Daycare in Camp Verde

Three licensed centers, and all three hold a license for the same number of children: 59. That is the ceiling the state license allows on site, not how many are enrolled and not how many are in any one room.

Center	License	Capacity
N.A.C.O.G. Camp Verde Head Start	CDC-3696	59
Rays Of Sunshine Center, 30 E Cliff House Drive	CDC-14846	59
United Christian School, 903 W Finnie Flat Road	CDC-16046	59

Head Start is the one that works differently. It is run here by NACOG, the Northern Arizona Council of Governments, and it is a federal preschool program rather than a private nursery. There is no fee for families who qualify, and qualifying is mostly about household income, with places also reserved for children with disabilities and for families in particular circumstances. It also runs to the school year rather than year-round, which matters if you need cover in July. Ring NACOG rather than guessing whether you qualify; the rules are more generous than people expect.

United Christian School is faith-based. Rays Of Sunshine on Cliff House Drive is a general child care center.

Use the license numbers

The numbers above are the useful part of this page. Arizona Department of Health Services licenses these centers, inspects them, and publishes what it finds. Look each one up and read the inspection history: what was cited, how often, and whether it was fixed. Ten minutes there beats an hour of brochures, and it is the one record a center cannot show you selectively.

Then the ordinary questions

Staff-to-child ratio in your child’s room specifically, how long the staff have been there, what happens when a child is ill, and whether you can visit at a busy time rather than a quiet one.

Three centers for a town this size is thin, and the good ones fill. If you are planning around a return to work, start the calls earlier than feels necessary.