Most of what matters about a daycare is checkable before you enroll. This is the list we would use ourselves, with the extra questions that apply when the center runs nights.
1. Check the license, not the brochure
In Arizona, licensed child care centers are inspected by the Department of Health Services, and the license is public record on AZ Care Check. Ask for the license number and look it up. A licensed center posts the certificate on the wall.
2. Ask the ratio for your child's age
One caregiver, and the children that caregiver is responsible for. Arizona's rule is 1:5 for infants, 1:6 at one year, 1:8 at two, 1:13 at three, 1:15 for pre-kinder and 1:20 for school age. Ask the center to say its number for your child's room, in writing if you can.
3. Ask who is in the room
Are directors and teachers CPR certified and background checked? Does the director hold a credential? Are there security guards and cameras, and can an enrolled parent walk in at any time during hours of care? The answers should be quick and specific.
4. Visit at the hour you would really drop off
A 9 AM visit shows you the morning team. If you need a 9 PM drop-off, visit at 9 PM: you will see the night team, the lights, the meal and the rooms the children sleep in. Bring your child if you can and watch how the staff greet them.
5. For a 24-hour or overnight center, add these
- Which building, exactly, takes overnight stays, and on which days.
- Whether staffing thins out at night. Arizona requires a caregiver to stay awake with sleeping children.
- What a night looks like: dinner, wind-down, a real bedtime, and for babies their own feeding and napping schedule with a daily record going home.
- What to pack: a blanket and pillow, a change of clothes, a toothbrush, labelled bottles for babies.
- Whether night-time rates differ and when they start.
6. Money questions to ask before you sign
- Weekly tuition by age group and schedule, and whether it is the same at every building.
- Drop-in day prices.
- Registration fee and sibling discount.
- Whether DES child care assistance is accepted, and whether evening and weekend hours qualify.
How Nana's answers these
Two licensed buildings in Glendale (CDC-14018 and CDC-12417), rooms staffed to Arizona's ratio for each age, directors with CPR, background checks and a CDA credential, security guards and cameras, and a published rate table. 43rd Ave is open 24 hours, Monday to Saturday, closed Sundays and holidays; Northern is open 5 AM to midnight. Come see it: schedule a visit at the hour you need.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important thing to check at a daycare?
The license, and the caregiver-to-child ratio for your child's age. Both are checkable: the license on AZ Care Check, the ratio by asking the center to state its number.
What questions should I ask a 24-hour daycare?
Which building takes overnight stays and on which days, whether staffing thins at night, what a night looks like for your child, what to pack, and when night-time rates start.
Should I visit at night?
If you will drop off at night, yes. Visit at the hour you would really use so you meet the team that will be there.
Does DES cover a 24-hour daycare?
DES assistance is based on the hours you work, and evening and weekend hours qualify. Ask DES about your own case.