Preparing for My Orientation and Inspection!!... Help Michigan
 

Hi all!

I am new to this forum and thankful to God it's here. I need advice about what to expect at orientation and perhaps some common mistakes people make when inspected the first time. I have read the rules a thousand times, and have a copy of the list of compliance I need to be in. I am from Michigan so we have to be licensed through the state.

I live in a tri-level home and am going to use the main level, I was told by my local field consultant that I had to use the lower level, I almost stopped at that because it has no kitchen or bathroom... Not to mention this woman made me feel so small. It was very discouraging. I called Lansing and they gave me my director of field consultants in my area's number. She told me I could absolutely use my main level. Also that I could not get a different field consultant, but that she was hard because she wanted me to know what I was "In For" I am so nervous that this woman is going to inspect my home, especially after going over her head by calling the director.

My orientation is in 2 days, I was told after my orientation if I say I am in compliance that I may immediately open my daycare and that Lansing would send me my license and then I would be inspected... Does that sound right or am I only licensed after I pass inspection.


I SO wish an experienced daycare provider could just show me the ropes about setting up in my home. I do believe I am but I am so nervous!!

Thank you all for ANY advise
Kelly

Hi and welcome..Hopefully one of the more experianced MI providers can answer you. I am like you just starting out and should have the application papers in the mail next week. May I ask how long after you mailed your orginal papers did you hear back from the state? I am in Michigan as well.

So happy for another Michigander!!
 

I started the process in mid November, but it was delayed about 6 weeks because of an unreadable Radon test (Had to resend it) January 12 the state received and approved my application, I overnight-ed it to Lansing on the 7th of January. So I thought that was pretty quick once it got rolling. I received a letter form the state that they had sent my information to the local orientation office and that they would contact me with the following months orientation date. My date is 2-17-2010. I am wondering about the turn around time because I am blessed with a waiting list! :D


What part of Michigan are you from?
Kelly

Originally Posted by krogers1982:
Hi all!

I am new to this forum and thankful to God it's here. I need advise about what to expect at orientation and perhaps some common mistakes people make when inspected the first time. I have read the rules a thousand times, and have a copy of the list of compliance I need to be in. I am from Michigan so we have to be licensed through the state.

I live in a tri-level home and am going to use the main level, I was told by my local field consultant that I had to use the lower level, I almost stopped at that because it has no kitchen or bathroom... Not to mention this woman made me feel so small. It was very discouraging. I called Lansing and they gave me my director of field consultants in my area's number. She told me I could absolutely use my main level. Also that I could not get a different field consultant, but that she was hard because she wanted me to know what I was "In For" I am so nervous that this woman is going to inspect my home, especially after going over her head by calling the director.

My orientation is in 2 days, I was told after my orientation if I say I am in compliance that I may immediately open my daycare and that Lansing would send me my license and then I would be inspected... Does that sound right or am I only licensed after I pass inspection.


I SO wish an experienced daycare provider could just show me the ropes about setting up in my home. I do believe I am but I am so nervous!!

Thank you all for ANY advise
Kelly

Welcome Kelly! We have our inspection on Friday but we are a group home and that requires inspection BEFORE getting your license. If you are a family home you will get a sheet at orientation that you send into Lansing and they will send you your license within a few weeks and then you can officially open. Orientation is a piece of cake. If you have any questions they will be answered there for sure. If you are a family home and get your license from Lansing you will have an inspection done at a later date.

Let me know if you have any other questions! Where in MI are you?

