Can I have a daycare facility in my Melbourne home?

Running a daycare can be a fun and lucrative business. However, it’s important that anyone who wants to operate a daycare in their home understands Melbourne’s zoning laws as they apply to “family day care homes.”

Under Melbourne’s zoning codes a “family day care home” is an occupied residence where children from more than one unrelated family receive properly licensed child care services.

Standards that need to be met by a family day care home

A family day care home needs to meet the following standards in Melbourne, even if it’s offering a non-profit daycare service:

• A family day care home can offer care to one of the following categories of children at a time only. These categories include children under the age of 13 that are related to the person providing care.
• Care can be provided to a maximum number of four children who are 12 months of age or younger.
• Care can be provided to a maximum of three children who are 12 months of age or younger, in addition to other children, up to a total of six children.
• Care can be provided to a maximum number of six children who are preschool aged if they are over 12 months old.
• Care can be provided to a maximum number of 10 children if a maximum of five are preschool aged and out of those five only two are below 12 months of age.

Taking care of children is an important responsibility

Any homeowner who wants to operate a business as a family day care home will want to make sure that he or she has adequate insurance to ensure that they are covered financially in the event that an accident happens in their residence. They will also want to ensure that they are following city and county zoning codes, laws and standards for a daycare operation.

By familiarizing oneself with the law as it applies to day care homes. Business owners can ensure the safety of the children they’re caring for, in addition to protecting themselves against the threat of fines, lawsuits and/or litigation.