HR Info
Good Child Care Research Should Cover All Priorities

Forty-five percent of parents responding to a LifeCare poll asking them to state their top priority when finding child care/day care said that they are most concerned with finding “quality programming.” Finding “affordable care” was top priority for just 23 percent.

	Other Child Care Priorities Other responses to LifeCare's poll on child care priorities were: 14% — Finding care during the days/hours I need 8% — Finding care that is conveniently located 3% — Finding care that can handle my child's special needs 7% — Other

Whatever a parent's top priority when searching for child care, those with access to a high quality work/life program—such as LifeCare's—have many distinct advantages. Not only are these parents saved the time and effort of researching each potential care provider but all of their concerns (quality, cost, hours of operations, services offered, location, etc.) are addressed specifically by the work/life provider. LifeCare, for example, does all of the background and licensing checks on behalf of its clients. Even so, most parents elect to visit and interview potential facilities themselves before making a final decision.

Here are a few tips for people in your organization who wish to do some research on their own. Make sure they call at least three references for each caregiver they're considering and have them use the following questions when speaking with current and past patrons:

	How old is your child?
	Are you currently using this provider?
	If not, why did you stop using this provider?
	How long was your child in this provider's care?
	What did you like best about this provider?
	Did you have any problems with this provider?
	Were there any caregiver or staff problems, such as high turnover or frequent absences?
	How would you rate the quality of the care and activities offered by this provider?
	If the provider supplied backup or substitute caregivers, were you happy with them? How often was it necessary to use their services?
	How would you rate the cleanliness of the facility (floors, toys, restrooms, etc.)?
	Did this provider demonstrate age-appropriate expectations for the children?
	Were you comfortable with the provider's discipline policy?
	Did you feel that your child was cared for appropriately when sick or unhappy?