4Cs Child Care Referrals

4Cs can refer child care providers in Johnson and Washington Counties in Iowa. If you need care in other parts of the country, click here for the National Child Care Directory.

Here are some links to local child care centers in Johnson and Washington Counties. These are just a few of the centers in the area. 4Cs does not specifically endorse any of these programs. If you have a licensed child care program in the 4Cs area and would like to put a link here, please contact 4Cs

Alice's Rainbow
Good Shepherd
Handicare
Mary Jo Small Child Care Center at Brookland Woods
Stepping Stones
Treebrook Preschool

Whether you're expecting a new baby, seeking a programfor a pre-school aged child, looking for after-school care, or just need an occasional care giver, 4Cs can match you with a child care provider. Referrals can be done over the telephone in approximately 15 minutes. A packet of materials, including the names of several providers, will be mailed to you within two business days.

Call today: 319-338-7684 or contact Justine and give her your day time phone number and when best to contact you. We want to serve you as best as we can!

Tips on How to Choose Child Care

Licensed, Registered or Non-Registered

4Cs can offer guidance about how to interview providers and what to consider when making your choice of caregivers; however, parents must make the final decision and be comfortable with the caregiver they choose. Some of the homes listed with 4Cs are registered with the Department of Human Services. Registration of a child development home is voluntary in the state of Iowa. This means that the child care providers agrees in writing to meet minimum standards for child care. Iowa law states that whether registered or not, a provider may not care for more than three children under the age of 18 months, and 1 child from 18-24 months at one time. One provider can care for 6 children (numbers can increase based on school-age, part-time children and if the provider has an assistant.) If there are two registered providers in the household, then they may care for a total of 12 children plus 2 school-age and 2 part-time children.

Advanced Training Programs

Some providers have participated in the Best Beginnings infant care enrichment courses or the Program for Infant and Toddler Caregiver series. Other providers have become ChildNet Certified, which means they may have completed 25 hours of training.

Food Program Participants

Child Care Providers enrolled in the Child and Adult Care Food Program receive reimbursement from the state for serving nutritious meals to their children. They must keep records of menus and are visited three times a year by Food Program experts. They must also be registered or licensed with the state.

The First Phone Call

Once you have the names of some potential providers, call them and get basic information (be sure to ask if it's a convenient time to talk - the caregiver may be busy caring for the children). Have a piece of paper handy to jot down some notes about the following issues:

When You Visit

After you have spoken to several caregivers, decide which ones sound most promising and arrange to visit them. When you observe a program, there are a number of things to look for:

With infants you should see caregivers who: You should NOT see: With one and two-year-old children you should see caregivers who: You should NOT see: With preschoolers, you should see caregivers who: Keep these questions in mind.

And remember, any question you can think of no matter how small, ASK IT!

10 Things Your Child Care Provider Should Expect From You

  1. Open communication. Explain clearly and carefully your wishes and expectations about how the child will be cared for. Also provide updates on problems and progress that your child is making. Give the provider information about your child's routine, activities and preferences. Good communication helps parents and providers work together in the best interest of the children.
  2. Agreement on terms and arrangements. You should fully understand the expectations of the provider and what you as a parent are agreeing to. A written agreement between the provider and parents is usually helpful for both parties.
  3. Honesty and trust. This includes being honest about how you believe the arrangement is working-whether your child is happy with the provider and whether you are. Although you need to be vigilant in order to safeguard your child, you should still trust your child care provider to do the best for your child. Show your trust by asking questions rather than jumping to conclusions when problems develop.
  4. Advance notice of and agreement to any changes. Providers have to earn a living, too, so they deserve advance notice if you are going to stop using their services or change their hours. For example, if you want the provider to start feeding your child breakfast, this change should be discussed and agreed to and an adjustment should be made in the rate of pay. And if you expect a month notice in case the provider can no longer care for your child, you owe the provider similar notice.
  5. Pick up on time and follow through on all agreements. Providers have personal lives, too, and they should be able to expect that you will pick up your child at the agreed upon time. If it takes you 15 minutes a night longer to get home than you expected, you need to work out a new agreement with the provider or find a way to abide by the original one. If you agreed to provide diapers, formula and other supplies, you should bring them before they are needed.
  6. Not to send sick, hungry or overly tired kids. Agree with your child care provider in advance about when you can and cannot bring a sick child. Never bring a child whom you know is not feeling well enough to be away from home and family. Likewise you shouldn't expect your child care provider to cope with a child who has not had breakfast or when to bed four hours late last night.
  7. Payment on time and no "rubber" checks. Child care providers have to pay the rent and buy food too, so make arrangements to see that they get their pay on time.
  8. Respect. Realize that taking care of children is a job and the child care provider is a worker - often a working parent too. Recognize also that this is not an easy job. A child care provider is not "just a babysitter." They are one of the most important people in your child's life and in yours too.
  9. No jealousy. Try not to be jealous of your child's attachment to child care providers. Children who spend hours every day with a day care provider come to love that person. That love, though, doesn't diminish the love the child feels for you. You are not in competition with your child care provider for your child's affection.
  10. No surprises. Your child care provider shouldn't learn on Friday that you have decided to take next week off from work. Your provider shouldn't learn that you know expect them to pick up your kindergartner after school because the car pool you have been using has dissolved. Child care providers don't like surprises any better than parents do.

