Preparing for a Licensing Visit

In today's society, as more and more households require both parents to work, more children are cared for in early childhood programs. These programs must meet minimum basic requirements designed to ensure the safety and developmental well-being of children while in out-of-home care. Meeting the minimum requirements is just the beginning to fulfilling the developmental needs of a young child. As an industry we must work toward providing a quality environment for every child to develop healthy, happy, well adjusted children.Licensing requirements and guidelines vary from state to state. These licensing requirements and guidelines range from extremely stringent to minimal requirements. It is the responsibility of every early childhood professional to become familiar with the minimum requirements established by local regulatory agencies and fulfill these minimum requirements on a daily basis. Child care professionals must decide whether standard regulations should only be regulated to meet the minimum standard, or if they should be regulated to go above and beyond the minimum.Child care centers can use the requirements to create a positive early childhood environment that offers developmentally appropriate activities for each child. When minimum child care standards are practiced on a daily basis, regulatory visits are less threatening and result in a safe and developmentally appropriate environment for children.Join the CCEI Discussion Thread and share the methods used in your school to maintain minimum standards and prepare for licensing visits. For more information, register for CCEI959 and learn about legal issues faced by center directors.Visit ChildCare Education Institute to discover over 100 online child care training courses that meet the continuing education requirements of the child care industry. Register for a sample course and try online learning today!