Approved H.O.M.E.S.

U-LAUNCH: Childhood Development Homes (U-LAUNCH: CDH) a Licensed Family Day System operates Approved HOMES—our flagship Home Operations, Monitoring & Evaluation System— to set standards, verify performance, and continuously improve both program quality and business operations across our network of home-based microbusinesses.​

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Approved HOMES is the system that ensures U-LAUNCH-approved programs are not only compliant, but consistently monitored, supported, and held to higher standards for child development, family trust, and responsible business practices.

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The primary workforce pathway into Approved HOMES is the Childcare Educator Operator (CEO) Registered Apprenticeship Program. Through the apprenticeship, future CEOs are trained, supervised, and prepared to launch and operate Approved Childhood Development Homes within this system from day one.

 

While it currently anchors our childhood development homes network, Approved HOMES is designed to scale across other home-based industries under the U-LAUNCH: IT brand, providing a consistent, trusted system for operations, monitoring, and evaluation wherever U-LAUNCH supports home-based enterprises.

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What Is an “Approved” Childhood Development Home?

“Approved” is not a one-time designation. It is a status earned and maintained through ongoing participation in the Approved HOMES system.

 

To remain Approved, each Childhood Development Home must:

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• Participate in quarterly compliance and safety inspections

• Participate in HOME Visits using the HOME Tool

• Receive and publicly post a quarterly HOME Report Card

• Engage in coaching, technical assistance, and continuous improvement planning

• Maintain standards for program quality and business operations

 

This ensures families, partners, and the public can trust that Approved Childhood Development Homes are consistently monitored, supported, and held accountable.

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The Role of the CEO Apprenticeship in Approved HOMES

The Childcare Educator Operator (CEO) Registered Apprenticeship Program is U-LAUNCH: CDH’s workforce development and implementation pipeline into Approved HOMES.

 

Through the apprenticeship, aspiring CEOs:

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• Complete paid, supervised On-the-Job Training (OJT) in real-world operations

• Complete competency-based Related Technical Instruction (RTI) aligned to Virginia standards

• Learn to operate compliant, high-quality, financially sustainable home-based programs

• Prepare to launch as Approved Childhood Development Homes within the U-LAUNCH system

 

In this way, the apprenticeship does not sit beside Approved HOMES—it feeds directly into it. Quality, compliance, and business standards are embedded during training, not added after launch.

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System-Level Oversight & Governance

Approved Childhood Development Homes are regulated by the U-LAUNCH: Childhood Development Homes Authority (CDHA)—an entity separate from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE)—which conducts home operations, monitoring, and evaluation across the system.

 

Through this system-based oversight model, homes are:

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• Approved and monitored centrally

• Supported with technical assistance and coaching

• Evaluated using consistent standards

• Held to higher expectations for both child outcomes and business performance

 

This provides a higher and more consistent level of accountability and support than standalone licensed family day home operations.

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Alignment with State Quality Systems

Approved HOMES is aligned with:

• Virginia’s Unified Quality Birth to Five (VQB5) System, and

• Virginia’s Competencies for Early Childhood Professionals

 

While VQB5 serves as the Commonwealth’s quality measurement and improvement framework—especially for publicly funded programs—Approved HOMES and the CEO Apprenticeship together operationalize quality in daily practice, business operations, and workforce preparation.

 

For CEOs who serve families receiving public subsidy, participation in VQB5 and CLASS observations remains a separate and required state process. Approved HOMES does not replace state systems. It provides an additional layer of system-level oversight, support, and transparency within U-LAUNCH: CDH.

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How Approved HOMES Measures Performance - 

The HOME Tool

U-LAUNCH: CDH uses its internal system instrument—the HOME Tool (Home-based Observation, Measurement & Evaluation)—as part of Approved HOMES.

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The HOME Tool is aligned to the eight core competency areas in Virginia’s Competencies for Early Childhood Professionals and adapted for home-based programs and microbusiness operations. These same competency areas are reinforced during the CEO Apprenticeship, ensuring continuity between training, launch, and ongoing operations.

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The 8 Standards We Use 

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1. Health, Safety, and Nutritional Practices

2. Understanding Child Growth and Development

3. Appropriate Observation and Assessment

4. Partnering with Families and Communities

5. Learning Environment

6. Effective Interactions

7. Program Management

8. Best Business Practices & Record Keeping

 

Together, these areas ensure performance is measured across child well-being, teaching and learning, family partnerships, daily operations, and responsible business practices.

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Quarterly Oversight: HOME Visits & HOME Report Cards

Each Approved Childhood Development Home receives quarterly system oversight that includes:

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• A compliance and safety inspection, and

• A HOME Visit focused on the eight competency-based areas above.

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Following each visit, U-LAUNCH: CDH issues a HOME Report Card showing performance, strengths, and improvement priorities. These reviews reinforce what is taught in the CEO Apprenticeship and support continuous improvement after launch.

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Transparency for Families: The HOME Report Card

Each Approved Childhood Development Home must email and post its most recent HOME Report Card for current and prospective parents near its Certificate for Approval.

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The HOME Report Card shows:

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• A letter grade (A, B, C, D, or F) in each quality and operations area

• A plain-language explanation of what each area means

• A summary of strengths and improvement priorities

• The date and quarter of the review

 

This allows families to see, at a glance, how a home is performing and how U-LAUNCH: CDH is supporting

continuous improvement.

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How We Grade Each Area (Plain-Language Guide)

Health, Safety, and Nutritional Practices
How well the home keeps children safe, healthy, supervised, and properly nourished.

 

Understanding Child Growth and Development
How well activities and routines support children’s learning and development at different ages.

 

Appropriate Observation and Assessment
How the CEO observes children and uses what they learn to plan activities and support each child.

 

Partnering with Families and Communities
How the home communicates with families and builds positive relationships with the community.

 

Learning Environment
How the space, materials, and routines support play, learning, and exploration.

 

Effective Interactions
How the CEO talks with, listens to, and supports children in warm, responsive ways.

 

Program Management
How well the program follows rules, stays organized, and runs smoothly day to day.

 

Best Business Practices & Record Keeping
How well records are kept and how responsibly the program is operated as a small business.

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Continuous Improvement, Not Just Compliance

Approved HOMES is designed for continuous improvement, not one-time approval. The HOME (Home Observation Measuring Evaluation) Tool and HOME (Home Observation Measuring Evaluation) Report Card are used to:

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• Guide coaching and technical assistance

• Set quality and operations improvement goals with each CEO

• Track progress over time

• Strengthen both educational quality and business performance

 

This ensures that what CEOs learn in the apprenticeship is sustained, monitored, and strengthened throughout their operations.

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How Approved HOMES Works with State Quality Systems

 

For Childcare Educator Operators who serve families receiving public subsidy, participation in VQB5 and CLASS observations remains a separate and required state process. Approved HOMES, the HOME Tool, and the HOME Report Card do not replace state systems. They provide an additional layer of system-level oversight, support, and transparency within U-LAUNCH: CDH.

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Why Approved HOMES + the CEO Apprenticeship Matter Together

 

Together, Approved HOMES and the CEO Apprenticeship:

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• Expand the supply of high-quality, compliant home-based childcare

• Build a trained, credentialed, and supported operator workforce

• Ensure quality is built in before launch and strengthened over time

• Provide families with transparent, trustworthy, community-based care

• Create a scalable, system-based model for home-based enterprises

 

Approved HOMES is the quality and governance system.

The CEO Apprenticeship is the workforce pipeline into that system.
Together, they form a single, integrated model for building, operating, and sustaining high-quality Childhood Development Homes.

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