Free for licensed child care centers · 22 states and DC
Does your parent handbook break your state's licensing rules?
Upload the handbook you give families (Word or PDF, not a scan). In about a minute, see which sentences break a state rule and which required policies are missing, with the rule and new wording for each.
To check your own handbook, email hi@backpr.com for a free access code; we use your email only to send it. Sample handbooks need no code.
20-second silent demo: a sentence from a sample handbook, the Texas rule it breaks and the suggested fix. Try a sample handbook yourself, no access code needed.
State licensing rules can run 300 pages.
Rules change. Handbooks often don't.
CareRules reads both, side by side.
So you know what to fix before your next inspection.
Your handbook is a signed promise.
State rules require centers to write their policies down and give them to families. In Texas, for example, parents sign them when they enroll. So if your handbook says something the rules don't allow, it's in writing, often with a parent's signature on it.
Write your policies down.
You must develop written operational policies and procedures
Hours, pickup, illness, medicine, emergencies and more.
Texas §746.501, page 32Parents sign them.
On or before the date of admission, the parents must sign a child-care enrollment agreement or other similar documents, which must include at least the operational policies
Your policies are part of what every family signs.
Texas §746.503, page 37Changes go in writing too.
At least one copy of the updated operational policies or child-care enrollment agreement must be signed and dated for each family
You must also tell parents about changes in writing.
Texas §746.505, page 37The rules usually say "written policies." Most centers call them a parent handbook or family handbook. Same thing. Michigan's rules use the word "handbook": a center "shall provide a handbook, electronically or hard copy, to each parent enrolling a child" (R 400.8113, page 11 of the PDF download). Many states have a rule like this. CareRules checks your handbook against your state's rules.
Built on the official rules.
CareRules uses Beam 1.0, an AI model from Reflection that can read very long documents. It works from the official rules of 22 states and DC, about 3,000 pages, downloaded from each state's website.
It lists what's required.
Beam has read each state's full rulebook and listed what a handbook must cover. When you check yours, it compares your handbook with that list and the matching rule pages.
It checks every quote.
Each finding quotes your handbook and the rule. Then a simple text match (no AI) checks that both quotes appear in the original documents, word for word. If one doesn't, the finding says "check by hand."
You get the fixes.
A score for each state, what breaks a rule, what's missing or incomplete, and new wording to paste in. Print the report or download the wording.
Any center. Any time your handbook changes.
One handbook. Every state reads it differently.
A sentence can be fine in one state and break a rule in another. These come from our sample report for a made-up nonprofit with centers in Texas, North Carolina and Oregon.
CareRules checks state child care licensing rules only. Other laws, like child abuse reporting laws, also apply.
Your handbook comes back marked up.
Each sentence that breaks a rule is highlighted, with the rule next to it. This is page 4 of the sample handbook.
Score: the percent of required policies the handbook covers (incomplete ones count half), minus 5 points for each sentence that breaks a rule. It's not an inspection result. This sample has mistakes planted on purpose.
Try it
One of these breaks a Texas rule. Which one?
It's B. Texas allows one teacher for up to 18 four-year-olds (§746.1601). North Carolina allows 20.
CareRules checks your whole handbook this way, rule by rule. What would yours show?
From finding to fix.
Each finding comes with new wording you can edit and paste in. You make the final call.
How we tested it.
We wrote 8 sample handbooks, each meant to follow one state's rules. In each, we broke 5 sentences and removed 3 required policies. Then we ran CareRules (Standard).
On the original handbooks, before we broke them, it flagged 3 problems: 2 were real ones we had missed, and 1 was a misreading. Real handbooks are harder to check, so read every finding.
Why we check every quote: in a separate test of 428 questions on 15 states' rules, Beam's answers matched our answer key 99.8% of the time, but 1 quote in 5 didn't match the rule word for word. So CareRules never shows an unmatched quote as checked.
Why not send the whole rulebook every time? In tests on 5 states, sending Beam only the pages that matter found the same mistakes for less than half the cost. See the tests and every run.
Use it your way.
Free check
Email us for a free access code, good for one check a day. Your report appears right on this page.
With your team
Check each new version before it goes to families. Keep the downloaded wording for your records.
With BackPR
Have each family e-sign an acknowledgment of your handbook when they register, with BackPR, our registration and payment software. BackPR is free for nonprofits; Stripe's processing fees apply.
Check your handbook.
To check your own handbook, you need a free access code. Each check costs us a few cents of AI time, so a code is good for one check a day. Email hi@backpr.com with your center's name and state. Or try a sample handbook below, no code needed.
No handbook handy? Try a sample handbook
See how it works. These made-up handbooks were written to follow their state's rules. Load one, change a sentence or two to break a rule (a ratio, a nap rule, a medicine rule), and see if CareRules catches it. No code needed: up to 3 checks a day, each against that handbook's state.
