Dayhome Guide
An active ADSN Provider Account is required to download our Dayhome Guide. Fill out the form below to download this resource and we’ll sign you up for a free account.
Why do you collect my postal code? We collect postal codes from our registrants to help us track where our participants are located so that we can ensure we are providing adequate supports to those areas.
About the Guide
Running a dayhome is an incredibly rewarding way to make a meaningful difference in children’s lives, but it also presents a range of challenges that can seem overwhelming, particularly for new providers.
Navigating applicable regulations, setting up contracts, handling incident reports, creating effective sick policies, managing taxes, and establishing fair rates are just a few of the key tasks that dayhome providers encounter. Starting a dayhome means balancing the business side of operations with the responsibility of creating a nurturing, safe environment for children to thrive—no small task.
This guide offers clear, practical advice for every stage of your journey, from initial planning to daily operations. By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of the essential steps to plan for, launch, and manage your dayhome confidently.
To help make this process even more accessible, our companion “Planning Workbook” provides a structured, hands-on approach for personal reflections, market research, income projections, and expense analysis, supporting you as you build a foundation for a sustainable dayhome business.
What's Inside
- 1 - Deciding To Open A Dayhome
- 2 - Unlicensed Or Join An Agency
- 3 - Choosing Private
- 4 - Joining A Licensed Agency
- 5 - Your Dayhome Road Map
- 6 - Getting Started
- 7 - Guiding Principles
- 8 - Dayhome Program Approach
- 9 - Policies, Procedures, Contracts & Forms
- 10 - Designing Your Dayhome Space
- 11 - Day To Day Operations
- 12 - Being Self-Employed
- 13 - Finding Families
- 14 - Onboarding Families
- 15 - Community & Support
Extend Your Learning
Our Dayhome Planning Workbook is the perfect companion to our Dayhome Guide.
Filled with prompts and exercises to get you thinking about all the right things, this workbook will help prepare you for a long and successful dayhome career.
At 67 pages, this workbook will help guide your learning as you work your way through our Dayhome Guide.
You’ll have space to brainstorm, plan, and prepare as you complete each chapter of the Dayhome Guide.
Not a big reader? You can work your way through the planning workbook without reading the Dayhome Guide – but the Dayhome Guide certainly helps!
The Dayhome Planning Workbook is a Member Exclusive Resource. Not a member? You can upgrade inside the ADSN Portal anytime.
