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Carole's Daycare 10:59 AM 01-14-2010
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
You are way out of line. Just b/c she is inlicsenced it does not mean that she is not followign safety guidlines. There are many licsenced centers that do not follow proper safety codes. It needs to be the responsibility of the parents and the daycare provider. Unless there is abuse or neglect, it should not involve the neighbor.
You should not speculate the reasons of someone who would choose to not become licsenced. You do not know her situation. Perhaps she is just starting out. You are probably unaware but it takes a lot of time and money to become licsenced. The pay is not consistant, and after taking care of expenses it is not as much as you would think. Very few people have the time and money to become licsenced before starting to get families in their daycare. I run a home daycare.I am not licsenced, for a few diff reasons. One is that the work hasn't been consistant enough for me to take the time and spend the money needed to become licsenced. Another reason is that I only plan on being a provider for a few years , until my kids go back to school. And the biggest reason is that None of my parents give a hoot. THey all love me, and it is because I know what I am doing, and they know they can trust me.
Sorry, but if you are operating a "legal" unlicensed daycare, than it's no big deal if someone stops by for a quick visit to make sure. Licensed daycares get unnanounced visits by licensing and food programs. If she's OK, then it was a 15 mn interuption. If not, some children were protected from sub-standard care. Licensing fees are not so high that they are prohibitive in most places, and the benefits financially far outweigh the cost. As a licensed provider you can accept payments from county assistance programs, and at a higher rate than unlicensed. You have to be licenced to participate in the food programs, which, for me at least, subsidize 1/2 or more of my food costs and provide a couple of hours per year of nutrition and USDA guideline training. All that's required is you maintain decent records (assuming you are a legit tax paying provider, you should be doing that), that you feed decent food (once again, a decent provider, unlicensed or not, does that) you maintain a clean home and safe food handling practices (once again...) and you get around 6 visits to your home per year from your food program as well as your licensing inspections. 1 month of food program reimbursement covers the most exhorbitant licensing fees, so no money for licensing is no excuse. My cost was about $190 for licensing and background checks. It took an hour or two of paperwork, completing some basic required trainings and a couple hours home visit and inspection with a licensor to get my license. I pay that $190 every other year. I have a college degree but I get 20-30 hs of continuing education/yr not counting First Aid & CPR, most of which costs $15-$30 per 2 hr class through local Child Care Resource & Referral- (available to LICENCED providers) If you are indeed doing everything appropriately, the only difference is a background check and some inspections to give everyone peace of mind. I have a hard time believing /trusting the good word of all these fabulous unlicensed providers with absolutely no verification- when it sounds like all that's keeping them unlicensed is a few bucks and being willing to have inspections. My cost was less than a video game system. If you have a Wii you can afford licensing. Having clients doesnt make you good. Their are plenty of loving but young or uneducated parents who don't understand what quality childcare is. Thats why we have licensing- for their children's sake. Improved quality and standards in Early Childhood Education, including daycare, will go a long way toward improving results in Elementary Schools and beyond. Even if someone is "nice", reasonably clean or well intentioned does not mean they should be providing childcare services. To have someone who has little education in child development, or even grasp of the english language or basic spelling be your childs primary influence during those crucial early years of development has significant consequences in the long run. It may be a parents responsibility, but ultimately it is society that suffers when childrens needs are not met, and children with parents unable or unwilling to make quality choices still deserve the best we can offer them.
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