FAQs

Yes, First Steps Academy is licensed by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, which means our Rochester locations meet the state's mandatory health, safety, and supervision standards for infant care. MN DHS licensing is the primary trust benchmark parents and caregivers should verify before enrolling any child.

First Steps Academy operates in Rochester, MN and specializes in care for infants, giving local families a licensed, quality-rated option close to home. Our program is built around the specific developmental and safety needs of babies, so parents have a dedicated infant-care environment rather than a generalized daycare setting.

Yes, First Steps Academy participates in Minnesota's Parent Aware quality rating system, which evaluates childcare programs on teaching practices, family partnerships, and staff qualifications. Parent Aware star ratings are one of the clearest independent signals families can use to compare the quality of licensed programs in Rochester.

First Steps Academy follows Minnesota's required infant-to-caregiver ratios, which are designed to ensure each baby receives attentive, responsive care throughout the day. Smaller group sizes in our infant rooms mean caregivers can focus on the individual cues, comfort, and development of every child in their care.

Caregivers at First Steps Academy follow each infant's individual feeding and nap schedule, coordinating closely with parents to honor routines established at home. Consistent scheduling supports healthy sleep patterns and nutrition during a critical stage of development, and parents are kept informed of how their baby's day unfolded.

Safety at First Steps Academy is maintained through MN DHS licensing compliance, which requires regular inspections, trained staff, safe sleep practices, and secure facility standards. Parents can independently verify our license status through the Minnesota Department of Human Services childcare provider lookup tool.

The most important factors are a current MN DHS license, a strong Parent Aware quality rating, a low infant-to-caregiver ratio, and staff trained in infant development and safe sleep. Verifying these credentials through official state sources gives families an objective foundation for comparing programs before making a decision.

Yes, staff who work in the infant rooms at First Steps Academy are trained in infant and toddler development, safe sleep guidelines, and age-appropriate care practices required under Minnesota licensing standards. Specialized training for infant caregivers is a key distinction from programs that assign general childcare staff to all age groups.

You can confirm any program's license status by searching the Minnesota Department of Human Services childcare provider lookup, which is publicly available online and lists active licenses, any corrective actions, and program details. First Steps Academy's Rochester locations are licensed and searchable through that state directory.

Parent Aware is Minnesota's official quality rating and improvement system, and a higher star rating signals that a program has been independently evaluated on curriculum, educator qualifications, and family engagement — beyond the baseline required for a license. For infant care specifically, these additional quality benchmarks help parents identify programs that invest in early brain development.

First Steps Academy accepts infants, making it possible for Rochester families to secure quality licensed care during the earliest and most critical months of a child's life. Enrolling in a program built specifically around infant needs means your baby benefits from age-appropriate environments and routines from the very start.