Daycare.com Forum

Daycare.com Forum (https://www.daycare.com/forum/index.php)
-   Daycare Center and Family Home Forum (https://www.daycare.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2)
-   -   My Contract...What Do You Think? (https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25052)

JeepGirl6 01-03-2011 10:30 AM

My Contract...What Do You Think?
 
~*~ Policy Handbook ~*~



I am a Professional Child Care Provider. My goal is to provide your child with a clean, safe, comfortable environment where they can play and learn with guidance and loving care while you are at work. There is a lot of information here. Please read all of it. If any of my policies seem unfair or unnecessary, please take a moment to think about that policy and how it would apply to your current working situation. These policies are enforced for the same reasons policies are enforced in any job situation - for fairness and respect. If you have any questions please ask.

Business Hours/Overtime
I provide childcare from Monday to Friday. My hours of operation are between 6:00A.M-5:30P.M. Any changes to your schedule have to be discussed and re-scheduled based on my ability to meet your new need with my schedule.
To ensure the safety of your child, only you or your designate(s) may pick up your child. Phoning me to let me know someone other than yourself will be picking up your child is fine if I know the person or your child can identify him or her.

Financial Agreement/Payment and Late Fee
For each day your child is in my care, there is a charge of $40.00. If I am caring for two children in the same family the daily charge will be $70.00. If your child is in my care for 4 hours or less the rate is $7.00 an hour, $10 an hour for two children from the same family.

All payments must be paid in cash or check every Friday. If payment is not received every Friday, a $10.00 late charge will be added for every day without payment.
If a check is returned to me for non-sufficient funds, you will be required to pay a fee of $25 and also be required to pay cash only from there on out.

Provider Holidays / Sick days
I will be closed on the following Holidays (New Years Eve, New Years, Independence Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas and Christmas Eve) I may take off various days during the year. You’ll be notified in advance.

Parent Vacations
Please notify me as at least 2 weeks in advance when you plan to take vacations.

Caregiver Vacations
I will notify parents a month in advance when I have a vacation scheduled. If I plan a vacation, parents will need to find their own care for their child during the duration of the week I will not be available.

Arrival and Departures
At pick up, please do not let your child leave the house until you are leaving also. When picking children up at the end of the day, parents are asked to come in through the back door.







Cleanliness/Hygiene
We do our best to maintain strict cleanliness and hygiene standards. Children's hands are washed
before and after meals, coming in from outside and after toileting. If these skills are stressed at
home also your child may remain a good hand-washer when he/she gets older. Please have your
child bathed and dressed for play. A clean child is a healthy child.
Infants sleep in separate cribs/Play-Pens with clean blankets, used only by them. Beginning at
age two, washable nap mattresses are used. Each child has a separate nap mat. Blankets are to be taken home at the end of the week to be washed by the parents. Toys are sanitized with a bleach solution once a week.

Meals & Snacks
Breakfast foods and condiments must be supplied by the parent if you choose for your child to have breakfast here.
I will provide a nutritious lunch, two snacks and 2% milk/ fruit juice depending on
the hours your child is attending. If the child will be arriving after lunch time please feed
them before they arrive.
If your child requires a special diet due to allergies, medications, age and/or cultural or religious
beliefs it will be the responsibility of the parent to provide a well balanced lunch and snack for
their child.

Child Illness
You should not bring your child to care sick (fever of 100°f or higher,vomiting, diarrhea not contained in a diaper, sore throat, continuous coughing, runny nose other than clear, draining eyes or ears, unexplained rash, lice, etc.) If you are not sure your child is well enough to attend child care call and discuss it with me. Your child may return to care 24 hours AFTER symptoms of illness end.

Substitute Care/ Provider Illness
If I am not able to care for the children, a substitute will try to be assigned for the day but due to unforeseen circumstances of medical emergency, family death, illness or vacations, please have back up care available to you.

Medical Emergencies
Minor bumps and scrapes are inevitable, but I make every effort to keep your children safe
through supervision and childproofing. Minor injuries will receive appropriate first aid, and if an
emergency injury or illness occurs, you will be contacted immediately. If I am unable contact
either parent, I will call the emergency contact numbers supplied to me to make the medical
decisions for the child. If necessary your child will be transported by ambulance to the nearest
hospital. Parents are responsible for costs involved in emergency medical treatment, including
transportation if required.

