The Council is available to assist individuals and groups interested in starting center, home-based, and school age child care programs. In Westchester County at this time, many existing child care programs and providers have openings and are having difficulty enrolling children.
The Council wants everyone to understand that opening a new child care business will be challenging and involves a full understanding of many pertinent business principles including but not limited to financial considerations, the NY State OCFS regulations, and marketing. Whether you plan to start a child care business in your home or in a public facility, you will need an understanding of both the business and programmatic sides. We urge you to review all the information on our website and to ask plenty of questions of Council staff, who have experience in this area, before you attend a mandatory information session.
There are many things to consider before you decide to open a child care business. Click here to get valuable information that will give you information that will help you make this important decision.
Information Sessions for Family, Group/Family, Center, and School Age Child Care
A mandatory start-up information session hosted by NYS OCFS is required If you are interested in opening a child care center, family child care program, group family child care program, or school age child care program. There is no charge for these sessions. To find out more about information sessions, click here.
If you are interested in opening a child care center:
In addition to the NYS OCFS mandated start-up information session (required if you are interested in opening any type of child care program), the Council offers an non-mandatory information session that reviews the business aspects of opening a child care center that should be considered before deciding to open one. These include the needs for care in the area, budgeting, quality programming, developing a program philosophy, staff requirements, and regulations. The cost for this session is $85. Participants receive an Information-Kit that includes information on the business of child care, developing an action plan, budgeting, program considerations, and additional information to consider when thinking about opening a child care center. It includes a copy of the current OCFS regulations. The Information-Kit can be purchased separately at a cost of $50. One-on-one assistance is also available for $75 an hour. Contact Idie Benjamin, Director, Professional Development, at 914-761-3456, ext. 108 or idieb@cccwny.org.
After you have decided which type of program you would like to open, the Council suggests that you follow these steps:
Review the Regulations
Research the Need for Care
Attend a Mandatory Start-up Information Session
Site Visit
Schedule Fingerprinting for Staff
