Because religious exemptions for licensing and regulation exists for Church, we here at Child Care Virginia Beach cannot in good conscientious recommend any of these child care providers.

Now, the other case of a child dying in the home of an unlicensed provider raises the question as to whether or not you should choose a provider that is illegally run or one that is not required by law to be licensed.

I had my child in the home of an unlicensed day care provider for many years.  She had less than five children in her charge so licensing was not required.

She was however voluntarily registered so there was an inspection of her home and some over site by agencies contracted by the state of Virginia to see that the day care is run according to state laws for child welfare.

Now, I’m sure there are hundreds of moms out there making ends meet by providing child care in their homes and are doing an amazing job, voluntarily registered or not… and I seriously doubt in the case of the provider in her home who was just sentenced to 10 days in jail, being licensed may not have prevented this tragedy

From all accounts and numerous testimonials from her clients, she was a great day care provider… but she did break the law and did have to many children in her home so it is possible that if she had been licensed and followed proper guidelines the child would still be alive today.

There is some dispute as to whether the parents thought she was licensed or not but here is the thing, always use a licensed day care provider if they have more than five children in the home or use a voluntarily registered on if licensing is not required.

If you would like to read the story about these two cases you can do so here:  Child care

You can check to see if a child care provider in Virginia Beach is licensed by clicking here.

       A child day care program in Virginia refers to a regularly operating service arrangement for children where, during the absence of a parent or guardian, a person or organization has agreed to assume responsibility for the supervision, protection, and well-being of a child under the age of 13 for less than a twenty-four-hour period. The broadest categories of care are out-of-home (“Center-Based”) care and in-home or “Family-Based” care in a private home. Those categories can be further broken down into “licensed”, “unlicensed (but regulated)”, and “approved”. Regulated refers to a facility is regulated by the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS). Approved refers to a facility that is regulated by an entity other than VDSS. The chart below allows you to explore the types of child care available, how they are regulated and provide you with related forms and applications.

Here are the main categories that we will discuss throughout the Child Care Virginia Beach website:

Family Day Home
Family day homes provide care for six to 12 children (exclusive of the provider’s own children and any children who reside in the home). The care may be offered for less than 24 hours in the home of the provider or in the home of any of the children in care. Licensure (or voluntary registration) also is required when care is provided to more than four children under two years of age, including the provider’s own children and children who live in the home.

Child Day Center
Child day centers are child day programs offered to (1) two or more children under the age of 13 years in a facility that is not the residence of the provider or of any of the children in care or (2) 13 or more children at any location. During the absence of a parent or guardian, the operator of the child day center has agreed to assume responsibility for the supervision, protection and well-being of children under the age of 13 years for less than a 24-hour period. By law, a child day center may be granted either a six-month conditional license, a six-month provisional license or a two-year license.

Short-Term Child Day Center
Short-term child day centers are child day centers that operate for part of the year only.

Now, you will notice that the Family Day Home definition says between 6-12 children in the home.  If a day care provider has at least 6 children in their homes they must be licensed: ”The Code of Virginia mandates the licensure of family day homes that provide care for six to twelve children (exclusive of the provider’s own children and any children who reside in the home).”

We understand that not all in home day care providers will have 6 children or more and should not be penalised because they are not “officially” licensed.  However, we do require that all featured child care providers at least be voluntarily registered with the state.  Below is the definition of a child care provider who has voluntarily registered their child care business:

     “Voluntary registration is a form of regulation offered to family day homes that are not required to be licensed. These homes have fewer than 6 children in care not including provider’s own children and any children who reside in the home. Voluntary registration is not available in areas where local ordinances regulate unlicensed providers (Arlington, Fairfax, and Alexandria). The program is administered by four agencies that have contracted with the department to perform this function in a specific area of the state.

A family day home provider who wishes to be registered pays a contracting agency a $50 fee to apply for a two year registration certificate. An applicant for a certificate of registration must have criminal history background checks, child abuse registry clearances, and tuberculosis screenings for herself and all adult members of the household. An applicant must also complete a health and safety checklist assessing the home and personal qualifications.

The contract agency visits the home to confirm that basic safeguards are in place to protect children in care. Upon recommendation by the contract agency, the Commissioner issues the two-year certificate of registration. During the period of registration, a small sample of registered homes is monitored by the contracting agency and state licensing staff for compliance with staffing requirements and the health and safety checklist.”

NOTE: Any child care provider who wishes to participate on this site must voluntarily register their business with the proper agency and be approved before we do our interview! 