Medication
Written permission will be needed to administer any medication. A form with written instructions for all prescriptions and over the counter medications must be completed including times and amounts before any medication will/can be given.




Nap/Quiet Time
After lunch, there will be quiet time. Rest time is essential for the development of your child. Each child under 5 years old will be required to take a nap or have quiet time when in care between 1:00 - 3:00 pm. Infants will nap according to their own schedule. I will provide a playpen/portable crib for infants and mats for those two and older.
I supply all nap sheets for the mats. Please provide a blanket for your child’s naptime. All linens are washed weekly unless soiled during the week then they will be replaced sooner. If at all possible please try not to pick up or drop off your child at quiet time, if you do please make sure that he or she has already eaten lunch and is ready to rest quietly on his or her mat without disrupting the other children. Any child who continually disrupts the others will require a change in schedule.

Television
Television usage is limited and is never used as a "babysitting" tool. On occasion children are allowed to watch educational TV while enjoying breakfast, following lunch or during afternoon snack time. After 5:00pm as we are ending the day and waiting for parents arrivals the option of TV time is available. In addition on each Friday we will have movie time or during the summer months when weather conditions do not allow for outdoor play.

Potty Training
I will assist in potty training with the understanding that it will only work if we work together.
Your child will not learn if they do not do it while in my care and at home. You must work with
your child at home, either during vacation or over a weekend before I will begin potty training
here. Clothing should be easy to manage to encourage self-help skills.

Open Door Policy
While your child is in my care, you can always be assured that the door is open to you. Open
Door does not mean that we keep our doors unlocked. For the safety of myself and the children
doors are kept locked except for scheduled drop off and pick up times. Please feel free to drop in
and check on your child. Please keep in mind there may be times when it is not possible for me to run to the phone (diaper changing, bottle feeding, etc.) If the phone goes unanswered, please do not become alarmed, simply leave me a voice mail and I will call you as soon as I am able.

Termination Policy
I have the right to terminate contract immediately if:
· Parents do not make payments when due for services provided
· Constant misbehavior or unruliness of child
· Unforeseen problems between parent and caregiver
· Lack of parental cooperation
· Failure of child to adjust to child care after a reasonable amount of time
· Lack of compliance with contract policies

I reserve the right to suspend or terminate care of any child without notice, should it be deemed necessary for the overall safety and well-being of my family and/or other children in my care.





Damages Policy
Our home is child-proofed to the best of our ability, however, accidents do happen. Any damage to my home or personal belongings that is willfully caused by your child will be replaced or repaired at the cost of the parents. I will repair or replace broken daycare equipment & toys due to normal wear and tear.

Discipline/Guidance
I use a form of "1-2-3", "redirecting" and "time out" as a form of discipline. Any child who is aggressive, uncontrollable and can not follow the rules, the parents will be called to come and pick their child(ren) up. If your child continues to act in a matter that is distributive to him/herself or to other children, childcare may be terminated. I also give the parents the option of telling me what kind of discipline they use at home that they feel works best for their child. I will not agree to discipline I don’t believe in or that I feel is inappropriate in my home.

-Guidance for Infant and Toddlers
Distraction away from the activity
Ignore the behavior, if it is not dangerous or causing someone else to be in danger
Removal of tempting items that are off limits
Telling the child “No” Sparingly
18 months and up- Time outs will be used as last resort for the amount of minutes equivalent to childs age

-Guidance for Preschool Children
Give the child an opportunity to make the right choice, help them by making suggestions
Allowing children to resolve an issue as long as noone is getting hurt
Instead of telling child what they can’t do, tell them what they can do or should do instead
18 months and up- Time outs will be used as last resort for the amount of minutes equivalent to childs age
After time out is up, a recap of why time out was given will be discussed and what the proper action/decision should have been.

