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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Power Outages - Do You Close?
MG&Lsmom 02:59 AM 02-28-2011
Just wondering what your policies are regarding power outages? I'm thinking about an amendment to my PHB specifically addressing power outages. My furnace, and obviously A/C, do not work if there is no power. I was thinking about a policy saying I will close if the power goes out for longer than 1 hour when the outside temps are below 50 or above 90. We live in an area where the power rarely goes out or out for very long when it does. Normally by the time parents get here the power probably would be back on. For the past 2 summers we've had powerful supercell storms unusual for this area and as DH was updating emergency protocols for the pool he manages we started to discuss what to do here. Thoughts?
Little People 03:06 AM 02-28-2011
This is what I have in my policy;
Power Outage: There are flashlights in my home. If the power remains out for some time, there are non-perishables always in my kitchen for the children to eat. If the weather is inclement and the house is getting colder or hot in the summer, I will call you to pick up your child.
Power Outage: There are flashlights in my home. If the power remains out for some time, there are non-perishables always in my kitchen for the children to eat. If the weather is inclement and the house is getting colder or hot in the summer, I will call you to pick up your child.
nannyde 03:31 AM 02-28-2011
We close
We aren't allowed to operate without utilities.
We aren't allowed to operate without utilities.
Cat Herder 03:41 AM 02-28-2011
I don't close for weather or power outage. We all chose to live off the side of a mountain, here, so all have pretty strong plans in place already...
I did purchase a generator powerful enough to run all my deep freezers, fans and lights. They had awesome rebates at the time and was partially tax deductible.
I cook on a Coleman propane, two-eye, camp stove and heat the house with gas logs and a 40 gal. propane tank (just use a little battery powered fan blowing into the front vent to keep the safety from kicking off every couple minutes since the internal fan wont work; simple solution
).
The hard part here is the Well. It needs power to pump, who ever designed that has earned a huge, fat "F" in my book... What did our grandparents do??? I want a handle pump so bad.....
Anyway, I run down to the creek behind the house and fill up toilet flushing buckets and have gallons of fresh drinking/cooking water stored in the pantry.
I heat bath water from the creek the same way (clean, thigh deep, fast moving with sandy bottom..
)
Really very little work involved...
I did purchase a generator powerful enough to run all my deep freezers, fans and lights. They had awesome rebates at the time and was partially tax deductible.
I cook on a Coleman propane, two-eye, camp stove and heat the house with gas logs and a 40 gal. propane tank (just use a little battery powered fan blowing into the front vent to keep the safety from kicking off every couple minutes since the internal fan wont work; simple solution
).The hard part here is the Well. It needs power to pump, who ever designed that has earned a huge, fat "F" in my book... What did our grandparents do??? I want a handle pump so bad.....
Anyway, I run down to the creek behind the house and fill up toilet flushing buckets and have gallons of fresh drinking/cooking water stored in the pantry.
I heat bath water from the creek the same way (clean, thigh deep, fast moving with sandy bottom..
)Really very little work involved...
SilverSabre25 04:16 AM 02-28-2011
My policy is to close if the power goes out during the winter and is supposed to be out for "long enough to pose a danger" (read: let me call the electric company and get an estimate, and then I will make a judgment call based on that estimate, the weather, and the current temperature). I wouldn't close for power outage in the summer because we can always open windows and hang out outside.
kendallina 09:50 AM 02-28-2011
If you're going to add it to your policy, I wouldn't be too specific. Saying, "if it's below 60 or above 90" is very very specific and you may have parents call you on that, saying, "oh, it doesn't feel too cold in here" or whatever. I would state something about using your best judgment and closing when conditions warrant it.
MG&Lsmom 10:10 AM 02-28-2011
Originally Posted by kendallina:
If you're going to add it to your policy, I wouldn't be too specific. Saying, "if it's below 60 or above 90" is very very specific and you may have parents call you on that, saying, "oh, it doesn't feel too cold in here" or whatever. I would state something about using your best judgment and closing when conditions warrant it.
Thanks everyone. I was thinking about including the outside temps as a means to avoid a parent saying the same thing. If you're going to add it to your policy, I wouldn't be too specific. Saying, "if it's below 60 or above 90" is very very specific and you may have parents call you on that, saying, "oh, it doesn't feel too cold in here" or whatever. I would state something about using your best judgment and closing when conditions warrant it.
I figured I'd get just as many "it's not that cold in here" comments if I was making a judgment call. But I definitely see your point and have some thinking to do now. And I need to read the regs again just to make sure I'm remembering that there's nothing in there about power outages. I do know that the regs say that the inside temp needs to be 72 degrees at all times, which I'm going to admit I don't abide by. One zone forced hot air makes it impossible.
e.j. 10:52 AM 02-28-2011
This is what I have written in my contract:
In the event that utilities are disrupted while the day care is in operation, I will make every effort to remain open for as long as possible. Should I feel the need to close the day care, parents will be notified and required to pick up their child as soon as possible. The decision to close will be based on the following factors:
• The risk to the health and well-being of the children in my care
• The necessity of heating food and formula and my ability to do so
• The temperature in my home
• The amount of natural light in my home
In the event that utilities are disrupted while the day care is in operation, I will make every effort to remain open for as long as possible. Should I feel the need to close the day care, parents will be notified and required to pick up their child as soon as possible. The decision to close will be based on the following factors:
• The risk to the health and well-being of the children in my care
• The necessity of heating food and formula and my ability to do so
• The temperature in my home
• The amount of natural light in my home
daycare 10:56 AM 02-28-2011
Closing for Special Circumstances:
Under certain severe conditions such as inclement weather, loss of water, power or national emergency, the Provider, may close the center for the protection of the children. Should the daycare experience any of the above while children are in care, parents will be contacted to have children picked up as soon as possible. Emergency situations can be very stressful on children, so parent cooperation during these crises is greatly appreciated. If you cannot pickup within one hour, please make sure to have an alternate that is available to do so. If necessary, the daycare will close up to 3 paid days per year. Any more than 3 days will be credited to parents.
Under certain severe conditions such as inclement weather, loss of water, power or national emergency, the Provider, may close the center for the protection of the children. Should the daycare experience any of the above while children are in care, parents will be contacted to have children picked up as soon as possible. Emergency situations can be very stressful on children, so parent cooperation during these crises is greatly appreciated. If you cannot pickup within one hour, please make sure to have an alternate that is available to do so. If necessary, the daycare will close up to 3 paid days per year. Any more than 3 days will be credited to parents.