Specialized daycare pricing?

Question

What would a good price be for providing daycare services to developmentally disabled children who are not severe enough to qualify for state care?

Both intellectual and physical disabilities. Autism, mild/moderate mental retardation, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, blindness, physical birth defects, Down syndrome, etc.

Caregiver would have 15 months experience caring for developmental disabilities in home health care, and Certified Nurse Aide with 2+ years experience.

Answer 1

The answer to your question will depend a lot on what the going rate for day care is in your particular area.Unfortunately, no matter where you live, the rate won't be as high as it should be, given the responsibilities you have, and this is true whether you are caring for typically developing children or children with disabilities.

In my area of northern California, I know a number of providers of day care who charge $10 an hour to care for a child with developmental disabilities.  In California, there is the Regional Center system, which helps parents to pay for a certain amount of respite care, and I am sure that other states have similar resources.  

Are you going to run a licensed day care facility?  If so, check with your local licensing agency and find out what the requirements for licensing are.  If you are going to provide care for more than a few children at a time, you will want to have additional staff present, and hiring assistants has another set of complications (payroll, Worker Comp insurance, etc.)  If you are acting more as a babysitter with unusually good qualifications, it is not as complicated.

I would suggest that you check with local offices of agencies such as the Arc and UCP, which may be able to give you information specific to your local area.  Good luck - you will be providing an important and much-needed service.