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Shylos13 06:58 AM 05-10-2016
I have my normal contract for full time children and hourly care children. However, a parent approached me about caring for their child when the parent deploys for over half of the year with the military. What kinds of statements would you put in the contract? We live in a decent income area, and I don't want to gouge the parent. I am thinking $100 on top of the $90 they pay a week, is that reasonable? During the time away, the parent will not be paying any housing expenses, because all belongings are going into storage. I am assuming it will be doable, since the parent will be saving upwards of $1,500 a month on rent and utilities.

So far, ideas for the contract that I have thought of are:
-Parent pays for haircuts
-Parent pays for clothes and shoes
-Parent pays for school supplies
-Parent pays for school meals
-Copy of court orders (because this child has them)
-Power of Attorney
-If something happens to the parent, what happens with the child.

I look forward to all of your wonderful opinions!
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Cat Herder 07:13 AM 05-10-2016
I am concerned about the other parent. Are they on board with this?

Grandparents?

Oh, original question: I charge twice my daily rates per overnight.
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Thriftylady 07:26 AM 05-10-2016
I would contact a lawyer before proceeding. For one thing, you may need some kind of custody or legal guardian papers. I would also check with licensing, I know in some states they consider anything over 23 hours a day more than child care, something else. Also when I was in KS, I couldn't provide care more than 18 hours a day and was not allowed to sleep when daycare kiddos were on premises. All these are questions you need to know the answers to before proceeding. And if I was going to do it, It would cost more than what you are thinking of charging. Months without a day off? Think it over carefully.
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Controlled Chaos 07:36 AM 05-10-2016
Questions
*Is there an emergency back up? What if your family has an emergency of some kind?
*Can you leave DCK with a babysitter? You will need a break.
*Holidays - which ones will fall during this time. Expectations and a pre planned stipend.
*Doctor and Dentist appointments - providers, co pay and permission to treat etc.
*Religion - do you go to church? Can DCK go too?
*Pay - I would charge MUCH more. This is a HUGE commitment.
*Correspondence - is there an expectation of phone calls, letter, pictures sent ect.
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Shylos13 07:37 AM 05-10-2016
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
I am concerned about the other parent. Are they on board with this?

Grandparents?

Oh, original question: I charge twice my daily rates per overnight.
Other parent does not get a say, hence the court papers. There is no family in the continental US. I cannot charge twice my daily rate for over half a year, nobody would be able to afford that!
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Shylos13 07:41 AM 05-10-2016
Originally Posted by Thriftylady:
I would contact a lawyer before proceeding. For one thing, you may need some kind of custody or legal guardian papers. I would also check with licensing, I know in some states they consider anything over 23 hours a day more than child care, something else. Also when I was in KS, I couldn't provide care more than 18 hours a day and was not allowed to sleep when daycare kiddos were on premises. All these are questions you need to know the answers to before proceeding. And if I was going to do it, It would cost more than what you are thinking of charging. Months without a day off? Think it over carefully.
I have spoken to a daycare lawyer, and there is nothing legally wrong with me caring for the child. I would have parentis loco, for the time the child is away. I currently do overnight care, so I am used to having children around the clock, and I am allowed to sleep, when it is during the night. I have been caring for this child and another one since December with only a handful of days "off." That does not bother me. I have permission to transport, so if my children or I have an activity or something going on, the daycare children go along with us.

