All potential providers are interviewed in their home and if selected, begin their Provisional Certification training. All provider applicants, spouses and their family members twelve years old and older must pass extensive background checks. If they are living off post, these are in addition to those that their state of residence has already conducted. Prospective providers are interviewed and only the most qualified are selected for the program.
All off post providers must also be licensed or registered by the state. Selected providers must then complete a core of training requirements before they are allowed to care for children. This training includes topics such as Child Growth and Development, Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting, CPR and First Aid, Communicable Diseases and Administering Medication, SIDS, Safety and Emergency procedures and business practices.
Providers then continue on with training throughout their career. Many go on to achieve their Child Development Associate (CDA) and some go even further to pursue national home accreditation (NAFCC). Our providers have years and years of combined experience as teachers, foster parents and early childhood professionals. FCC providers are regularly inspected by the Department of the Army, the state in which they live and the USDA food program staff. The FCC director regularly visits each home and provides ideas for developmentally appropriate activities.