10 Things You Should Expect From Your Child Care Provider

  1. Open communication. Providers should give you frequent and full updates on your child's progress and problems. They should welcome your questions about how they can help your child. If they let you know what is happening with your child during the day, you can develop ways to deal with problems and to build on activities and accomplishments of the day.
  2. Open access to their home or center. Parents must be welcome to drop in anytime, even without calling. Providers also should allow to make a reasonable number of phone calls to check on their children's well-being, in cases of illness or if there's a special problem such as separation anxiety. You and the provider should work out the best times for such phone calls and determine how many calls are reasonable.
  3. Safety for your child. Providers should take all possible precautions to keep children safe, such as plugging light sockets, putting away knives and other sharp objects, closing off stairways, using only safe and well-maintained equipment and other basic measures. It also includes always using child-safety seats and seat belts when transporting children in cars.
  4. Honesty and confidence. Providers shouldn't make commitments that they can't or don't intend to keep. They shouldn't cover up problems or accidents that occur. They shouldn't expect parents to help them avoid income taxes by slipping them money on the side. They also shouldn't gossip about your child or family to coworkers.
  5. Acceptance of parents' wishes. Providers should abide by parents' wishes on matters such as discipline, TV watching, food, adult smoking, and toilet training. If providers feel that they can't abide by parents' wishes, they need to tell parents before agreeing to care for the children and the parents should look for other care.
  6. Advance notice of any changes. Since it's often very difficult to find adequate care, providers should tell parents well in advance if they're going to change their hours or prices. Parents need at least four to six weeks notice if a provider is no longer going to care for a child. Except in the case of an emergency, parents should be given at least two weeks notice even if the provider won't be available for just one day.
  7. No interference in the child's family or family problems. Providers shouldn't talk to children about their families' problems, lifestyles, or values. The provider should be careful not to take sides in any family disputes such as custody battles. Providers shouldn't impose their religious or other beliefs on the children the care for un less asked to by parents.
  8. No advice offered unless asked for and no judging or parenting practices. Providers shouldn't criticize or advise parents on child rearing unless parents ask for input. If parents ask for advice, providers should offer it in a non-critical way. Of course, if providers see something that is seriously wrong, such as if they fear child abuse or see a child apparently suffering from malnutrition, they should discuss the problem with the parents and, if needed, contact legal authorities.
  9. Assurance that everyone in contact with the child is trustworthy and properly trained and supervised. Providers must be responsible for everyone who enters, visits and works at their home or center. This includes screening janitorial help, not admitting strangers to the home, seeing that all transportation workers are properly trained and that all visitors, including friends or relatives of the provider, are trustworthy and supervised and will not harm the child.
  10. No surprises. This means that your family child care provider won't suddenly tell you that she has taken a part time job or that your child's favorite teacher at the center leaves without warning. Surprises are probably what parents fear most from their child care providers.