It's been a while!!! - Question about daycare $
Adrienne522 wrote: I everyone. Wow...I have been swampped at work. I have NO time to post anymore. I miss everyone!!! Anyway, Scott is doing well. He is 4 1/2 months old. Geez....he is getting old. He is now 16 pounds and 27 inches long. He is home right now with his daddy. He is getting over a terrible cold and double ear infection again. This is the 2nd time for an ear infection. So...daycare called me on Monday at 10:00 to pick Scott up because he had a slight temp. I thought it was from teething. (Both of his bottom teeth are coming in). Thank goodness I took him to the doctor. Here is some background on my daycare. She is private. She has tons of kids. (Too many if you ask me.) I did not sign a contract of any kind. I understand that this is her income, but how does the $ exchange work? Last week she called me and she was sick. She could not watch Scott for 2 days because she was sick. She charged me the whole amount for the week. Is that far? She was sick and I lost out on 2 days of work. So far this week, she has had him for 3 hours. Again, I lost out on 2 days of work. ( thank goodness that I have an understanding boss) It is Thanksgiving week and she wants the FULL amount again. I just got done spending $60 dollars on doc. visit and medicine for Scott. Should I be upset about this??
gr33n3y3z replied: when the day care can not perform their services they can not charge you for those days that they could not watch your son. They should credit you those days.
Now when your child is sick and they have to leave its on you.
Its nice to hear from you
Wow your son is getting big
what a cutie he is
I hope he feels better
C&K*s Mommie replied: I have heard that some dcp's (private or non) will continue to charge for the full days regardless of any illness. Usually it is within the contract, that the parents signed.
I would talk to her about that, ensure that she is complying with your state regulations on the child/provider ratio and go from there.
If my daugter attends one day of school in any given month, regardless of whether she is attending the other days or not, I owe the full months tuition. I kind of see it similiar to your situation.
But I have heard that some dcp's have it within their contract to have X # of days set aside for vacation, sick days, etc. And the parents still owe for that days utilized or not.
Boo&BugsMom replied: Adrienne, it all depends on what the terms were when you signed him up. ALL providers run their businesses differently and it is up to them how they charge for these situations. Does she have a handbook? If so, did you sign something that says you agree to those terms?
Here is what I do: I have my parents sign a contract. This states the amount each week to be owed and what hours they are contracted for. I also have a 30 page handbook and at the back is a reciept that the parents signs and it states they agree to the terms in the book.
I do not charge when I am sick, however, I do have a certain amount of vacation and personal days I use and I get paid holidays (other people do, so it's only fair that providers do since this is our JOB  ). Also, if the kids are out sick they still have to pay. It is based on ENROLLMENT not attendance, if that makes it a little more clear. It's hard to earn a steady income if payment is not expected when children are gone because it happens too frequently. I also give my families a certain amount of vacation each year to use when they want and some choose to use them when their children are sick, but once they are gone, then they are gone until the next year. NOW...there are some providers who do charge no matter what the situation. They get paid for every single day no matter what. I don't do that because I believe in being fair to myself and the families, and I am not sure if that is really fair, but every provider has the right to run their business the way they choose to. This may be something she does, and that is her right since it is her business, to be honest.
IMO, the best thing to do is ask her where those terms are written. She should be able to show you. If not, then tell her if those terms are not written anywhere then it's really not fair to expect that if the parents are not told that from the beginning. Meaning, you should always know what to expect in most, if not all situations when agreeing to her or anyones care. If those terms are not written anywhere then perhaps she can be flexible with you this time around but then you will understand it will be those terms from now on after this situation.
lisar replied:
I agree.....
I hope he gets all better soon.
holley79 replied: Well you didn't sign a contract....
I know with my CCP if she is sick she either has a sub to take care of my daughter or she doesn't get paid. We have that understanding. She does get holiday pay though. This week, even though she will only be there three days, she will get a full week paid. You need to talk to her about her "sick" policy though. You also need to seriously think about the child/ provider ratio. There are state regulations for this kind of thing.
