How to hire a child care associate

How to hire a child care associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step child care associate 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 associate job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new child care associate
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a child care associate do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a child care associate, 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

   A child care associate's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, child care associates from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of child care associates and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Child Care Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Child Care Associate	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	$9-20
   Toddler Teacher	A toddler teacher is responsible for teaching young learners by administering physical care and monitoring their social and mental development. Toddler teachers prepare fun and engaging activities for the children and evaluate their behaviors and assess how they interact with the environment... Show more	$11-18
   Baby Sitter	A Baby Sitter is responsible for the welfare and safety of children while their parents or guardian are away. The tasks will vary on the age, behavior, or needs of the children... Show more	$10-21

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Kids
   • CPR
   • Customer Service
   • Nutritious Meals
   • Child Care
   • Homework Assignments
   • Social Development
   • Front Desk
   • Healthy Environment
   • Role Model
   • Meal Prep
   • Clean Environment
   • Children AGE
   • Developmental Problems

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Complete accurate and timely documentation on kids' behavior as outlined by policy.
   • Supervise and coordinate activities for the children such as teaching colors and ABC'S , 123'S.

   More child care associate duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your child care associate job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A child care associate salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, child care associates' average salary in iowa is 43% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level child care associates earn 56% less than senior-level child care associates.
   • Certifications. A child care associate with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a child care associate's salary.

   Average child care associate salary

   $14.01hourly

   $29,146 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level child care associate salary

   $19,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average child care associate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$36,491	$18
   2	Massachusetts	$35,965	$17
   3	California	$34,980	$17
   4	Colorado	$31,457	$15
   5	Connecticut	$30,698	$15
   6	Delaware	$29,868	$14
   7	New York	$29,564	$14
   8	District of Columbia	$28,491	$14
   9	New Jersey	$28,252	$14
   10	Michigan	$27,328	$13
   11	Ohio	$26,467	$13
   12	North Carolina	$25,768	$12
   13	Pennsylvania	$25,326	$12
   14	Virginia	$25,114	$12
   15	Maryland	$25,096	$12
   16	Georgia	$24,698	$12
   17	Indiana	$24,119	$12
   18	South Carolina	$23,739	$11
   19	Florida	$23,208	$11
   20	Iowa	$20,596	$10

   Average child care associate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	WRMA Incorporated	$36,591	$17.59
   2	CARE	$33,743	$16.22	45
   3	HarperCollins	$33,189	$15.96
   4	Think Together	$32,648	$15.70
   5	Learning Care Group	$31,598	$15.19	181
   6	Essentia Health	$30,567	$14.70	107
   7	Nexus Recovery Center	$30,170	$14.50	1
   8	West Tennessee Healthcare	$30,024	$14.43
   9	Sylvan Union School District	$28,767	$13.83
   10	EXOS	$28,701	$13.80	2
   11	Right At School	$27,490	$13.22
   12	MemorialCare	$27,466	$13.20	33
   13	Balance Autism	$26,998	$12.98
   14	Bright Horizons	$26,843	$12.91	432
   15	Danbury Public Schools	$26,278	$12.63
   16	Lutheran Services in Iowa	$26,152	$12.57	14
   17	The Arc Montgomery County	$25,926	$12.46	5
   18	Iowa Western Community College	$25,474	$12.25
   19	State Of Montana	$24,968	$12.00	9
   20	VillaSport Athletic Club and Spa	$24,818	$11.93

4. Writing a child care associate job description

   A child care associate 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a child care associate job description:

   Child care associate job description example

   Associate Teacher - St Peter's Child Care, Full Time, Days *$1000 Sign on Bonus* - (2201492) Description Coordinates with the lead teacher to provide a stimulating, safe, and developmentally appropriate educational environment where children have the opportunity to develop cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills. Works with lead teachers and assistant teachers to provide inclusive care.
   PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
   
   Assists in constructing and implements daily, weekly and monthly lesson plans.
   Is able to step in and perform activities as needed in the absence of the classroom lead to ensure that consistency and excellence of care are maintained.
   Assists in managing classroom behaviors and maintaining an emotionally positive classroom through appropriate guidance techniques such as redirection, balance of activities, planned transitions and logical consequences.
   Works with other staff to create a professional work environment and role models healthy interactions to the children. Takes direction from, supervises, encourages other staff as needed. Seeks out guidance from administration when needed.
   Ensures that child/teacher ratios are maintained per state guidelines. Reports immediately to administration if such ratios are endangered.
   Clean and disinfect classroom equipment and areas and send toys down to be sanitized on a daily schedule.
   Maintains 18 hours of training as required by the state of NH that relates to the classroom and current best practices. As well as current CPR and First Aid certification.
   Performs similar or related duties as assigned or requested.
   
   Qualifications Licensure/Certification:
   Must meet the qualifications of an associate teacher as outlined by the State of NH requirements. Including but not limited to:
   Shall be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma, and meet one of the following options:
   (1) A minimum of 9 credits in child development, early childhood, or elementary education, or other field of study focused on children, including at least one 3 credit course in child growth and development, from a regionally accredited college;
   (2) A minimum of 1500 hours of supervised child care experience in a licensed child care program or public or private elementary school, with written recommendation from the center director or school administrator, documentation of at least 3 credits in child development, early childhood or elementary education, or other field of study focused on children awarded by a regionally accredited college or university, and the following:
   a. A written plan for completion of at least 6 additional credits in child development, early childhood or elementary education, or other field of study focused on children from a regionally accredited college or university; and
   b. Within 12 months of the date the individual begins working as an associate teacher, documentation of qualification as specified in (1) above available for review by the department; (3) A minimum of 1000 hours of supervised child care experience in a licensed child care program and documentation of successful completion of a 2 year vocational child care course; (4) Current certification as para II educator by the department of education; or (5) Written documentation from or on file with the department that she or he was qualified and employed as an associate teacher on or before the date of the adoption of these rules on 11/6/2017.
   Primary Location: US-NH-ManchesterJob: St PetersSchedule: Full-time Shift: Day Employee Status: RegularJob Type: StandardJob Level: Non Manager

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right child care associate for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with child care associate candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to 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 associate

   Once you have selected a candidate for the child care associate position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   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 associate. 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 associate?