Everything You Need To Include In Your Daycare Agreement

Hey girl, today let's chat about how to write the best daycare agreement.

Are you looking to write a daycare agreement but you have no idea where to start? You have come to the right place.

Being an in-home daycare provider myself, this was one of the first things that I tackled when setting up my business.

You are going to learn about all the sections you should include in your agreement such as enrollment and discharge of children, hours and days of operation, payments and refunds, child and provider absences, and so much more.

After hearing about all of the parts your daycare agreement should include, you will feel so prepared to sit down and create your own.

Let's jump into everything you need to include in your daycare agreement.

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Daycare Agreement

First off, let me congratulate you on deciding to run your own business, let alone take care of someone else’s child/children. It is not for the faint of heart. You are a Rockstar, mama!!!

It is truly the most rewarding and challenging job that I have ever had.

If you get through this post and still have no idea how to set up your daycare agreement, leave me a comment below with your email address and I will send you a copy of mine to reference.

You will want to go through it with a fine-tooth comb and change everything you need to make it your own!

Whatever you decide to put into your daycare agreement, follow it!

I read mine twice a year to make sure I am following it. If I am not, I make a change to it and then make sure to have my clients sign a revised copy.

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Do You Need A Daycare Agreement?

Yes. Absolutely. Without A Doubt!

If you are going to run any kind of daycare that you are getting paid for, you should set up a daycare agreement. It doesn’t matter if it is between you and your sister or closest friend, have one!

It should be signed and dated by both you and whoever the parent/guardian is that you are providing care for.

This is your business and you have to cover your butt!

Who This Daycare Agreement Will Work For?

This daycare agreement is designed for in-home daycare use. The template I used came from my state daycare agreement.

If you are licensed by your state, make sure you have everything you need in your agreement that they require. All states are different, I checked!

What To Include In Your Daycare Agreement?

The following sections are what you need to include in your daycare agreement. Below this list, I will give you more details about what you should talk about in each section.

Basic Information
Enrollment and Discharge of Enrolled Children
Payments and Refunds
Child and Provider Absences
Health
Nutrition
Daily Activities
Child Guidance
Transportation
Pets
Emergency Procedures
Parent/Guardian Signature

Daycare Agreement

Basic Information

There is quite a bit of basic info that you should include in your agreement.

Daycare name, phone number, your name, address
Policy effective date
The age range of care
Hours of operation
Days/Holidays you will be closed and if you will be paid for these days
How to make sure you know where all the kiddos in your care are
If an adult doing pick-up appears to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, what you will do?
Is there any special insurance you are carrying?
Are you a mandated reporter? What do you need to do if you suspect child abuse?

Daycare Agreement

Enrollment and Discharge of Enrolled Children

Will you have a trial period? If so, how long?
Discuss any items and paperwork that need to be completed and returned.
Also, discuss if there are changes to any paperwork when they need to be completed and returned to you.
Do you want to allow drop-in care?

For the most part, I did not allow drop-in care. I have been lucky to have full-time daycare children since I opened.

There have been a few times that I have helped a friend for a few days if they just couldn’t find some care for their children.

Sometimes things will not work out for who you are doing daycare for so you will need to talk about what may get a child discharged from your daycare.

This may include failure to pay on time, lack of parental cooperation, not complying with your child care contract, and more.

Daycare Agreement

Payments And Refunds

When are fees due and what will happen if they are not paid on time?
Third-party payments
Who children can be released to
Will there be late fees if the parent picks up after your closing time? If so, how much?
What are your rates and when they can be adjusted?
Is there a reduction if more than 1 child per family is cared for?
If the child is absent, due to anything, what is your refund policy?

Daycare Agreement

Child and Provider Absences

Child Absence

When parents should let you know a child will be absent.
What you will do if a child doesn’t arrive within a certain amount of time from their regular arrival time.
What you will do if a child doesn’t arrive from someplace other than home, i.e., school.

Provider Absence

How much vacation will you take each year, will it be paid or unpaid? How long in advance will you let your clients know of your time off?
What you will do if there is an illness in your house, do you still charge fees for these days?
Discuss what will happen with an unplanned absence due to an emergency.
Who is your backup person? What information will you give them before you leave?
Will you charge fees if you have to close due to an emergency?

Daycare Agreement

Health

Child Illness/Injuries

When your parents should keep their children home.
What will happen if children become ill while in your care.
When children can return to your center after being ill.
Who will be notified when a child in your care has an illness?
Have you been trained in first aid, CPR, being able to use an automated external defibrillator (AED), and any other medical training?
What will you do if a child in your care gets a superficial injury, like an injury that needs a basic bandage or less?
If a child in your care needs emergency medical treatment, what is your procedure?
Which incidents will be recorded by you?

Yes, you should keep a written record of such things. You can never be too careful when it is you who could be on the hook.

Medications

Will you give medication to the children in your care?
Do you plan on applying sunscreen or insect repellant?

Smoking

Is smoking allowed on the premises during hours of operation?

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

What you will do to reduce the risk of SIDS?

Daycare Agreement

Nutrition

How often will you feed them? Which meals will you serve?
How to go about if a child has any food allergies?
If children are under 12 months, do you require formula or breast milk for them? Do the parents need to provide bottles?
Does any food need to be supplied by the parents?

Daycare Agreement

Daily Activities

Will you teach religion?
Do you plan to celebrate any occasions?

I made it very clear that we would celebrate the following with no religion involved: Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Birthdays.

What are some kinds of activities the kids will do throughout the day?

At my daycare, the kids learn while playing and exploring the environment around them.

We focus a ton on language development, large and small muscle skills, creative expression, self-help skills, literacy skills, and so much more!

What do the indoor and outdoor play areas entail and how often do the children get to enjoy being inside and outside?
How will the kids be safe while playing outside?

We put a fence around our backyard and decided against having a trampoline.

There is no pool in use or set up while daycare kids are at my house. This doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a water fight or sprinkler used to cool off though.

Rest or Naptime

Who needs to rest? If the kiddo can’t fall asleep, how long do they have to lay down for?
What will the children be resting in/on?

Field Trips

Even if it is a walk around the block, make note that it may happen. Parents like to know where their kids are at.

Daycare Agreement

Child Guidance

What are your rules and how will you go about enforcing them?
Are you going to use time-outs or take a break?
What steps are you going to take if the bad behavior continues after all your efforts?

Daycare Agreement

Transportation

This one is huge!!

Are you going to take your daycare kids anywhere in a vehicle?

First off, since I have 4 kids, we do not have a vehicle big enough to take all of my kids plus the daycare kids anywhere. Nor did we want to buy one.

Second, transporting someone else’s kids in a vehicle is a huge responsibility, and I did not want to take that on.

If the kids and I want to go somewhere during daycare hours, we walk.

Daycare Agreement

Pets

There are so many wonderful pets you can have.

Make sure you inform your clients of these.
If you do not have a pet but plan on getting one, tell your clients ahead of time.

As much as my kids want a dog, we are not going to have one or any pet while I am a daycare provider. I love dogs and grew up having them but the liability of having one while do daycare would stress me out.

Not to mention the increase in insurance I would have to pay, ouch!

Daycare Agreement

Emergency Procedures

How often are you going to have the children practice fire drills?
If you live in an area that can get severe weather, what are you going to do to practice for it?
There may come a day where you will have to do an emergency evacuation. What is your procedure for it?
What is your procedure if your center loses heat, water, or electricity? This has happened to me!
Do you close for severe weather if the schools do?
In the event of a threat, what will you do?