Rebuilding a Childcare Center

Lot Size / Building Information
Guidelines to Rebuilding a Childcare Center
Recommended Resources and Links
Quality Rating System (QRS)

Lot Size / Building Size Information

Licensing requires at least 25 feet of outdoor play space per child.
You should allow space outdoors for a drop-off/pick-up zone and parking.
Licensing requires 35 feet of classroom space per child. This does not include kitchens, closets, hallways, offices, lounges, bathrooms, etc. Higher quality facilities often have 40 feet or more per child.
Licensing requires 18 inches between nap mats/cots. The Environment Rating Scales suggest 36 inches between mats/cots. Consider this when you calculate room size.

Guidelines to rebuilding a child care center

Step 1 - Identify Needs

Before you rebuild, you should develop a business plan that documents supply and demand for child care in your area, outlines your staffing plans, plans to market your center, etc. If your facility has been closed since the hurricane, you will need to get estimates on repairs or work with an existing provider.

Step 2 - Find Financial Resources

There are a limited number of public and private financial resources to help child care centers rebuild. Contact Agenda for Children or Excellence for Children to learn about more resources.

Step 3 - Permitting, Zoning, and Licensing

To open or reopen a child care center, you must get zoning approval and building permitsthrough local authorities to begin construction. Once construction is complete, you must arrange for visits from the local Health Department, the State fire marshal, the city fire marshal (if your center is in New Orleans) and child care licensing.

Step 4 - Find Qualified Staff

Finding and retaining qualified staff is critical to providing quality childcare. By offering cost-conscious benefits like flex time, paid holidays, or other incentives, center directors can help keep qualified staff.

Step 5 - Receive Ongoing Training

Child care providers can access training and technical assistance for their staff from Agenda for Children, LSU Ag Center, and the Louisiana Pathways program for ongoing training in early childhood education. Providers can sign up for a free LSU Ag Center Child Care Business Training session and receive up to $2000 in free learning materials upon completion of the course. Click here to learn more.

Step 6 - Serve families

There are numerous free resource guides and brochures available for distribution to families on activities for children, health care, parenting, and other critical early childhood education issues. Contact Agenda for Children and LSU Ag Center if you need these resources. Be sure to register with Agenda for Children's Resource and Referral program to ensure that families are referred to your program.

Quality Rating System (QRS)

The Rebuild Child Care Collaborative uses the standards outlined in the Louisiana Quality Start Child Care Rating System. All Rebuild Grantees are required to participate in Quality Start and achieve 3 Stars or higher. We highly recommend that anyone interested in opening/expanding a child care facility become very familiar with the Quality Start system.