If a child does not behave in an acceptable manner redirection or an appropriate “time out” (one minute per child’s year of age) will be given. If the behaviors continue, I will increase the “time out” time a few minutes at a time and discuss the behavior with you, the parent, and devise a plan to correct the behavior of the child and possibly (depending on the behavior) put the child on a two-week probation period. During the two-week probation period there MUST be improvement in your child’s behavior. If at any time during the probation period the behavior continues this contract can and will be terminated immediately depending on the seriousness of the behaviors. Please keep in mind that the two-week probation period is given at my discretion depending on the seriousness of the behaviors.

Weather
We will try to do our best to keep the sidewalks and stairs shoveled during winter months, but may have times that we can not keep up with the snow fall. During daycare hours I will not be able to shovel the sidewalk/stairs.




Communication
Communication is very important to me. When I accept a new family into my home I like to be
sure that we can share openly any concerns or questions that may arise. I feel that we are a
team raising your child. If we can work together then your child can feel secure in knowing they
have two families who love them very much. I grow to love each child I keep very much and I
am always glad to have a chance to be a part of their lives.
Parents of infants/toddlers/pre-schooler's will receive a daily note. Some typical things that you
may find on this note would be daily activities, feedings/meals, diaper changes, naps/quiet time,
and things to remember or to bring.


By signing, I (the parent) am agreeing that I (the parent) have read and understand
the Policy in the Policy Handbook

I (the parent) hereby acknowledge that I (the Parent) am aware of the conditions stated in the Child Care Home’s Policy Handbook, and agree to abide by the above signed policies and requirements in conjunction with the Financial Agreement and the Agreement for Child Care Services.

Date: _______________________

Parent full name_______________________ Parent signature_________________________

Parent full name_______________________ Parent signature_________________________


Date: ______________________

Child care provider’s signature_____________________________

Abigail 01-03-2011 05:49 PM

Your subject line is your contract, but then your title is Policy Handbook....which is it? Did you combine them? I would recommend a separate Policy Handbook because this doesn't really change unless you add to it over the years. It has no personal information, rates, fees, or people involved. It should just cover how you run your business and what your policies are.

Abigail 01-03-2011 06:56 PM

Originally Posted by JeepGirl6:
~*~ Policy Handbook ~*~
Financial Agreement/Payment and Late Fee
For each day your child is in my care, there is a charge of $40.00. If I am caring for two children in the same family the daily charge will be $70.00. If your child is in my care for 4 hours or less the rate is $7.00 an hour, $10 an hour for two children from the same family.
You should decide whether you are going to put $10.00 or drop all the ".00" from the previous three dollar amounts to have it flow well together. Same as below too highlight in red.

All payments must be paid in cash or check every Friday. If payment is not received every Friday, a $10.00 late charge will be added for every day without payment.
If a check is returned to me for non-sufficient funds, you will be required to pay a fee of $25 and also be required to pay cash only from there on out.

Provider Holidays / Sick days
I will be closed on the following Holidays (New Years Eve, New Years, Independence Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas and Christmas Eve) I may take off various days during the year. You’ll be notified in advance.
You should list your days off in order, so put Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Are you paid on these days?? What if these days fall on a weekend, do you reserve the right to be closed the equal amount of days?

Parent Vacations
Please notify me as at least 2 weeks in advance when you plan to take vacations.

Caregiver Vacations
I will notify parents a month in advance when I have a vacation scheduled. If I plan a vacation, parents will need to find their own care for their child during the duration of the week I will not be available.
You began referring to yourself as the provider and now this is titled the cargiver. Choose which way you want to refer to yourself and do that throughout. I would also add this section into the Provider Holiays/ Sick Days/ Vacation Days. Also, will you be paid for these days?


Infants sleep in separate cribs/Play-Pens with clean blankets, used only by them. Beginning at
age two, washable nap mattresses are used. Each child has a separate nap mat. Blankets are to be taken home at the end of the week to be washed by the parents. Toys are sanitized with a bleach solution once a week.
Above, you refer to sleeping and go right into bleach cleaning. I would either have more to say about cleaning and have a separate paragraph or just omit it. It's licensing standards anyways to do this (in most places) so they can't argue with you that you use it. If you need something more to add to create a separate pharagraph about cleaning, I would mention "some of the many cleaning tasks I'm required by law to do....." and mention vacuuming, mopping, cleaning cots/mats, and mention that the cleaning chemicals are never used when children are present. Back to your sleeping for infants, I would add that you practice "back is best" or however you want to word that you only put infants to sleep on their back.

