Was going to say that the best thing to do is to meet with the agency, have them go over their policies and find out what their client wait list is like. In some cities the agencies are not even opening new homes because they don't have enough kids to fill the ones they already have. Others will only place two children with you just to keep you on their list. As far as the profit/non-profit goes pay very little attention to that in the sense that the only difference is the management structure with a board of directors vice the owner/operator but both businesses have to turn a profit to pay the staff and director wages, etc.

As for setting up as an independent provider sites like this are a wealth of knowledge and there are many facebook groups - some area specific with information. A provider here in Ottawa just recently started a website with information on home daycare. Our association here in Ottawa has a start up kit that you can link to from their website that gives you lots of information. It seems daunting but realize the agency is only doing a bit of the work for you and you will still need to do the bulk of the planning, purchasing, buying, record keeping for taxes etc. Look here for info and you can also create a free account no matter where you live to access the newsletter with info. www.ccprn.com