We don’t need to tell you how large a responsibility rests on your shoulders when it comes to taking care of other people’s children. Parents trust you with their kids, so it’s absolutely vital that your daycare or childcare facility is top notch and as safe as possible. This is where Bright from the Start, the Georgia agency that oversees early childhood education and childcare facilities, comes in.
What is Bright from the Start?
Chances are you’re already very familiar with Bright from the Start and what they do, but we’ll give you a quick summary. Bright from the Start is the organization in charge of ensuring that Georgia’s children and their families get the care they need, and they do this in a variety of ways.
Bright from the Start oversees the following:
· Georgia’s Pre-K program
· Licensing of childcare centers and home-based childcare
· Georgia’s CAP (Childcare and Parent Services) Program
· Administration of federal nutrition programs
· Quality Rated, Georgia’s childcare rating system
In short, Bright from the Start makes sure that kids get the education and care that they need. They’re the ones who check on daycare and childcare facilities to see that rules are being followed and that the children under the care of childcare providers are safe.
Bright from the Start will visit your daycare facility.
Bright from the Start conducts several types of visits to daycares. They compile reports about their visits, noting citations about any violations of rules that they observed. These reports are important to your insurance agency when it comes to providing you with coverage.
Here are some of visits that Bright from the Start does:
· Initial Licensing Study
· Licensing Study: Annual visits to make sure all appropriate rules are being followed
· Initial Monitoring Visit
· Monitoring Visit: Follow-ups to make sure that the facility has responded to and corrected a citation
· Complaint/Incident Visits: Investigation into potential violations
· Technical Assistance Visits: Providing resources and help for childcare facilities
Typically, a facility’s cooperation with the guidelines set forth by Bright to the Start will play into how often they are visited. But no matter what, the organization will look into all claims of rules being broken.
What Bright from the Start reports mean for your insurance:
Now that we know how Bright from the Start monitors childcare facilities, let’s switch gears and talk about insurance. There are many different types of coverage for a daycare to consider, but did you know that your facility’s Bright from the Start review could affect your insurance options and premiums?
Your insurance company will review your Bright from the Start reports when they’re evaluating your business for coverage. Having negative reports could cause your insurance rates to go up, and they could even cause your coverage to be declined because of the perceived risk. There are different levels of severity that the Bright from the Start representative may record when it comes to rule violations, so it’s important for you to understand the Bright from the Start guidelines.
After reviewing your report, have the state agent explain any deficiencies or issues. If the issues can be corrected during the visit, have them note on the report that it was resolved. If not, have them clearly define the corrective action needed. It’s also a good idea to have them outline the amount of time you will need to make the appropriate changes. Keep in mind that you will need to detail how you corrected the deficiency and when.
InsuranceHub can help.
There are other factors that your insurance company will consider when it comes to determining coverage and rates for your daycare, but being mindful of the Bright from the Start guidelines will go a long way to helping your agent ensure that you’ll get the best possible coverage. The most important thing is the safety of the children in your care, which is why these guidelines are the way they are.
InsuranceHub would love to get to know you and your daycare and help you find the coverage that’s right for you, so give us a call today and get a quote for your daycare insurance.
*We’d like to extend a special thanks to George Matlock, Commercial Risk Advisor at InsuranceHub (and our own in-house professional when it comes to daycare insurance coverages) for his contributions to this article.
Sources:
http://www.decal.ga.gov/Default.aspx
http://www.decal.ga.gov/CCS/EnforcementCompliancePolicy.aspx
http://www.decal.ga.gov/BftS/Faq.aspx?cat=ChildRSCare