July 2011

Thanks ladies! I'll check out the options you suggested right away.

WM: How did you find your DCP?

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