Great discussion. I was pondering the specific issue of what is done with children who clearly have behavioral issues, and whether there is a clear divide between how this is handled in a center vs home daycare. It could also apply to developmental issues, I suppose.
I started thinking about this after reading many posts about terminating for behavior problems, and it seemed to me that most home providers said they would terminate, while most center caregivers said their center would not terminate. Obviously not a scientific sampling !
In my home daycare, I have never terminated for behavior, but have made many referrals for testing, so that the children and families can get the help they need. Sometimes that means the child ends up leaving for an environment that offers specialized help, but more often they stay and receive special services at home, here, or at another site.
A few years back, I talked with one of my families about seeking help for their almost-3-year-old.
They did have him evaluated, but then got angry with me (possibly misplaced anger ?) and left my daycare. They enrolled him in a center/preschool and I figured that was for the best, because I assumed at that time that a center would have more resources/connections and that he would certainly get the help he needed. I think I figured the center would force the issue, actually, though I have learned since then, that any child care can only suggest evaluating, receiving help, etc. The parent totally has the right to refuse (although I believe I would be within my rights to terminate if I could not deal with the issues.)
So, this child ended up receiving NO help until he went to kindergarten, almost 3 years later. His center never even asked for an evaluation. On the first day of school, it reportedly took six people to get him in the building (several of my former kids went there, and parents remembered him) and he has since been diagnosed with several issues, including an eating disorder that I saw no sign of while he was here.
Anyway, all of that was stewing in my mind, and prompted the original question, above. (I am the unregistered OP, but not the other unregistered commenters.)

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