Finding the best child care for your budget

Choosing child care can be daunting. You want the best quality and care for your children, but that care has to fit into your budget. It's similar to buying a car: you may want a Mercedes-Benz but you buy a Honda Accord because it fits into your budget and still offers high quality, but at a lower cost.

"Quality child care costs," says Jennifer Ross, who coordinates the Child Care Resource Center (CCRC) at the Panhandle Health District (PHD). "You need the appropriate number of staff for the kids you have, and you don't want constant turnover so you have to pay enough."

According to the CCRC, you can have the quality you want within your budget, but you have to work to find it. When you're searching for child care, write down your price range and your priorities. Do you want a child-care center or a home provider? Do you need a provider close to work?

The CCRC keeps a list of all legally operating child-care facilities in the five northern counties - about 200. To operate legally, facilities must pass health, safety and fire inspections and staff must know CPR, first aid and have undergone a background check.

These basic qualities are the minimum every facility must provide. Improvements beyond these basics are voluntary.

The CCRC list and other parents' experiences will help you decide which child-care facilities to check out. Schedule a visit to each site and arrange an interview with the provider. Before the visits, write a list of questions. A written list reminds you to ask questions that are important to you. It also enables you to compare answers among facilities.

While you're in a facility, observe how staff interacts with children. Do they provide nutritious snacks and meals? What is the discipline policy? Are the children offered stimulating and appropriate activities or are they watching TV? Where are diapers changed? Is the facility clean or are there unappealing odors hanging in the air?

You may find that facilities in the same price range vary in quality. Twelve facilities in North Idaho have earned a star rating through the IdahoSTARS Quality Rating and Improvement System. The voluntary program works to continuously improve skills, practices and facilities. Providers who choose to participate have to be committed to quality improvement. They can earn one to five stars.

"We encourage parents to ask facilities if they're star-rated and how many stars they have," Ross says. "It's a lot of work to get a star rating."

Nine child-care facilities in Kootenai County are star rated.

Ross says cost indicates a facility's quality range, but the most expensive are not always the best. A personal visit and interview with staff will provide the valuable information you need to find a child-care site in which you'll have confidence.

The CCRC provides checklists for parents searching for child care for infants and toddlers, preschoolers and/or school-age children. For questions and checklists, call the CCRC at 415-5146.

Cynthia Taggart is the public information officer for the Panhandle Health District. She can be reached at ctaggart@phd1.idaho.gov.