Not listed? Email hi@backpr.com to ask about your state.
Start with Standard: about a minute. Extra thorough lets the AI think longer. It's slower, and in our tests it found a few more real problems and a few more false alarms.
Paste the code from our email.
By running a check, you agree to the terms of use.
Cost. Free. A code is good for one check a day. Checking the same file against the same states again within 7 days doesn't count toward that limit.
Privacy. Your file is read in your browser; only its text is sent. It goes through our checking service and Hugging Face to Beam (made by Reflection, hosted by Baseten). Hugging Face says it doesn't store requests or train on them; Baseten says it doesn't store inputs or outputs. We keep Beam's answer, which quotes your handbook, for 7 days so a repeat check doesn't count toward your limit. Then we delete it. We don't keep your file, and we use your email only to send your code unless you ask us for something else.
Scope. CareRules checks state child care licensing rules only. Other laws, like child abuse reporting laws, also apply. Rules downloaded from official state websites on October 28, 2026. Not legal advice: confirm changes with your licensing agency.
Who made this. BackPR, which makes registration and payment software for child care and youth programs.
Reading your handbook…
Open the full sample report
8 more sample reports: made-up handbooks from 8 states, with planted mistakes
Each handbook was written to follow its state's rules. Then we broke 5 sentences and removed 3 required policies. The answer key is under each report.
Questions
What's a parent handbook?
It's your center's written policies for families, given when they enroll: hours, pickup, illness, medicine, meals, discipline, emergencies and more. State rules require them. In Texas, for example, centers must have written policies (§746.501), and parents sign them on or before the first day (§746.503).
Is this legal advice?
No. CareRules shows you the rule's own words and its page so you can check them yourself. Confirm any change with your licensing agency.
Which states does it cover?
22 states and DC: Alabama, Arkansas (out-of-school-time programs only), California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington State. Not listed? Email hi@backpr.com to ask about your state.
What does it cost?
Nothing, for any licensed center, nonprofit or not. A free access code is good for one check a day; email hi@backpr.com for one. Sample handbooks and sample reports need no code.
What happens to my handbook?
Your file is read in your browser and only its text is sent. It goes through our checking service and Hugging Face to Beam (made by Reflection, hosted by Baseten). Hugging Face says it doesn't store requests or train on them; Baseten says it doesn't store inputs or outputs. We keep Beam's answer, which quotes your handbook, for 7 days, then delete it. We don't keep your file. You can remove staff phone numbers first; the check doesn't need them.
Privacy: who sees my handbook?
CareRules is run by BackPR (hi@backpr.com). Your file is read in your browser; only its text is sent, through our checking service on Cloudflare and Hugging Face to Beam, hosted by Baseten. We keep Beam's answer, which quotes your handbook, for 7 days so a repeat check is free, then delete it. To limit no-code sample checks, we keep a one-way scrambled form of your internet address for about two days. Your access code is remembered in your browser. We use no cookies, ads or analytics, and we use your email only to send your code unless you ask us for something else. To ask about or delete your data, email hi@backpr.com.
Can it read a scanned handbook?
No. It needs a file with real text, like the Word version or a PDF saved from Word or Google Docs. Right after you choose a file, the page tells you how many pages it could read.
Who decided what's required?
Beam read each state's full licensing rules and listed what a center's handbook must cover. Every item quotes the rule, and a computer check confirmed each quote word for word. A lawyer hasn't reviewed the lists, so treat them as a starting point.
Does it cover family child care homes?
No. It's built for licensed child care centers. Most states license family child care homes under separate rules, which CareRules doesn't check yet.
Terms of use
CareRules is free and provided as is. Use it lawfully and in line with Reflection's Usage Policy for Beam, the AI model it runs on. Only upload handbooks you have the right to share, and don't use CareRules to harm, deceive or profile anyone or to get around its limits. Reports are drafted by AI and checked by a computer, not by a lawyer: they aren't legal advice, and you decide what to change in your handbook. We may limit or pause access to keep the service running, and block anyone who breaks these terms.
What if a finding is wrong?
Every finding shows your handbook's words and the rule's words, with a link to the rule's page, so you can check it. If one is wrong, email hi@backpr.com; it helps us improve.
How accurate is it?
In our test, it found all 40 broken sentences and all 24 removed policies in 8 sample handbooks. On the original handbooks, before we broke them, it flagged 3 problems: 2 real, 1 a misreading. Real handbooks are harder to check, so read every finding. A quote that matches word for word proves the words are really there, not that Beam understood them correctly.
What does the score mean?
It's the percent of required policies your handbook covers (incomplete ones count half), minus 5 points for each sentence that breaks a rule. It's not an inspection result.
Check your handbook before your next inspection.
Free · About a minute · or try a sample handbook first