LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Once you have a working knowledge of the child care regulatory systems, the zoning laws, and the requirements for your facility, the next step is to identify your location. You may already have one in mind; if not, it is critical for you to conduct more research. The facility you choose (or build) must mesh with the purpose and goals of your program. The program's success will be based primarily on its location. You may build a great child care center and establish a great child care program, but if you do not have an accessible location and a good, consistent marketing plan, parents will not find you! It is also important as you research your location to have an understanding of the child care market in the community and the community's view of a child care center where you want to establish your program. Consider property values, incomes, maturity of community, demographics, and commerical/residential development. You should seek out community resources that will help you get a profile of the community. Several agencies in your community can help you determine the need and market for your child care program.

LOCAL CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL has updated information on current child care programs, and can assist you in finding areas that need child care. They also may offer help with technical assistance in establishing your center. Once you have established your center and your program is underway, you will want to make sure that you are included in the resource and referral (R and R) database. Child Care Resource and Referral is ususally the first place parents look for assistance in locating child care in the community.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS maintain a current count of children in the community under the age of 5 years. In order to obtain this statistical data on ages and numbers of children, you will need to know the school district of each location you have in mind.

COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENTS have statistics on children and families, listed by geographic regions. They may be responsible for child care funds for low income families, and they may have a regulatory role in approving child care centers and family child care homes.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE is a good resource for potential locations. The Chamber will be able to provide you with information concerning business/industry growth and community trends. They may have a listing of businesses that can provide resources to assist you as you establish your child care center.

Some guidelines to consider when selecting a site:

  1. Lot size
  2. Primary access to the site (ingress/egress limitations)
  3. Slope of property (can affect cost of site preparation)
  4. Drainage (this is especially important for the playground)
  5. Results of environmental studies and soil samples
  6. Economics of property and its development
  7. Setback requirements
  8. Attitude of surrounding neighborhood

LOCATION CHECKLIST

Once you have determined that there is a need in your community for a day care center and decided on possible locations, you will need to analyze them. The following guidelines will help you evaluate the locations you consider for your child care center.

  1. Locate the existing centers and find out the ages they serve and the programs they offer in the communities you are considering. You may also want to inquire about enrollment to determine if the centers are at capacity or have a waiting list.
  2. Visibility of your center in a potential community will determine how successfully you will be in reaching your enrollment goal. You should select locations that have high visibility and accessibility to the communities you wish to serve.
  3. Consider the traffic patterns leading to your chosen location. Experiment by traveling to your center from different directions to determine the accessibility of the location. The ease with which parents are able to reach your center each day will be an added advantage to your program.
  4. Talk to others about the future of the community you are considering for your center. Learning about the residents of businesses in a particular neighborhood will help you understand the neighborhood's future direction. This is an important consideration.
  5. Contact area corporations and businesses to determine child care needs. Your location's access to working families is critical to your center's stability in enrollment. Parents want child care that is easy for them to use and convenient to home or work.

As you select potential sites, use this checklist to determine if the location will be a successful one.