All child care and elder care workers hired after January 1, 2001 must register with FCSR within 15 days of beginning employment.

For more information, or to request a background check, visit www.health.state.mo.us/FCSR or call toll-free 866-422-6872 Monday through Friday from 7 AM to 6 PM.

St. Louis Children's Hospital offers a free booklet about choosing a qualified child care program. To obtain a copy, call 454-KIDS or go to www.bjc.org. 

Some of the tips in that booklet include:

Components of a Quality Program

Children grow and change at a faster pace during their first six years than at any other time in their life. Therefore, it is essential that the learning taking place in the home and at a center provide young children with quality, age-appropriate experiences.

A quality educational program will:

• Have a trained staff in the field of early childhood development.
• Offer training and continuing educational programs to keep staff abreast of current child development practices. (The National Association for the Education of Young Children provides standards for age-appropriate curriculum.) 
• Help children develop attitudes that promote a positive self-image.
• Develop feelings of security and success.
• Allow children to appropriately express their feelings.
• Encourage children to explore, discover, question, problem solve, make choices and gain independence.
• Provide activities in the skill areas of language, cognition, social and emotional, intellectual, and motor development.
• Provide evidence of compliance with local and state standards of health and safety.

Observation

As you begin your search for a child care program, start your "shopping" by phone. Ask questions to determine if the center is in your budget range, if the size of the classrooms is acceptable to you and if the teacher/child ratio meets licensing standards. Next, choose approximately three programs that answered your questions to your satisfaction and arrange a time to tour each facility. Plan on at least an hour for your visit. During your visit evaluate each facility in six important categories:

1. Management/Staff Competency and Qualifications
2. Health and Safety Standards
3. Individualization and Social Development
4. Intellectual Development and Creativity
5. Fine and Gross Motor Development (Physical Development)
6. Family Participation

This information is based on materials published by St. Louis Children's Hospital.