Below is a brief overview of the types of questions we ask in the Child Care Market Rate survey. The survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes.
Hours of Operation and Holiday Schedule
- What are your hours of operation, M-F?
- Are you open on weekends? Hours?
- Do you offer drop-in care?
- How many days a year do you close for holidays? For personal vacation?
Enrollment and Rates
- How many children are enrolled in your child care center?
- How many age groups do you have?
- What is the age range for each age group?
- How much do you charge for each age group (full-time and part-time rates)?
- Do you charge per day, per week, or per month?
- How many children are in each age group (full-time and part-time)?
- Do you have a waiting list for any of your age groups?
Additional Charges
- Do you have a one-time registration fee? Yearly or semester fees?
- Do you charge an activity/supply fee?
- Do you provide regular transportation?
Administrative Information
- Are you non-profit? If yes, do you provide rates on a sliding scale?
- Are you part of a local/regional chain, a national chain, or are you independently owned?
- Are you associated with a religious organization, YMCA/YWCA, a public/private school, or a military institution?
- Do you receive anything for a free or reduced price? If yes, please explain.
- Do you receive any donations? If yes, please explain.
Accreditations
- Are you nationally accredited? If yes, what type (NAEYC, NAFCC, etc)?
- Are you part of the Texas Rising Star program? If yes, how many stars do you have?
Cost of Quality of Care Questions
Cost of Accreditation
- What is your estimated annual fee to maintain your center’s national accreditation?
Staff Qualifications and Experience
- How many direct care staff work at your center? How many of these staff are full-time?
- How many of your direct care staff have a highest degree of a (high school diploma or GED, Associate’s degree, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, Doctoral or professional degree)?
- How many of these staff have Early Childhood Credentials (Child Development Associate CDA Credential, etc)?
- How many of these staff have less than two years of experience working in early childhood education?
- How many of these staff have six or more years of experience working in early childhood education?
Pay Rates and Benefits
- What is the typical hourly wage for a full-time lead teacher and full-time assistant teacher for classrooms with infants, toddlers and pre-K?
- Do you offer benefits for your direct care staff (reduced tuition for staff children enrolled in your program, retirement program, etc)?
Training
- In the past 12 months, did your center have any training expenses (conference or workshop fees, onsite training fees, online training fees, travel costs, etc)?
Staff Turnover and Absenteeism
- How many direct care staff left our center in the last 12 months? How many of these staff were full-time?
- When direct care staff are absent or there are vacancies in classrooms, how do you cover for them?
Child/Staff Ratio
- What is the typical number of children per teacher for a classroom in each age group?
- How many children are typically in a classroom for this age group?
- How many classrooms do you have for this age group?
Curriculum and Assessment
- Do you use a curriculum or prepared set of learning and play activities for infants, toddlers, or preschoolers?
- If yes, which curriculum?
- What is the cost?
- Does your center use formal assessment to measure children’s developmental progress with infants, toddlers or preschoolers? If yes, which ones?
- If no formal assessment, does your center use informal assessments to measure children’s developmental progress?
Planning
- How many paid hours each week is each direct care staff given for planning children’s activities?
Nutrition
- Does your center provide free meals and snacks? How many meals per day? How many snacks per day?