Child Care Openings
If you're looking for in-home child care you may have discovered that openings in licensed family child care centers are hard to come by - especially if your child is under two years old. This is due to the popularity of home learning environments and licensing ratios. I do my best to keep this page current; keep reading to see what openings may be coming up!
Anticipated Child Care Openings
I'm often asked when I think there will be an opening, and although I can make a guess based on current children's birthdays, I never know for sure. Sometimes a family's child care needs change unexpectedly due to a job change or upcoming bundle of joy who will need an anticipated opening.
Parents with children under two may have a longer wait than parents with children over two. Believe it or not, the best time to look for child care is before your baby is born!
Parents who are looking for more than one opening may also have a longer wait. Most openings in our center occur one at a time so if you have twins or siblings you may want to consider enrolling one child at a time with the understanding that you will get the next available opening for your other child.
If there are no openings in your child's age range, place your family on the waiting list; I will contact you when a child care opening becomes available.
Child Care Openings are Based on Ratios
In Wisconsin, licensed family child care centers may care for up to eight children at a time, depending on the children's ages. Licensing rules set specific caregiver-to-child ratios based on those ages, as shown in the table below. Because I’m accredited by Satellite, I follow their ratios—which are even smaller than the state requires. That means your child receives more one-on-one attention, more support, and stronger relationships. It’s one of the many benefits of choosing an accredited program!
| Under Two | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Two and Up | 8 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| School Age* | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Maximum | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 |
| * 5+ years old, enrolled in school, and in care less than 3 hours per day. | |||||
Reserve an Opening
See an upcoming opening that meets your child care needs? Schedule an interview and tour to start the enrollment process. No fees are due until the opening is available.