NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Parents know that there is a daycare shortage, and the recent death of a child at an unlicensed at-home Nashville daycare revealed the importance of safety as well.
Rachel Laven knew she wanted to open a daycare. She just wasn’t sure where to put it, until she studied up on the at-home option.
“I was looking at different models for childcare facilities, and this was one that really peaked my interest,” said Laven, co-owner at Iris Montessori in East Nashville.
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She said creating a Montessori school in her own home allows her dozen little students to feel at home.
“They come in and their comfort level is instantly at peace, at ease, when they enter this space,” she said.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) wants to see more at-home daycares open in order to ease the shortage.
“Yes, we love the home-based option,” said Dana Glenn, director of child and adult care licensing at DHS. “We’re really encouraging people to look at this as an entrepreneurship opportunity.”