I am just trying to think of everything to put into a contract to protect the parent and myself.
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Shylos13 07:46 AM 05-10-2016
Originally Posted by Controlled Chaos:
Questions
*Is there an emergency back up? What if your family has an emergency of some kind?
*Can you leave DCK with a babysitter? You will need a break.
*Holidays - which ones will fall during this time. Expectations and a pre planned stipend.
*Doctor and Dentist appointments - providers, co pay and permission to treat etc.
*Religion - do you go to church? Can DCK go too?
*Pay - I would charge MUCH more. This is a HUGE commitment.
*Correspondence - is there an expectation of phone calls, letter, pictures sent ect.
Great points! There are other providers if I need to go to the doctor or what not. Holidays, I forgot about that. The child will be here for his birthday and Christmas, at the very least. Recently, when I have cared for the child, I email the parent every other day, if not ever day to let them know how the child is doing. I did that when my husband was deployed and just think it keeps the parent in the loop, so to speak. It is military insurance, so there are no fees associated with doctor or pharmacy. My family does not believe in organized religion, so we do not attend church, so no issue there either. I have been caring for the child for about a year now, and the parent feels secure in leaving the child here, and I feel confident in caring for the child. How much do you think you would charge?
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mommyneedsadayoff 07:50 AM 05-10-2016
Originally Posted by Shylos13:
Other parent does not get a say, hence the court papers. There is no family in the continental US. I cannot charge twice my daily rate for over half a year, nobody would be able to afford that!
I am a bit confused. There is only one legal parent and the military is going to deploy them for over half a year? I don't know much about the military, but that doesn't seem right to me. What if the mom didn't have you as an accessible person to keep her child? Where would the child go then? Did she have a choice to go? I know it sounds super expensive to double your rate, but you are going to be caring for a child every day, round the clock for 6 months! I wouldn't even know where to begin on putting a price on that kind of time. I wish I had more to offer, but I would think that mom should be getting some sort of assistance to care for her child, since they are making her leave her child with a non-relative for almost half a year!
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Shylos13 08:02 AM 05-10-2016
If I were not accommodating to the parent, then the parent would have to separate from the military. I would hate to see that happen, especially when they are half way to retirement. The economy is not super great, and to find comparable and reliable employment is not necessarily an easy task. In total from the parent and the military, I would be earning $345 a week for a school age child, if I charged an extra $100 a week. The parent is required to deploy with their command, since they are on sea duty. I guess my downfall (I honestly do not see it as a downfall) is that I try to put myself in the other person's shoes. I do have three children of my own, and a husband of almost 17 years. What's one more...lol
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Cat Herder 08:17 AM 05-10-2016
Sad for the other parent and the child. Children have a right to both parents. I pray this is not a wicked game of keep away, but that is not my business. Hopefully you know the truth.

But: I have taken guardianship before. Basically the pay worked like child support except I had no legal recourse if they did not pay up. I also had no legal recourse if they failed to show back up other than allowing child services to remove the child from my custody. It was scary but I would do it again. In my case the parent did not come back, but the family did.

If you can afford to do everything for $800 month, I would recommend going to a lawyer to have papers drawn up. I know as a foster mom I only got $450 a month, it can be done. It is less business, more paying it forward. If you have that mindset, go for it.

I am not sure of military specifics anymore, but you will need guardianship to make medical decisions in the parents absence. You will be responsible for all medical bills legally, even with those papers, so be sure the parent is someone you trust.
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Leigh 08:22 AM 05-10-2016
Originally Posted by Shylos13:
Other parent does not get a say, hence the court papers. There is no family in the continental US. I cannot charge twice my daily rate for over half a year, nobody would be able to afford that!
What other option do they have? You should be getting enough to fully support the child. Extra utilities, toys, diapers?, babysitters, clothing, shoes, medical copays, etc. I wouldn't do this for less than $1500 a month, and even then, is it REALLY worth it? Child support for a child runs about $750-that's supposed to provide HALF of the kid's support. I can tell you that as a foster parent, the $530 a month that I get for reimbursement does NOT cover caring for these kids (who get FREE medical, daycare, dental, etc.). Even if the parent were to reimburse you, you'll likely have some big out of pocket expenses.
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mommyneedsadayoff 08:28 AM 05-10-2016
Originally Posted by Shylos13:
If I were not accommodating to the parent, then the parent would have to separate from the military. I would hate to see that happen, especially when they are half way to retirement. The economy is not super great, and to find comparable and reliable employment is not necessarily an easy task. In total from the parent and the military, I would be earning $345 a week for a school age child, if I charged an extra $100 a week. The parent is required to deploy with their command, since they are on sea duty. I guess my downfall (I honestly do not see it as a downfall) is that I try to put myself in the other person's shoes. I do have three children of my own, and a husband of almost 17 years. What's one more...lol
That is so sweet of you to be so helpful! I would charge what you think will make it worth it for you. For me, it would probably be closer to $500 a week (I probably would do it all ), but you should do whatever is best for you. Not having their mom around for such a long period, especially with no other parent around, could lead to a difficult couple of months as the child adjusts to their parent being gone.

