The daycare tour checklist

What to look at and what to ask, at a home or a center. Every answer belongs on paper. Bring this, and ask for the page.

Before you go

• Look up the license.Minnesota's Licensing Information Lookup shows every licensed home and center, and the county posts what it found on inspection.
• Read the latest inspection report.Ask them to have it out. Every licensed program has one.
• Time the drive.From your house, from work, and from your other kid's school. Minutes a day add up to hours a month.

At the door

• Who is with my child, by name, every hour?At a home, it should be one person. At a center, ask how many adults rotate through the room in a week, and how long the lead teacher has been there.
• Can I walk in any time, no call ahead?State law says yes for licensed care. Ask how they feel about it.
• Who else lives or works here, and do they have state background studies?Fingerprints included. Ask to see the confirmations.
• Can I see the front door and the sight lines?Where can an adult see the kids from, and where can't they?

Ask for the paper

• The closure calendar for the year.Holidays, vacation, training days. Set a home's list next to a center's.
• The plan for a sick day.Who covers, or do they close? How much notice do you get? What's your backup?
• The contract's notice clause.How many days' notice if either side ends care, and what happens to your deposit.
• The training file.Every course and the date, for the adult who will actually be with your child.
• The reading and screen rules, in writing.How many minutes of screens a day, and when. Where the books are.
• Pets, transportation, and errands, in writing.Which animals, their shots, whether kids ride in a vehicle, and whether errands happen on your time.
• The insurance notice.Minnesota requires licensed providers to tell you in writing whether they carry liability insurance.

Watch for twenty minutes

• How does the adult talk to the kids?The research keeps finding this matters more than the letters after anyone's name.
• Does the youngest get attention, or get lost behind the big kids?Mixed ages are fine when someone watches for this.
• Is anyone reading, building, or outside?Or is the TV on?
• Ask what they measure and how.A rating or an accreditation is real. So is a daily routine you can watch.

Money

• The weekly rate, and what it includes.Food, diapers, supplies. Ask what's extra.
• Deposit, holding fee, late fees, and whether you pay for closed days.Get it on paper before you sign anything.

Then

• Drop in unannounced at ten on a Tuesday.Anywhere that's a problem is telling you something.
• Call two families on the reference list.Ask what they saw when they dropped in.

From Eagan Daycare, a licensed in-home daycare at 861 Diffley Road in Eagan, two minutes from Eagan High School, Dakota Hills Middle School and Northview Elementary. Text (651) 452-5653 to book a tour. Bring this list.