Child Care Resource & Referral

Your visit to several child care programs is a crucial part of your selection process. What you observe during your visit will tell you many things about a program.

• Take along checklist and questions to ask during your visit to the program.
• Take notes on your observations and on answers given to your questions by the providers, teachers and/or directors. These notes will be helpful in determining further questions, and to differentiate between the programs you have observed.
• Allow plenty of time to tour the entire facility, both indoor and outdoor spaces.
• Schedule an initial visit by yourself, and then bring your child with you during your second visit if possible.
• Make sure to observe the group that your child would attend.
• Feel free to follow up your visit with further calls to the director or provider. Be sure that all your questions and concerns are addressed so that you can feel confident about the care your child will receive.
• Ask to meet all of the staff who will care for your child during the day.

Name of Center:

Classroom Visited:

Contact Person:

Date Visited:

Question	Yes	No
The teachers seem nurturing and affectionate with the children.	Yes	No
The teachers take the children outside each day for fresh air.	Yes	No
Children are protected from power sources in all rooms (all electrical outlets are covered, all wires are out of reach, furnaces and space heaters are properly vented and used safely).	Yes	No
All breakable, sharp, or potential choking hazards are out of reach, and poison and medicine are in locked cupboards. There are no dangling curtain/blind cords that pose a choking hazard.	Yes	No
The floors are clean, stairs and doorways are protected with locked gates, and soft surfaces for sitting and lying on are available.	Yes	No

Question	Yes	No
Teachers respond to children’s communications.	Yes	No
Are the children happily engaged in activities?	Yes	No
Would your child be comfortable here?	Yes	No
Are the teachers patient and good natured with the children?	Yes	No
Are the teachers experienced with care of young children?	Yes	No
Are children encouraged to learn and grow at their own pace?	Yes	No
Do the teachers show respect for the children? Is discipline handled in a calm, consistent way to encourage positive behavior?	Yes	No

Question	Yes	No
Does the program have books, pictures, foods, dolls, and other materials that celebrate diverse ethnic and cultural groups?	Yes	No
Are there plenty of bright, colorful objects and toys at toddlers’ eye-level that they are allowed to choose?	Yes	No
Are sensory play activities included in the children’s day (e.g., sand, water, clay, Play-Doh, shaving cream “painting,” pudding painting)?	Yes	No
Are the toddlers taken outside at least twice per day? What activities are available for active play when the weather is bad?	Yes	No
Are toddlers encouraged to use words to resolve conflicts with other children?	Yes	No

NOTES: