Choosing a child care provider will be one of the toughest decisions you will make. You will need to be sure that your child will be cared for safely, comfortably and hopefully in an environment that will help them to grow and become healthy adults.

Finding the right provider takes time.
Be sure to talk to many providers and visit at least two or three programs. This will help you feel confident in your final decision. If possible, begin your child care search several weeks in advance. This will give you the time to find a program that you are satisfied with. Also, many child care providers have waiting lists. Finding the right environment for your child is well worth the effort.

Consider your child care needs.
What days and times do you need care? Where will you be needing care? How much can you afford to pay? These are all good questions to answer at the beginning of your child care search. Be sure to write down any other considerations your child may have, any special need or transportation to school.
If cost is a problem. The State of Utah has child care subsidies that you may be eligible for.

Call the child care providers.
Once you have determined your needs, you can contact our agency for a list of child care providers. Once you have this list you can start to call the child care providers to make an initial screening to make sure that the information you have is correct. Be sure to call them right away as openings fill quickly. If the conversation goes well and you decide that this provider may be a possibility, schedule a visit.

Visit the child care providers
Be sure to plan enough time to ask all of your questions. Arrange a time to visit the providers when other children are present so you can observe the interaction. Consider bringing your own child along to get their opinion as well. Make sure to take your checklists of things to observe and questions to ask.

After you have narrowed down your list of potential providers, contact the local licensing agency to check for any complaints that have been made against them.

• For Davis, Weber & Morgan Counties you can contact the licensors at 525-1400. They can inform you of any substantiated complaints or tell you about the provider's compliance history with licensing.
  (please have your list narrowed down to 3 providers when you call)
• If you have a complaint against a provider, contact our local licensing office at 525-1400 or use their online complaint form.
  You can follow this link to the Licensing Web Page

Check references
Finally, don't be afraid to ask for and check references. Ask the parents' you call about their child's experiences. If they were to choose again, would they still choose that provider?

The Utah Office of Child Care has produced a wonderful guide,
 "What is Quality Care for Young Children?"
filled with many great tips and suggestions.

Another guide has been published by NACCRRA (National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies).
This guide has 38 questions to ask and also explains
the reason why they are important.
It can be found on the NACCRRA website at
http://www.naccrra.org/parent/quality_indicators.php

Child Care Aware has also produced a wonderful website with information to help you conduct your child care search. Just follow this link to visit the site: Child Care 101