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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Licensing is Driving Me Looney!!
SunflowerMama 06:03 AM 07-07-2010
So I'm currently registered but for the past couple of weeks have been getting everything in order to become licensed. Currently I can only watch 6 under 5 (2 of those are my own)...if licensed it would increase to 8.

I have jumped through hoop after hoop to get all my paperwork exactly how they want it (had to change my floorplan, faxing things 3 or 4 times because they didn't go through properly, etc.).

So to be approved as a licensed facility you have to have 12 hours of child development courses and then 1 year experience in childcare. So I have my masters degree in recreation and my bachelors is in sport management with a minor in psychology.

When I turned in my transcripts with classes such as 'Crafts for Recreation Programs', 'Children and Nutrition', and "Youth and Sport' my licensing rep said they were "fishy" and she wanted course descriptions to show her how they relate to child development .

I just think fitness, the reduction of TV watching/video games, nutrition education and keeping dcks active are just as important topics as any other "early development" topic/course. Ahhhh!

It's just very frustrating going back and forth with her about my courses so I just needed to vent a little.
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Crystal 06:25 AM 07-07-2010
That's really irritating.....the classes sound completely acceptable to me.....they may not be ECE courses, but children and nutrition is certainly qualifiable.....and the others sound like they certainly relate to working with children. Do they want the courses to be core courses in Child Development, or can they be miscellaneous workshops, etc.? I would ask the licesning rep for a written code that clearly defines what they will accept.

Good luck with the rest of the process.....in the end, it will all work out
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jen 06:46 AM 07-07-2010
I have had the exact same problem with licensing and my college courses which were related to psychology. In the end they did accept them. However, all of my courses need to be approved by licensing prior to my counting them as ce credits in the future.
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Liliya 07:18 AM 07-07-2010
In TN you have to take 30 hours course. 12 is not bad at all.
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Janet 10:39 AM 07-07-2010
I thought I was going to lose my mind when I started getting my licensing stuff done. I mailed in everything, I was current on my cpr's and first aid, I had done my electronic fingerprints and I assumed that everything went as planned. They lost my electronic fingerprints during the transmission!!!!!!!!! I was furious! While I was waiting to get my fingerprints done again (which I had to drive 80 miles to do!), my cpr's and first aid certifications lapsed! Then I had get the done again, which I knew I would need to do, but I had time until the fingerprints were lost. Also, they lost my paperwork so I had to resend it, but that time I sent it certified. It took about 6 months to get it all straightened out. I was furious!

Fast forward to renewing my licensing. I send in everything and I get a note back saying that now they also require the hot water heater to be checked out as well as the furnace and also that my cpr's and first aid certifications were unacceptable. Ummm...I'm an instructor for adult cpr/AED, infant & child cpr, first aid and bloodbourne pathogens. How is that unacceptable? I called the lady in charge of licensing and she told me that I would need to get separate cards. That was a load of crap. My expiration date on my instructor card wasn't until December of the following year, and I'm required to teach some classes to keep current. Did you all know that for each one of those cards, the cost is $5? I know it may seem crazy, but it's true! I agreed to get a letter signed by the health and safety director and the executive director for the red cross stating that I was current with all of the training required for licensing.

So many friggin hoops to jump through! In MI, it's even more difficult to get a group home approval. Wild horses couldn't make me go through that process!
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mac60 11:07 AM 07-07-2010
To OP, she is probably jealous you have your degrees. lol.

And the other horror stories.......exactly why I will never do this and be licensed. Too much bs.
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tmcp2001 11:18 AM 07-07-2010
I SOOOO understand! It takes 4-6 months to complete the licensing process here in MN. I thought I could for sure breeze through it - I'm actually a Licensed Social Worker, the same licensure MY licensor has! But, nope! It took me 5 months (and $5,000 in home improvements) to finish the process. Oh, and I should mention that I have four children of my own, so I know a thing or two about raising kids, lol!

Plus, to legally do childcare for more than one unrelated family in MN you MUST be licensed. So, not getting licensed was not an option for me.

Good luck to you - keep your head up! It's worth it in the end, I am so glad to have everything squared away. And, honestly, my licensor is a very nice woman - she's been extremely helpful and always has great advice for me!
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My Daycare 01:22 PM 07-07-2010
I think I am going to have to get a temp job (of course I can't find one) and send my son to daycare while I'm waiting. There is no end in sight. I have quit buying things and creating menus and other paperwork until I have a home visit scheduled. Just reading the forums, of course. I just got my husbands medical form back from her today, for the second time. A "no" box is checked and scribbled out and the "yes" box is checked so I have to go get that part signed for proof. 1st time it was sent back the doc didn't write a phone number and I couldn't go in to have him write it because he was on vacation for 2 weeks. It's about a 2 month delay every time this happens. Mine and my kids med forms got lost in the mail and after 1 1/2 months of her not receiving them she let me drop them off. She got them in the mail 2 days later. That's only part of it!!!

Good Luck!!! I wish you all the best!!!
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Tags:daycare blues, daycare fatigue, licensed, registered
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