Below is additional information we request our featured providers read… parents may find this information valuable as well:

News, Events, Bulletins

• Shaken Baby Syndrome (Web page)
• 2010 Child Care Proclamation (PDF)
• 2010 Child Care Professionals’ Recognition Day (PPT)
• 2010 Letter from Director (PDF)

Training & Development

• (MAT) Medication Administration Training (Web page)
• Career Lattice (guidance for career development) (PDF)
• Criteria for Provider Training (PDF)
• Early Childhood Endorsement Program (PDF)
• Professional Development Catalog (formerly known as Training Catalog) (Web page)
• Read~A~ Book Program (Web page)
• Scholarship Program (Web page)
• TIPS (Training information for Provider Success) Calendar (Web page)

Well, hopefully that is what you typed into Google and here I AM!

Hello, my name is Stephanie Demma and I’m a mother of four wonderful children.

They are all in school and my oldest daughter will graduate from high school next year… my youngest is 12.

They pretty much take care of themselves now for the most part but it was not always that way, and as a working parent, I had to find reliable and trustworthy child care for each one of my little ones… and it was not always easy to do.

If you have found your way to this site I’m guessing you live in the Virginia Beach area and are looking for child care either in the form of a large commercial day care center or perhaps from someone who provides child care in their home.

Both have their advantages, and each their own set of problems.

I spent the better part of a decade making sure my children were in the care of loving, professional and competent child minders and employed large nationaly known organizations as well as those individuals providing in home child care on a small scale and everything in between!

I did background checks, searched for referrals, conducted interviews and checked with the appropriate regulatory bodies for the child care industry on dozens of day care establishments both large and small.

I know what it is like to be a mom that has to go back to work and is forced into making the decision on who they will entrust to care for their baby in the most loving and competent way and at a price they can afford.

Location, training and experience of the staff or individual were all things to consider, as well as the financial impact on our family.  I had a budget of course but did not want to sacrifice the safety and well being of my children because of money so I looked long and hard for the best providers.

I also wanted my children to learn while at day care in preparation for kindergarten, and as they got older, wanted an after school environment conducive to doing homework so they would not be trying to do it late at night after we had finished dinner.

The absolute best situation would have been finding a professional child care provider in my own neighborhood, licensed by the Virginia Department of Social Services, certified in CPR and possess all the magic of a Nanny Mcphee!

And so, an idea was born!

What if I started a website where qualified child care professionals could apply to be listed and after an extensive interview process became members of the website?

If I could find a child care professional in every zip code in Virginia Beach and then in every neighborhood it would solve such a big problem for parents looking for someone they could entrust their child to and be right down the street!

And so was born, Child Care Virginia Beach!

I have looked for the most qualified and highly recommended child care providers across Virginia Beach, the kind of folks you will be completely comfortable leaving your most precious possession with.

Now before I go on, I want to provide you with a few links to sites you should review to get a clearer picture of our industry as a whole;

State Contacts List

• Child and Adult Care Food Program: State Contacts
• Child Support Enforcement Agency: State Contacts
• Early Care and Education (ECE) Professional Development Web Sites
• Even Start State Coordinators and Federal Program Contacts
• Head Start – State Collaboration Offices
• KIDS COUNT Projects
• National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (contacts)
• National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities State Resource Sheets
• Selected State Early Learning Guidelines on the Web
• State Early Childhood Comprehensive System (SECCS) Planning Grants: Contact List Approved Grants Project Contacts
• State Funded Prekindergarten and Early Learning Offices
• State Toll-Free Child Abuse Reporting Numbers

Okay, this site will attempt to give you tons of information on local child care providers and what you should look for when considering hiring one of our listed professionals…. believe me, I’ve done my homework and have gone over each applicant with a fine toothed comb but you should still do your own investigating as well.

On our Child Care Virginia Beach site I will provide information on liscensing and certification requirements for child care providers in the Virginia Beach area as well as other training each should possess.

We will look at questions like; does the child care provider offer instruction to your child that will prepare them for school or is it just a basic baby sitting service?

Are there reading and writing and other educational materials available to the children and are they encouraged to use them?

Are the children given materials they can take home to connect with the parents?

Has the home or facility undergone a child safety inspection to ensure your child has a safe, clean environment to play and learn in, both indoors and out?

… and so much more.

Please spend some time at our site and check out our featured child care providers.  Check their references and feedback from satisfied parents and then feel confident that whom ever you choose to entrust your child with will be one of the best decisions you have ever made!

NOTICE: We are now accepting applications and setting up interviews for licensed child care providers in the Virginia Beach area.  If you conduct business in the following zip codes please contact us to set up an appointment for consideration of inclusion to this site: 23451, 23454, 23456, 23462, 23452, 23457, 23464.