Southeast Mi

Originally Posted by krogers1982:
I started the process in mid November, but it was delayed about 6 weeks because of an unreadable Radon test (Had to resend it) January 12 the state received and approved my application, I overnight-ed it to Lansing on the 7th of January. So I thought that was pretty quick once it got rolling. I received a letter form the state that they had sent my information to the local orientation office and that they would contact me with the following months orientation date. My date is 2-17-2010. I am wondering about the turn around time because I am blessed with a waiting list! :D


What part of Michigan are you from?
Kelly

That seems quite fast, I'm impressed.....I am on the sw side of the state

Originally Posted by krogers1982:
I started the process in mid November, but it was delayed about 6 weeks because of an unreadable Radon test (Had to resend it) January 12 the state received and approved my application, I overnight-ed it to Lansing on the 7th of January. So I thought that was pretty quick once it got rolling. I received a letter form the state that they had sent my information to the local orientation office and that they would contact me with the following months orientation date. My date is 2-17-2010. I am wondering about the turn around time because I am blessed with a waiting list! :D


What part of Michigan are you from?
Kelly

If you have all your ducks in a row the process is fast. I sent in my paperwork on 1/15 and was in orientation on 2/4!

Hi, I'm in SE MI also and after going to the orientation( which was easy) I received a paper that I signed saying that I was in compliance and sent it in. It took just a few days until I got it back and was registered for a family home daycare. They notified us that the licensing would come out within 90 days to do the inspection and that it would probably be the 89th day:), their words not mine.

When the state showed up she specifically checked a list they gave us at orientation. Water temp, furnace room, cupboard door locks, and the big stickler was paperwork. I did not have one children's form filled in with the date of DTAP(tetnus) and that is what I had to show proof of correction before I got my paperwork back from state.

You can go to MI.gov/dhs/licensing and do a search of licensed daycares and pull up their inspection reports for ideas on what you might need to watch for.

Good luck! It takes some time and can be frustrating as well as nerve wracking, but you shall do fine. Just use common sense. The inspector that came for my renewal said that almost no-one ever is in complete compliance and I was for renewal. Yea Me!

A good resource and great help is your local 4C's office. They will even come out and do a walk through or pre-inspection. Sadly I did not know about them until after it was over.:(

Just got off the phone with the Lansing DC licensing office.. They told me after orientation I can fax in my signed in compliance and be opened the next day after they file it with the state. I will be opening Monday!!


So excited!
Kelly:lol:

compliance form online
 

Is there a copy of the compliance form online? I have orientation on April 1 and I hope to be open on April 5. Thanks

i think i found it online, nm

Orientation here i come :D

If you go over your list and the handbook, and be sure you've got it all, then you should be good. Paperwork seems to be the biggest thing for them...child records, discipline policy, field trip permission forms, medication forms...you will be fine! From what my inspector said, they must see some really bad places--she kept comparing mine to the bad ones she saw, so that made me feel good!
How many of us in the SE GR area are there?

Originally Posted by actaktmdt:
Is there a copy of the compliance form online? I have orientation on April 1 and I hope to be open on April 5. Thanks

I believe you get this form AT orientation if you are a family home. It's in your packet and the consultant will go over on the process of sending it in to Lansing.

Originally Posted by emosks:
I believe you get this form AT orientation if you are a family home. It's in your packet and the consultant will go over on the process of sending it in to Lansing.

Did yours look like this?
http://www.mi.gov/documents/dhs/BCAL-4601_238899_7.pdf

Originally Posted by actaktmdt:
Did yours look like this?
http://www.mi.gov/documents/dhs/BCAL-4601_238899_7.pdf

I didn't have a form I had to send in to open. I had to be inspected first since I'm licensed and you will be registered. But those are the rules you have to follow. You will get a form at orientation that you send in to Lansing once you are ready to open. They say it could take a few weeks to get your registration up and running but I know of a few girls in my orientation that had their registration back within a week. I believe you can't open officially until you are approved. Then you'll have your inspection done at some point.

We are two totally different types of daycares.

