08/28/2026
A MESSAGE TO OKLAHOMA PARENTS LOOKING FOR CHILD CARE
Recent events involving home child care have understandably left many parents worried, angry, and even fearful—especially families considering a family child care home.
As the owner of Comfort and Joy Child Development Center, I want to encourage parents to do something extremely important:
Research your child care provider. Ask questions. Check their license. Read their compliance history.
Please do not assume that because someone is providing child care from their home that they are properly licensed, monitored, or meeting Oklahoma's requirements.
With limited exceptions provided by Oklahoma law, child care programs are required to be properly licensed. Licensing isn't simply a piece of paper hanging on the wall. Oklahoma Child Care Licensing establishes requirements involving supervision, background investigations, caregiver qualifications and training, CPR and First Aid, safe sleep, ratios, behavior and guidance, sanitation, nutrition, emergency preparedness, and many other areas intended to protect children.
DON'T SHOP FOR CHILD CARE ON PRICE ALONE.
As parents, we all have budgets. Child care is expensive, and families deserve affordable options.
But the cheapest child care is not always the safest or highest-quality child care.
Quality child care costs money to provide.
It costs money to maintain appropriate staffing.
It costs money to train educators.
It costs money to maintain CPR and First Aid certifications.
It costs money to provide nutritious meals.
It costs money to maintain safe equipment and environments.
It costs money to carry insurance.
It costs money to provide developmentally appropriate materials.
It costs money to operate a legitimate, professional child care program.
When comparing providers, don't simply ask:
"How much do you charge?"
Ask:
"What am I receiving for that tuition, and what measures are in place to protect my child?"
Because ultimately, choosing child care based solely on the lowest price can come at a much greater cost—and that cost could be your child's safety and well-being.
CHECK THE PROVIDER YOURSELF.
Oklahoma Human Services provides a Child Care Locator that parents can use to research licensed child care programs.
Before enrolling your child, search for the program through the Oklahoma Child Care Locator:
Oklahoma Human Services Child Care Locator:
https://childcarefind.okdhs.org/childcarefind/
And please look at MORE THAN THE STARS.
A program's Star rating is important, but it should not be the only thing you consider.
Open the provider's information and read the monitoring and compliance history.
Look at:
• Licensing visits
• Non-compliances
• Repeated violations
• Complaint findings
• The nature of any violations
• Whether problems were corrected
• Whether the same problems continue to occur
Oklahoma's Child Care Locator provides monitoring history for licensed programs for the previous 36 months and information regarding completed licensing complaints with substantiated findings.
Don't be afraid to ask a provider about something you see.
A quality provider should be willing to discuss their program, policies, licensing history, training, safety procedures, and expectations with you.
ASK FOR REFERENCES.
Talk to current families when possible.
Ask other parents about their experiences.
Tour the program.
Watch how the children interact with the caregivers if tours are available during operational hours.
Pay attention to how caregivers speak about children.
Ask about discipline and redirection.
Ask about safe sleep.
Ask about infant feeding.
Ask about staff turnover.
Ask who will actually be caring for your child each day.
Ask to see policies.
And most importantly, trust yourself enough to keep asking questions until you are comfortable with the answers.
Home child care itself should not be feared. There are wonderful family child care homes throughout Oklahoma operated by educated, trained, licensed professionals who dedicate their lives to children.
Comfort and Joy Child Development Center is proud to be one of Oklahoma's licensed child care programs.
We welcome parents asking questions.
We welcome parents researching us.
We welcome parents reviewing our licensing and compliance history.
We welcome parents asking about our education, training, certifications, policies, procedures, and philosophy of care.
You are trusting someone with something that cannot be replaced—your child.
Research us.
Research other providers.
Compare us.
Ask questions.
Read the reports.
Check the license.
Quality child care can come at a price. But your child's safety, dignity, and well-being are priceless.
Mistina
Owner/Director
Comfort and Joy Child Development Center
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