Meals & Snacks
Breakfast foods and condiments must be supplied by the parent if you choose for your child to have breakfast here.
I will provide a nutritious lunch, two snacks and 2% milk/ fruit juice depending on
the hours your child is attending. If the child will be arriving after lunch time please feed
them before they arrive.
If your child requires a special diet due to allergies, medications, age and/or cultural or religious
beliefs it will be the responsibility of the parent to provide a well balanced lunch and snack for
their child.
I would start out by saying you provide a healthy lunch and an AM and PM snack.....then mention what the parent must supply to make it easier to read.

Child Illness
You should not bring your child to care sick (fever of 100°f or higher,vomiting, diarrhea not contained in a diaper, sore throat, continuous coughing, runny nose other than clear, draining eyes or ears, unexplained rash, lice, etc.) If you are not sure your child is well enough to attend child care call and discuss it with me. Your child may return to care 24 hours AFTER symptoms of illness end.

Substitute Care/ Provider Illness
If I am not able to care for the children, a substitute will try to be assigned for the day but due to unforeseen circumstances of medical emergency, family death, illness or vacations, please have back up care available to you.
You have vacations listed under "unforeseen circumstances" which you already stated above something about provider vacations. I would omit this from this category.

Nap/Quiet Time
After lunch, there will be quiet time. Rest time is essential for the development of your child. Each child under 5 years old will be required to take a nap or have quiet time when in care between 1:00 - 3:00 pm. Infants will nap according to their own schedule. I will provide a playpen/portable crib for infants and mats for those two and older.
You already listed a little bit about how infants sleep once before above. I would either move that section down to this section since it relates better to nap/quiet time better. This is also where you should have your information about sending home sheets weekly for parents to wash. Yes, it's about hygene, but it is more closely related to nap time. You could easily state everything in two categories: Infants (sleep times, what they have to sleep on, and procedures followed AND Older Children...with the same concept in mind.

I supply all nap sheets for the mats. Please provide a blanket for your child’s naptime. All linens are washed weekly unless soiled during the week then they will be replaced sooner. If at all possible please try not to pick up or drop off your child at quiet time, if you do please make sure that he or she has already eaten lunch and is ready to rest quietly on his or her mat without disrupting the other children. Any child who continually disrupts the others will require a change in schedule. Are you willing to keep a child awake for a parent if they say they will be there right after lunch and do not show? You could add something that you will not keep a sleepy child awake if it's nap time. Do you watch older children? If you do, what do they do from 1-3 pm?

Open Door Policy
While your child is in my care, you can always be assured that the door is open to you. Open
Door does not mean that we keep our doors unlocked. For the safety of myself and the childrendoors are kept locked except for scheduled drop off and pick up times. Please feel free to drop in
and check on your child. Please keep in mind there may be times when it is not possible for me to run to the phone (diaper changing, bottle feeding, etc.) If the phone goes unanswered, please do not become alarmed, simply leave me a voice mail and I will call you as soon as I am able.
I would switch around the above highlights to read "For the safety of the children and myself...." so you are putting the children first.

Termination Policy
I have the right to terminate contract immediately if:
· Parents do not make payments when due for services provided
· Constant misbehavior or unruliness of child
· Unforeseen problems between parent and caregiver
· Lack of parental cooperation
· Failure of child to adjust to child care after a reasonable amount of time
· Lack of compliance with contract policies

I reserve the right to suspend or terminate care of any child without notice, should it be deemed necessary for the overall safety and well-being of my family and/or other children in my care.

Do not list reasons why you may terminate. This will only limit you in the end. Also, refer to yourself as "The Provider" instead of I because both you and the parents sign this in the end and it could be a debate as to who is referred to as "I". My contract now states: "Provider may terminate the contract at will without notice." Nothing more than that.