I was told at orientation we were not licensed until our paperwork came back from the state, which would take a few weeks, BUT she also said (with instructions not to quote her) that it is legal in MI to watch kids for up to four weeks without a licence! So she basically was telling us that if we were ok to fill in our paper saying that we were in compliance with all the regulations, then we were ok to start taking in kids. I had kids here for my inspection, and my worker didn't think anything of it--she was just amazed that I had so many enrolled already--(I had been doing daycare for years before finding out I had to be licensed in MI--the prevailing thought among people I know was you could watch up to 6 w/out a license, and I found out by checking the website I was wrong--oops!)
Another big one I remembered was to make sure you have nothing within 4 feet of your furnace/hot water heater. Even though the rules say nothing combustable, I've been told by others they have gotten written up for anything at all w/in the 4 feet area.
Also make sure you have your smoke alarms, carbon dioxide alarms and fire extinguishers, and emergence plans and escape routes posted. If you have been watching kids before inspection make sure you've recorded your fire and tornado drills too.
Another thing is at my orientation I was told they would only inspect the daycare part of my house, but my inspector went through the whole house (quite embarrassed when she went into my teenagers' rooms!)
If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. From what I hear, so much depends on your inspector and they can all be so different.
Good luck!

Originally Posted by momofsix:
I was told at orientation we were not licensed until our paperwork came back from the state, which would take a few weeks, BUT she also said (with instructions not to quote her) that it is legal in MI to watch kids for up to four weeks without a licence! So she basically was telling us that if we were ok to fill in our paper saying that we were in compliance with all the regulations, then we were ok to start taking in kids. I had kids here for my inspection, and my worker didn't think anything of it--she was just amazed that I had so many enrolled already--(I had been doing daycare for years before finding out I had to be licensed in MI--the prevailing thought among people I know was you could watch up to 6 w/out a license, and I found out by checking the website I was wrong--oops!)
Another big one I remembered was to make sure you have nothing within 4 feet of your furnace/hot water heater. Even though the rules say nothing combustable, I've been told by others they have gotten written up for anything at all w/in the 4 feet area.
Also make sure you have your smoke alarms, carbon dioxide alarms and fire extinguishers, and emergence plans and escape routes posted. If you have been watching kids before inspection make sure you've recorded your fire and tornado drills too.
Another thing is at my orientation I was told they would only inspect the daycare part of my house, but my inspector went through the whole house (quite embarrassed when she went into my teenagers' rooms!)
If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. From what I hear, so much depends on your inspector and they can all be so different.
Good luck!

Right...you can watch unrelated children for up to 4 weeks a calender year but you can not make more than $600 in that 4 weeks either. We make at minimum $600 a WEEK for 1 full time and 4 part time kids so we would have been in violation the first week after sending in our registration if we were a family home. And yes, my consultant went through every single room of my house and I didn't want the upstairs to be approved since that is only our bedrooms/bathrooms up there. She did say that she didn't like us having stuff near our furnace that wasn't combustible but couldn't do anything about it.

Remember, each and every consultant that will be doing the inspections across the state are different in how they interpret the rules. I had one consultant do my orientation tell me one thing and my actual consultant who does my inspections reads the rule completely different. Luckily it was something I could fix when she was here doing our inspection so we could get our license right away still.

Smoke alarms in each room that is approved for daycare as well as napping rooms. Carbon monoxide detectors on each level approved for use. Fire extinguishers on each level approved for use. Exit doors clearly marked. No smoking sign and Emergency Plan clearly posted. Also a list of recalled childrens items is required too.

Originally Posted by emosks:
And yes, my consultant went through every single room of my house and I didn't want the upstairs to be approved since that is only our bedrooms/bathrooms up there. She did say that she didn't like us having stuff near our furnace that wasn't combustible but couldn't do anything about it.

I read somthing about how they have to go through the whole house so I did know that. That reminds me to work on my storage room.

What is this about having items near the furance and water heater? Are we talking storage items, or walls? Directly behind each we have a load bearing wall for the basement. Not much I can do about that. I do have filing cabnet I guess I can move thats directly accross from the water heater. Its empty and we just never got rid of it, as the previous owners of our home left it and I use it to pile folded laundry on when i take things out of the dryer as I sort it.

OMGosh ladies, I truly feel for you. I don't think I could do this job and be blessed with the government agencies. These are our homes, and we are entitled to our own personal space.....as in bathroom and bedrooms, dckids don't belong in there and neither do licensing. That is so rediculous. Good luck.

