How to hire a child care aide

How to hire a child care aide, step by step

Here's a step-by-step child care aide hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a child care aide job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new child care aide
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a child care aide do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a child care aide, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a child care aide to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a child care aide that fits the bill.

   This list presents child care aide salaries for various positions.

   Type of Child Care Aide	Description	Hourly rate
   Child Care Aide	Childcare workers provide care for children when parents and other family members are unavailable. They attend to children’s basic needs, such as bathing and feeding... Show more	$10-18
   Nanny	Nannies are family employees who are primarily responsible for taking care of children in the family's house. They are usually tapped to take care of the kids while the parents are at work or away on vacation... Show more	$12-29
   Floater Teacher	A floating teacher is in charge of teaching in various rooms and buildings, unlike most teachers with fixed room assignments. There are also instances where they teach at different schools... Show more	$10-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Child Care
   • CPR
   • Behavior Management
   • Child Development
   • Foster Care
   • First Aid Training
   • Cleanliness
   • Learning Environment
   • Classroom Environment
   • Therapeutic Crisis
   • Direct Care
   • Explore Interests
   • Social Development
   • Role Model

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Work with the children with ABC's and numbers.
   • Help with ABC's and numbers on part-time schedule.
   • Provide activities of daily living for a child with autism.
   • Purchase and order groceries and household supplies to keep kitchen and household stock.
   • Provide individual needs prescribe in IEP and direct by teacher for students with autism.
   • Coordinate recovery at nursing facilities, and rehabilitation treatment in the home setting, through VNA.

   More child care aide duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your child care aide job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A child care aide can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, child care aides' average salary in alaska is 46% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level child care aides 46% less than senior-level child care aides.
   • Certifications. A child care aide with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a child care aide's salary.

   Average child care aide salary

   $14.03hourly

   $29,192 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level child care aide salary

   $21,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average child care aide salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$35,152	$17
   2	New York	$35,003	$17
   3	New Jersey	$33,906	$16
   4	California	$32,139	$15
   5	Nevada	$30,049	$14
   6	Ohio	$29,493	$14
   7	Michigan	$28,780	$14
   8	Colorado	$27,841	$13
   9	Maryland	$27,208	$13
   10	Arizona	$26,310	$13
   11	Utah	$26,290	$13
   12	Florida	$26,228	$13
   13	Pennsylvania	$25,974	$12
   14	Texas	$25,943	$12
   15	Indiana	$25,573	$12
   16	Nebraska	$23,663	$11
   17	Alabama	$23,551	$11
   18	Kansas	$21,765	$10

   Average child care aide salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Univ Of Colorado-Colorado Spgs	$39,284	$18.89
   2	New York State Restaurant Association	$35,060	$16.86
   3	CARE	$34,473	$16.57	134
   4	University of Colorado Boulder	$33,399	$16.06
   5	BayCare Health System	$32,784	$15.76	18
   6	Ican	$32,667	$15.71
   7	Holland	$32,541	$15.64
   8	New London Hospital	$32,425	$15.59	3
   9	Grandville Public Schools	$32,102	$15.43	6
   10	Learning Care Group	$32,038	$15.40	192
   11	Public Consulting Group	$31,657	$15.22
   12	Right At School	$31,171	$14.99
   13	St. Joseph Healthcare	$31,057	$14.93	35
   14	St. Joseph's Health	$31,012	$14.91	25
   15	Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District	$30,981	$14.89
   16	Huntsville Hospital	$30,932	$14.87	33
   17	Child and Family Services of NH	$30,712	$14.77
   18	Immanuel	$30,649	$14.74
   19	Reno, NV	$30,233	$14.54	1
   20	Consolidated Investment Group	$29,767	$14.31

4. Writing a child care aide job description

   A child care aide job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a child care aide job description:

   Child care aide job description example

   At Boys and Girls Country, Teaching Parents are the heart of each cottage family. Teaching Parents are responsible for the daily care of our children. They step in as parents for our children, helping the kids get ready for school, prepare breakfast, lead a daily devotion, prepare and serve dinner, helping students with homework, and so much more. Teaching Parents build trusting relationships with our students while teaching children life skills that support our kids' success throughout their lives. Teaching Parents live in the cottages of the children they care for. They serve as role models, providing encouragement, accountability and support 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
   
   Competitive salary and benefits + sign on bonus, housing, utilities & food, medical/dental/vision insurance options, Life, LTD, FSA, HSA, Employer 403(b) retirement contributions, paid time off, on-site weight room, wellness program + relocation assistance.
   
   Boys and Girls Country has an opening for Teaching Parents to parent up to 8 children in a large cottage that includes Teaching Parent living quarters. For 50 years, Boys and Girls Country has hired Teaching Parents that are led by faith to help change the lives of children from families in crisis by loving and nurturing them in a home. This is a live-in position and we are currently looking for teams and individuals with a commitment to work 24 hours a day for 8 days, with 4 days off. All candidates must successfully complete a criminal history check, drug testing, and TB test. Applicants must have experience working with children including volunteering, Sunday school and/or church ministry. Our Teaching Parent team receives comprehensive training for 2 to 3 weeks, to include our models, Crisis Intervention/SAMA, First Aid/CPR, and Medication Administration.
   Qualifications:
   
   • Have the ability to live on-site and work 24 hours per day, with an 8 day on/4 day off schedule.
   
   • Must be at least 21 years of age.
   
   • Must be cleared through criminal background and FBI finger print check.
   
   • Must be cleared through a drug panel test
   
   • Tuberculosis testing
   
   • Must complete or have current CPR and First Aid training within 90 days of employment
   
   • Must attend pre-service training and complete at least 30 hours of in-service training annually.
   
   • High School Diploma or state-authorized high school equivalent certificate required
   
   • Bachelor's degree preferred but not required.
   
   • A minimum of three years' job related experience. Three years' experience may be substituted with unpaid church positions and service.
   
   • Ability to organize, prioritize work, and present information concisely and effectively, both verbally and in writing.
   
   • Valid Texas driver's license and good driving history

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find child care aides for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your child care aide job on Zippia to find and recruit child care aide candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting child care aides requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new child care aide

   Once you've found the child care aide candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new child care aide. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a child care aide?