Damages PolicyOur home is child-proofed to the best of our ability, however, accidents do happen. Any damage to my home or personal belongings that is willfully caused by your child will be replaced or repaired at the cost of the parents. I will repair or replace broken daycare equipment & toys due to normal wear and tear.
The word policy isn't necessary. I have this covered under "Other Fees" in my contract. Also, remember to change "I" to "Provider"

Discipline/Guidance
I use a form of "1-2-3", "redirecting" and "time out" as a form of discipline. Any child who is aggressive, uncontrollable and can not follow the rules, the parents will be called to come and pick their child(ren) up. If your child continues to act in a matter that is distributive to him/herself or to other children, childcare may be terminated. I also give the parents the option of telling me what kind of discipline they use at home that they feel works best for their child. I will not agree to discipline I don’t believe in or that I feel is inappropriate in my home.
Is Cannot one word or two? I would take out the sentence in red. Add this to the last sentence..."is inappropriate in my home, but parents are encouraged to share what discipline/guidance methods they use at home."

-Guidance for Infant and Toddlers
Distraction away from the activity ,also referred to as redirection/redirecting."
Ignore the behavior, if it is not dangerous or causing someone else to be in danger
Removal of tempting items that are off limits
Telling the child “No” Sparingly
18 months and up- Time outs will be used as last resort for the amount of minutes equivalent to childs age
Keep everything congruent.....is that the word? Where everything flows well. If these are bullet items, have them start out with the words: "Redirecting, Ignoring, Removing, Telling" so they all are ING words.

-Guidance for Preschool Children
Give the child an opportunity to make the right choice, help them by making suggestions
Allowing children to resolve an issue as long as noone is getting hurt
Instead of telling child what they can’t do, tell them what they can do or should do instead
18 months and up- Time outs will be used as last resort for the amount of minutes equivalent to childs age
After time out is up, a recap of why time out was given will be discussed and what the proper action/decision should have been.
Same as I stated above. Make sure that your starting words all match "Making suggestions....., Allowing...., Creating a positive atmosphere by saying what they may do instead of may not do"

If a child does not behave in an acceptable manner redirection or an appropriate “time out” (one minute per child’s year of age) will be given. If the behaviors continue, I will increase the “time out” time a few minutes at a time and discuss the behavior with you, the parent, and devise a plan to correct the behavior of the child and possibly (depending on the behavior) put the child on a two-week probation period. During the two-week probation period there MUST be improvement in your child’s behavior. If at any time during the probation period the behavior continues this contract can and will be terminated immediately depending on the seriousness of the behaviors. Please keep in mind that the two-week probation period is given at my discretion depending on the seriousness of the behaviors.
Make sure to call yourself the Provider instead of I. You can remove you and the commas and just use the parent wording. I wouldn't necessarily say you will add time above one minute per age because it sounds like they could be in time out for a very long time. LOL Change "there" to "The provider must see improvement. The parent may say they've improved when you can't see it. I would create a separate pharagraph for the Probation period because this gets longer than most of your other information. Remember that you do have something way up towards the beginning on poor behavior that you expected parents to pick up so I wouldn't repeat that too many times or in different sections because parents may feel that you will not do every step possible to care for their child if a problem arises.

Weather
We will try to do our best to keep the sidewalks and stairs shoveled during winter months, but may have times that we can not keep up with the snow fall. During daycare hours I will not be able to shovel the sidewalk/stairs.
Who is we? You never used this term before, so I would avoid it. You could say "The daycare does its best to..." Cannot might be one word again here. You can also say something like "Please be extra cautious when arriving and departing at daycare during the winter months. Shoveling during daycare hours is not possible sometimes, but the sidewalk and driveway will be shoveled before and after hours." I still think you could try to shovel the front walkway at least during nap time or something or state that if the weather is nice enough that you will try to get it shoveled if it snows during daycare hours to help prevent any potential falls.



Communication
Communication is very important to me. When I accept a new family into my home I like to be
sure that we can share openly any concerns or questions that may arise. I feel that we are a
team raising your child. If we can work together then your child can feel secure in knowing they
have two families who love them very much. I grow to love each child I keep very much and I
am always glad to have a chance to be a part of their lives.
Parents of infants/toddlers/pre-schooler's will receive a daily note. Some typical things that you
may find on this note would be daily activities, feedings/meals, diaper changes, naps/quiet time,
and things to remember or to bring.
Once again, try to avoid the I, me, we, us....it can become confusing and might be interpreted wrong. "Communication is very important"....you should have this towards the top of your handbook to imply the importance of communication perhaps. "The provider and parent should work as a team" This area is for communication, not for saying how you love their children and are glad to have a chance to be a part of their lives....the parent may feel this statement put them in charge of your business because you "Get a chance...." If you want to express how you feel, I would have that information under a "Why I choose this career path...." as a separate handout.