Boo&BugsMom replied:
I was wondering about the ratio too! How many kids does she have? Each state is different and it does depend on if she is licensed or not. Some states don't require licensing, which means she can operate with any number she wants. Other states you do have to be licensed, which means her ratios are state mandated. That is something she should check out, especially when you are dealing with infants. I will say though, that I have seen some states allow as many as 12 kids with one adult being licensed. YIKES! That is A LOT! Our ratio is 1:8, but if I have infants or a child under age 2, it brings the ratio down. This is something to look into Adrienne so you feel a little more comfortable. I hate to ever assume a provider is not running things properly, because I'd hate if someone did that to me, but I think being an informed parent is always a good thing no matter what.
lesliesmom replied: I have my kids in a private home daycare. My provider does not charge if she has to close for illness or if she chooses to close for a vacation (she generally gives us ample warning of any time off - unless illness - to either use her helper as a sub in our home or find our own care for those days). Also, if she is gone for a day or two and the numbers or down for attendance on those days, then she will open her home and her help will run the daycare for those days.
She does get holiday pay, but as for this week, even though she is open 3 days, she will only get paid for four, Friday is an unpaid vacation for her.
Now, if my children get sick, she does charge, whether they are in attendance or leave early due to illness.
If we know the kids will not be there on certain days, and we give her at least a two week notice, she only charges 1/2 of the normal rate for the days that the kids are not there - this basically keeps there place in her daycare open. So, I'm paying $20 a day for one child, if we take a vacation, then that is cut to $10 a day until our return, as long as she is given notice.
Adrienne522 replied: Thank you for everyones feed back. I am going to pay the full amount, I guess she did not make the "rules" clear. I understand that this is how she makes her living. I wish that she had a handbook, she doesn't. I wish she had a contract, she doesn't. She has ALOT of kids. I would have to say that 4 babies are enrolled (ages 1 and under) along with at least 15 others ages 2-9. She is the only one working at her house (daycare). I guess I don't like that the rules were not specified. I am at fault for not asking. Thanks again for the feedback. I hope she can wait until next week to get paid.
Boo&BugsMom replied: Wow, that's a lot of kids! Are all of them there every day or does she only have so many of them each day? I would ask her how many she has each day. That sounds so high.
mummy2girls replied: well first of all you should sign a contract because other things may pop up so if you sit down with her and agree on things and sign then she can do stuff like this to you..IMHO.
secondly I run a dayhome and im not private so im nto sure how diff it can be but with me if i call in sick then i get docked those days of pay because the parents may have to get alternative care in where they need to pay them. which is understandeable. If the kids are sick and dont come to my dayhome i still need to get paid because im still availiable for care on those days and i shouldnt get docked for that.
Vacations... If i take time off i get docked but fi the parents come to me and say im off these days my kids are not coming then i get paid. BUT if we agree to take time off at the same time i get 50% docked..
Adrienne522 replied: She has the 4 little ones Monday thru Friday. The toddlers, she has from 2-6 everyday. Then the kids after school come and there are about 6 of them. There are alot. I will give her money this week, but I am not sure of the holiday and how that works. I guess I better take a ride over to her house on Friday and ask some questions. I should have done it before, but I didn't. I guess this is another thing I have learned since becoming a mom.
Kentuckychick replied: Okay, now I'm really wondering what state you live because 19+ kids???? I don't know of ANY state where that is legal!? I guess since I'm studying these things and we just had an assignment last week to compare our standards (KY) to 4 other states I'm just interested!
I'm especially interested because Kentucky's standards are considered pretty fair and they would fine this woman in a heartbeat! Our standards for home child care providers state that
-at no time can a provider care for more than 3 unrelated children
-a provider can only have 3 children under the age of one at the same time including their own child(ren)
-a provider can have no more than 5 children under the age of 6 at the same time including their own children (no more than 3 can be unrelated)
-a provider can have no more than 8 children at one time (no more than 3 can be unrelated)
so basically they can keep 3 children... the rest have to be theirs (or at least "related") up to 8 depending on their ages
And from what I've seen many states have standards at or along the same lines, I would definitely look into it. I can barely look after 3 infants on my own I can't imagine trying to look after a combo of 20!
Boo&BugsMom replied:
Those are similar to our unlicensed or county certified regs. Our state regs are a little more than that. Even with having my baby in April, being licensed I can still have 7 other children between the ages of 2-6. Crazy hey? 
I know Adrienne said she had that many ENROLLED though, so it doesn't nec. mean they are all there at once. Like part timers that off set each other for example. BUT, it does sound like she kind of is running an "undercover" operation (for lack of a better term) with so many kids in her care. Adrienne, is she licensed or anything? I'm curious, because most licensed providers are required to have contracts and handbooks and such. I can't imagine running my childcare without them. Again, not that I want to assume she isn't legit, but it just seems crazy that she doesn't do any of that stuff if she were licensed through her state. Unless you are in Canada, I am unaware of how things are done there.  Rocky and Shelly would be the ones to ask about that.
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