How to start a daycare in North Dakota

1. Choose a daycare center or a home daycare

States license daycare centers and home daycares (often called family child care homes) under different rules, with different limits on how many children you can care for. Decide which one you're starting before anything else.

North Dakota's license types are described in Who needs a daycare license above. Learn what families near you need, too: your local Child Care Resource and Referral agency (CCR&R) can tell you which ages and hours are hard to find.

2. Contact HHS

Daycare licensing in North Dakota is handled by the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Early Childhood Licensing. Contact it before you sign a lease or buy equipment, and ask, in writing if you can:

• Which license type fits our plans, and how many children can it cover?
• Is there an orientation or pre-licensing training, and when is the next one?
• Which inspections and clearances do we need (licensing, fire, health and zoning)?
• What does it cost to apply, and how long does approval usually take?
• What do we need to do to accept families who use childcare assistance?

3. Choose a business structure

A daycare can run as a business (such as an LLC) or as a nonprofit, or under an existing nonprofit such as a church. Talk with an accountant or lawyer before you file anything, and get an employer identification number (EIN) from the IRS. It's free.

4. Find a space that can pass inspection

Check zoning before you sign a lease. Then ask the building department, the fire marshal and HHS what the space needs, including how much indoor and outdoor space per child North Dakota requires. Since December 28, 2012, cribs in daycares must meet federal Consumer Product Safety Commission standards.

5. Plan your rooms around the ratios

North Dakota's ratios for the ages it confirmed are in the table above. They decide how many staff each room needs, so they shape your whole budget. For infants and toddlers, ask HHS.

• Work out your staffing with the staff ratio calculator.

6. Hire staff and run background checks

Run the checks in Background checks for daycare staff above before anyone starts.

Federal rules also require comprehensive background checks for staff of every licensed, regulated or registered childcare provider and every provider that can take childcare assistance. Teach every staff member how to report suspected abuse or neglect (see Reporting child abuse above).

7. Get insured

Talk early to an insurance broker who works with childcare programs. Ask about general liability, abuse and molestation coverage, property coverage and workers' compensation, plus auto coverage if you'll transport children. A home daycare should tell its homeowner's or renter's insurer, since those policies may limit business use.

8. Build a budget and set tuition

Start with payroll (see step 5), then add rent, food, supplies and insurance. Compare your numbers with what other daycares near you charge, and set prices for the enrollment you expect, not a full room. Write down your deposit, late payment, late pickup and absence policies before you enroll anyone.

• Plan payments with the payment plan calculator and the sibling discount calculator.
• Give a receipt for every payment. Parents may need it for a dependent care FSA or tax credit (childcare receipt generator).

9. Add childcare assistance and the food program

Ask North Dakota's childcare assistance office how to become an approved provider for families who get help paying for care, and ask about the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which reimburses eligible daycares for meals and snacks. Programs that take childcare assistance must meet federal health and safety requirements, including background checks, training and inspections.

10. Prepare your enrollment forms and policies

Ask HHS which records you must keep for each child. Have your forms ready before you enroll anyone, and collect everything before a child's first day.

Medication in North Dakota. Centers need written parent permission and proper instructions before giving any medicine; prescription medicine must come with the medical provider's written dosage and storage instructions and be labeled with the child's name and date. Medicine is stored out of children's reach (refrigerated medicine kept together in a spillproof container), and every dose, including over-the-counter, is logged with date, time, dosage, child's name and the staff member's name and kept in the child's record (N.D. Admin. Code 75-03-10-26(7)).

• Registration form, medical and allergy form and authorized pickup form
• Medication administration log and allergy alert roster
• Incident and accident report, parent handbook and emergency action plan
• A safe sleep policy: babies under 12 months sleep on their backs, on a firm, flat surface, with no blankets, pillows, toys or other soft items in the crib

11. Fill your spots

Start enrolling before you open, so you aren't paying staff for empty rooms. Tell your CCR&R you're open, check your listing in the state's childcare search once you're licensed, offer tours and keep a waitlist for each age group.

12. Pass your inspections and open

For licensed programs that can take childcare assistance, federal rules require at least one inspection for health, safety and fire standards before licensing, then an unannounced inspection at least once a year. Schedule yours early, train staff on your policies, emergency plan, safe sleep, allergies, medication and pickup rules, and check every child's file before their first day.

What we couldn't confirm

Check these points with the state before you rely on them.

• The ND HHS page lists reporting-line hours of 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Central on weekdays and does not say how to report after hours other than calling 911 in an emergency.
• N.D.C.C. 50-11.1-02 defines a child care center as 19 or more children while 50-11.1-03 requires a center license for more than 30; the overlap with group child care (up to 30) was not resolved.

How BackPR helps

BackPR handles registration, enrollment and health forms, recurring tuition with autopay and check-in against each family's authorized pickup list. Families can register and fill in forms in English or Spanish, and parents get receipts and year-end dependent care statements. It's free for nonprofits, with no subscription and no BackPR fees. Payments run on Stripe, and Stripe's processing fees apply. Other programs get pricing by quote. More on BackPR for childcare.