You love your children and want the very best for them.  If you could, you would be there to take them to the school bus in the morning, and be waiting for them when it drops them off.  Unfortunately, in today’s society of nine to five employment this is wishful thinking for the majority of parents, and it is therefore not surprising that many a parent is in search of high quality after school child care at some point. Since there are many different after school child care programs available, it is imperative to research all your options - not only to secure the best facility possible for your child, but also to ensure that the program is suitable for your child’s temperament, need, and academic status.

Possibly the number one factor for parents in search of after school child care is the absolute knowledge that their children will be safe, picked up on time from school, taken to a friendly environment, and have help with homework if needed. Yet how can you measure “safety”?  A very good indicator is a visit to the child care facility: is it clean?  Are doors and gates secured so that children cannot leave without someone knowing about it?  Are there sign-in and sign-out procedures to ensure that strangers cannot come and pick up children without parental permission? Is there a defined ratio between caregivers and children, ensuring that each child will receive enough age-appropriate attention? Do the caregivers know how to give child CPR? Are the vehicles used to pick up the children from school well maintained and devoid of dings, dents, and other signs of accidents?  Ask to take a look inside a couple of vehicles – are they clean, well maintained, and the seatbelts all in working order?  Do the vans smell of cigarette smoke?  While it is up to you to grant permission to smoke around your children, a van that reeks of smoke might be an indicator that you want to investigate a little more thoroughly.  Also, if the vans look beaten up, you will need to ask how they came to be in this condition.  Ideally, staff and drivers should have undergone a criminal background investigation and finger printing check, while drivers in particular should have been screened for drugs and alcohol.

Taking a look at the caregivers will also give you a clear indication about how “friendly” the facility is.  If there caregivers appear rushed, short tempered with one another or the children, and if you see different faces each time you visit, you might have found a good indicator that the facility is understaffed, the caregivers overworked, and the employee turn-over ratio high.  Additionally, take a look at the ages of the caregivers: do they appear to be high school students who are making an extra buck or does it look like there are trained professionals working at the child care center? Turn-over is a warning sign that the facility is lacking in some way; additionally, since children thrive on routines, the continuous change in staff is stressful and since bonds cannot easily be formed this way, there is a good chance that the facility may not meet your child’s understanding of “friendly”, even if she or he cannot express it in so many words.

To find out if the after school child care center of your choice will have age-appropriate activities for your child, take a look at the toys and games that are offered. Do the toys and games look to be in good working order, or are pieces missing?  Are they appropriate for your child’s age, or are they more geared toward younger or older children? Additionally, are the children simply warehoused upon arrival and left to their own devices, or is there a schedule of activities in effect, so children will be able to enjoy some kind of structure even after school?

When researching your options for after school child care, there is one more very important question you need to ask: is the facility licensed by your state?  If it is not, you might want to move on and look for a different child care center.  While a license in and of itself does not guarantee a quality environment, it does go a long ways to ensuring that a government agency is having some oversight.  A lack of a license is a sign that perhaps all is not as well as it could be.  So go ahead and research your options thoroughly, ask a lot of questions, and do not be shy when taking a look around – open cupboard, open doors, get on your knees and look around the ground – but above all, trust your gut-feel about the place!