By signing, I (the parent) am agreeing that I (the parent) have read and understand
the Policy in the Policy Handbook
Found it, notice how the "I" you are referring to as "The parent" but all along prior to this "I" was always "The provider"! LOL. I wouldn't put "Policy in the Policy Handbook....you have many policies, not just one.

I (the parent) hereby acknowledge that I (the Parent) am aware of the conditions stated in the Child Care Home’s Policy Handbook, and agree to abide by the above signed policies and requirements in conjunction with the Financial Agreement and the Agreement for Child Care Services.
parent doesn't need to be capitalized. You also don't need it in here twice. I think you're just repeating yourself by stating "hereby acknowledge" and "am aware" These last two paragraphs refer to this as "the Policy in the Policy Handbook" and the second paragraph is calling this "Child Care Home's Policy Handbook" so make sure you choose one and stick to it throughout.

Date: _______________________

Parent full name_______________________ Parent signature_________________________

Parent full name_______________________ Parent signature_________________________


Date: ______________________

Child care provider’s signature_____________________________

I would change Parent to Parent/Guardian. You should also have their full names, addresses, home phone/cell phone/work phone, email, and name and address of their employer and also the child's name and date of birth at the beginning. You should just have two blanks for the Parent/Guardian signatures at the end here and date after each signature. So, both parents with sign and date it, THEN you will be last to sign AND also date it. Make a copy for them and you keep the original in your file.

It's pretty good overall. I didn't see anything about what their rates are....that should be included in the contract. Do you require a deposit? Good job, I hope this helps.

kendallina 01-03-2011 07:11 PM

Looks good...here's a few things I noticed:

Business Hours/Overtime section doesn't seem to explain the "Overtime" part in the title. Do you charge more if they are there more hours?

You stated payment is due Friday...is that the Friday before services are provided or after?

I didn't see if/where you discussed whether parent needs to pay for when their child doesn't come? For your vacations/sick time? etc?

Meals and Snacks you state that they must feed their child lunch if they come after lunchtime, but then don't state when lunchtime ends.

I also agree with much of what the previous posters have said.

Abigail 01-03-2011 09:07 PM

Sorry my posts were long because I left most of the parts to explain more under each section. I'm waiting to hear back from the original poster to see if she needs any additional help. I just sat through a two hour meeting making adjustments to mine and am waiting to hear back from the daycare association on a few things for their opinions on a few things. So excited!

JeepGirl6 01-04-2011 04:11 AM

Thank you so much! Your posting really helped me out :) I will let you know if I need anymore help as I finish it.

To your question about charging parents when their child is not there...I actually did in the very beginning two years ago but then I had parents at interviews start to not like the idea of them getting charged when their child is not attending so I took it out of my handbook. I was thinking maybe I should at least start charging them 1/2 of the daily rate when their child is not in my care?

Abigail 01-04-2011 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by JeepGirl6:
Thank you so much! Your posting really helped me out :) I will let you know if I need anymore help as I finish it.

To your question about charging parents when their child is not there...I actually did in the very beginning two years ago but then I had parents at interviews start to not like the idea of them getting charged when their child is not attending so I took it out of my handbook. I was thinking maybe I should at least start charging them 1/2 of the daily rate when their child is not in my care?

If you want to be taken seriously, you should create FIRM rules. If you're having problems fillings spots, you need to take a look at your business from outside the box. Make sure you're within the right price ranges for your community and see what you offer that parents like. Take your home location into consideration (near big cities or workplaces can charge more vs. in the middle of the country may need to charge less to get clients.) You need to have a parent sign a specific contract stating Monday your child will be in my care from this time to this time.....do that all the way through the week. State Your weekly fee is $XX or $*** due one week in advance. You are paying this rate whether your child attends care or is absent because you are paying for spot at my daycare.....You can also have drop in rates that are higher hourly rate or just "up to four hours" or "four hours to six hours" or "six hours to eight hours" time frames if you are not enrolling full time and need to extra income. Just make sure that drop-in is based on availability and a fixed schedule contract takes priority at all times. You need to be guaranteed your income so if they are absent a lot or just half the time on one day or the week for example, then just have them sign for the other days they're always there and tell them that the day they're not usually there is based on availability, but you will be interviewing for full timers.

