What Are The Benefits To Being Licensed?

[dEHmom]

I think if you're doing daycare for the short term, and don't rely on daycare income to support you and your family, staying unlicensed (as long as it's legal) would be the way to go.

If you are looking at daycare as a career, and rely on that money to support you and your family, it's worth looking at. It's not a short process to becoming license, and there are expenses involved. If you do it piece by piece, and decide you want to do it, then you've got most, or everything ready to go and licensing should be easier.

[Mrs. CC]

I am staying unlicensed, but have decided to become certified by our county. I have a few more classes to take and then I need to agree to 3 visits a year.

Our Food Program already calls for 3 visits and is administered by the same person who does the certification program so the visits coincide.

Hope this is the right thing for me. Being small potatoes sometimes makes it hard to determine which add ons are value added and which are just headache adds:confused:

I am very excited about the nutrition info from the Food Program and have high hopes for the on going training on nutrition they said they provide.

[Unregistered]

I'm unlicensed and unregistered also. I see no added benefit for my situation. I carry an insurance rider that says I can have 3 children and that's all I want anyway.

And for the other unregistered poster, this does not mean I don't pay taxes. My parents get a receipt at the end of the year and for them to take the deduction, they need my social security number. Of course, I give it to them so they get their deduction, but that also means I report my income. For those who think you don't have to pay taxes, how many kids do you think we'd get if we told those parents they aren't going to get the deduction? Of course, we pay taxes!

[Christian Mother]

I'm in AZ and we're allowed to have 4 income children not including my own 2 children. If I cared for 5 income children...I'd be in trouble so I don't do it. I'm not lic. I don't want to bit more off then I can chow and I really just like having a small ratio home daycare. I feel like my kids and I are one big family.

I do however; follow all my guidelines the state has issued and I pay taxes at the end of the yr. In fact bc I run it as a business I find that I can claim quite a bit. I know a lot of you do the food program. I kind of do that backwards as I get to claim meals, drinks, and snacks which works out to be almost $6 a day. Not to mention mileage for driving. I keep really good reports of anything I spend on the kids for supplies and toys and what nots. It works out every yr where I am not owing but getting back money.