Originally Posted by actaktmdt:
I read somthing about how they have to go through the whole house so I did know that. That reminds me to work on my storage room.

What is this about having items near the furance and water heater? Are we talking storage items, or walls? Directly behind each we have a load bearing wall for the basement. Not much I can do about that. I do have filing cabnet I guess I can move thats directly accross from the water heater. Its empty and we just never got rid of it, as the previous owners of our home left it and I use it to pile folded laundry on when i take things out of the dryer as I sort it.

Somewhere in the rules it talks about not having anything combustible within 4 ft. of the furnace. My consultant however said it would be "wise of me" to move anything (storage boxes, dresser, gun safe, etc) that is within 4 ft. of furnace and water heater. We were remodeling our downstairs bathroom at the time which is why there was so much stuff in the storage room moved around so she didn't say anything else about it.

They also look through all of your drawers/cabinets that are waist down.

that makes sense, as far as the drawers and cabnets, it will be intersting to see what they say about ours, pm me your inspectiors name as Im curious if thats who I will have....did they look inside your oven?

R 400.1941 Heat-producing equipment.
Rule 41. (1) All flame-producing and heat-producing equipment, including, but not limited to the following shall be maintained in a safe condition and shielded to protect against burns:
(a) A furnace.
(b) A water heater.
(c) A fireplace.
14
(d) A radiator and pipes.
(e) Wood burning equipment.
(2) Combustible materials and equipment shall not be stored within 4 feet of furnaces, other flame or heat-producing equipment, or fuel-fired water heaters.
(3) Portable heating devices shall not be used when children are in care.
(4) Furnaces, other flame or heat-producing equipment used to heat the home when children are in care, and fuel-fired water heaters shall be inspected by any of the following entities:
(a) A licensed heating contractor for a fuel-fired furnace.
(b) A licensed heating contractor or licensed plumbing contractor for a fuel-fired water heater.
(c) A mechanical inspector for the local jurisdiction or licensed mechanical inspector for a wood stove or other solid fuel appliance.
(5) For group child care homes, the inspection specified in subrule (4) of this rule shall be conducted before the initial license issuance and every 2 years thereafter at the time of license renewal.
(6) For family child care homes, the inspection specified in subrule (4) of this rule shall be conducted before the issuance of the certificate of registration and every 3 years thereafter at the time of renewal.

Originally Posted by actaktmdt:
that makes sense, as far as the drawers and cabnets, it will be intersting to see what they say about ours, pm me your inspectiors name as Im curious if thats who I will have....did they look inside your oven?

Her name is Renee. Very nice lady and extremely helpful. No, no looking in my oven! :o

I had Renee too--very nice and helpful. she did not look in my drawers/cupboards that had child locks on them though and also did ask to see where I had my sharp knives stored. Another thing she checked that I hadn't thought of is handwashing soap needs to be ok for kids--lots of soap says "not to be used unsupervised by children" and I never know that. Duh me--mine was ok, but I looked the next time at the store and she was right!

Waiting
 

I mailed in my Application on 5 days ago. Can anyone tell me how long it takes for the State to respond. I am just curious to see how long it will be before I can get into oreintation. When did you advertise your daycare opening?

I don't know if it varies by area or not, I live in the "tip of the mit" I think it took a few weeks after I turned in my stuff, I then got a letter in the mail saying that my orientation was the following week. In my area they only do the orientations the first Thursday of every month. I should be getting my license next week, I can then start advertising in my local paper, you can't place an ad without a license number. I plan to open June 1st.

Hope this helps.

I think I got my response within a month. My orientation was scheduled out a while though--but that was for other reasons. Good Luck!

I mailed my packet in on January 15th and the following week had a letter from the state stating they received it. I was in orientation in February (first Thursday) and had my inspection done the 19th. Then had my license issued on the 22nd. We officially opened up on March 1st.

I'm a group home though...I know the process is different than family. I had my inspection pushed back a week though for scheduling purposes of my own though.