lvt77 01-05-2011 02:35 PM

im in the process of re-writing my parent handbook....contract is sperate to this....
One thing to think about....make sure that your allow for revisions as you see fit....I find myself making revisions all the time. I have to type up a letter stating I am adding a new policy. Type the letter and then make all parents read sign and return by a cut off date or their child can not return to care....Why do i do this....perfect example....last month I had a parent arrive at breakfast time with their child on an unscheduled day. I was in the bathroom washing hands and did not hear her come in (btw my door is usually always locked) She came in, dropped off her child with out talking to me and ran out the door. I came out of the bathroom with all of the kids and was like ummmm what are you doing here..(of course I did not say this to the child) so anyways. This said child was not supposed to be at care and by being there unannounced put me over my capacity. I tried to call parents several times with no luck. I finally got ahold of the grandmother who came to pick him up.
My point is that stuff is always going to come up and you will need to draw a line, so you will be adding revisioins to your parent handbook when you see it necessary......
I can share mine with you, however, I think mine is too long.....

Abigail 01-05-2011 05:35 PM

LVT, my handbook so far is 8 pages and I know I have not covered a couple of minor things that I will be working on in the next month or so here. I would love to see what you have, but might not get around to it yet since I'm still fine-tuning my contract.

lvt77 01-05-2011 05:42 PM

I would love to see yours too abigal if you dont mind....I am in the process of changing mine to but can email you my old one.....
Thanks so much let me know where to email it...

Abigail 01-05-2011 06:16 PM

LVT77-
I did send you an email on here for you on here, just not sure if you noticed you had incoming mail or knew how to use that feature. Since unregistered members can see this post, I will not post my email here. I took out my personal information from my current handbook and added the color blue to sections that need work and bolded in blue what I think is missing or wrong with the section. SO, if anyone else is interested in looking over 8 pages in a handbook, please let me know your email.

lvt77 01-05-2011 06:19 PM

yes I am new here I will look into it right now...sorry...and thanks for letting me know not to display my info....

JeepGirl6 01-06-2011 07:05 AM

I used the same contract for the first two years I have been doing my daycare. I have really revised the one that I have posted on here compared to the last one. My last one was 3 pages long, this one is 5. I have really learned a few things and needed to add policies because I have had issues with parents/children. I would also love to see both of your contracts. I will send you my email in a private message. Thank you both

Blackcat31 01-06-2011 07:11 AM

Originally Posted by lvt77:
im in the process of re-writing my parent handbook....contract is sperate to this....
One thing to think about....make sure that your allow for revisions as you see fit....I find myself making revisions all the time. I have to type up a letter stating I am adding a new policy. Type the letter and then make all parents read sign and return by a cut off date or their child can not return to care....Why do i do this....perfect example....last month I had a parent arrive at breakfast time with their child on an unscheduled day. I was in the bathroom washing hands and did not hear her come in (btw my door is usually always locked) She came in, dropped off her child with out talking to me and ran out the door. I came out of the bathroom with all of the kids and was like ummmm what are you doing here..(of course I did not say this to the child) so anyways. This said child was not supposed to be at care and by being there unannounced put me over my capacity. I tried to call parents several times with no luck. I finally got ahold of the grandmother who came to pick him up. My point is that stuff is always going to come up and you will need to draw a line, so you will be adding revisioins to your parent handbook when you see it necessary......
I can share mine with you, however, I think mine is too long.....

Seriously???? What happened afterwards? Did you talk with mom? I would have immediately termed for actions like that! WOW!! I am floored by that one! No way would I have put up with;
1.) drop off with no contact with me directly.
2.) Drop off on a non-scheduled day without prior approval and
3.)Not being able to contact her after she dropped off! What if it was an emergency?

What happened with the situation?

Sprouts 01-21-2011 06:17 PM

:DI am starting out and would love to see your handbook!


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:40 AM.