On top of your pay, I think it would be best to set a monthly "allowance" for all those extras(haircuts, shoes, bday gifts, ect) and stick to that budget. The kid is being away from their parent, so it is basically money that should go to their care, sort of like a trust fund would dole out if the parent died and you were taking the child in. I would also most definietly make sure you have the ability to get medical care and power of attorney papers so you have rights to make big decisions if necessary. Make sure everything is laid out very carefully and make sure you are being prepaid each month through a direct deposit, so you are not waiting on money to come in. Best of luck to you! Keep us updated!
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Mike 05:41 PM 05-10-2016
Definitely see a lawyer to make sure all bases are covered. As for charge, my opinion would be to charge whatever you feel makes it worth your while. I like how you have "parent pays for (extras)". It saves you from having to make sure everything is covered. I know if a case like this came up for me, I'd be thinking like you, not wanting to take all their money, but make sure I charge enough to make it worthwhile. I'd probably charge about $250/week with the parent covering anything that's not normally covered in daycare.
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Controlled Chaos 07:52 PM 05-10-2016
I normally charge $650 a month, I would probably charge $1000 a month for this situation. I would do it if I really enjoyed the child and parent was super awesome. Make sure parent can easily transfer you money with little notice if need be. I would charge this month to make it worth it for me and because that is close to what mot families pay in rent around here, so if the family doesn't have rent then they should be able to pay that in 24/7 childcare.
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Blackcat31 06:24 AM 05-11-2016
In many states once a child attends for MORE than 24 continuous hours, the child is no longer considered a child care child and is more or less under the guardianship of the provider.

Since you will have this child for more than 24 continuous hours I would not treat this as a child care or business transaction and would instead treat it like a temporary custodial situation....including documentation and a legal agreement from an ATTORNEY that clearly outlines BOTH yours and the parent's responsibilities and intentions.

The "good" part that I can see is that the child may not count in your ratios/capacity (??) since they will be considered a resident of the home

"When at least one child receives care for compensation, all children, exclusive of the provider's own children and children who reside in the home, who are in the care and supervision of a provider, count in the licensed capacity."

Interpretation § 40 B: The home‘s hours of operation or business hours are on the provider‘s application for licensure and listed on the department‘s public website.

Anytime the provider cares for at least one child for compensation (whether during the stated business hours or not), all children except the provider‘s own children and children who reside in the home are considered to be receiving care.

If six or more children (except the provider‘s own children and children who reside in the home) are receiving care outside the home‘s business hours, the home is subject to the requirements of these standards.

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Shylos13 06:52 AM 05-11-2016
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
In many states once a child attends for MORE than 24 continuous hours, the child is no longer considered a child care child and is more or less under the guardianship of the provider.

Since you will have this child for more than 24 continuous hours I would not treat this as a child care or business transaction and would instead treat it like a temporary custodial situation....including documentation and a legal agreement from an ATTORNEY that clearly outlines BOTH yours and the parent's responsibilities and intentions.

The "good" part that I can see is that the child may not count in your ratios/capacity (??) since they will be considered a resident of the home

"When at least one child receives care for compensation, all children, exclusive of the provider's own children and children who reside in the home, who are in the care and supervision of a provider, count in the licensed capacity."

Interpretation § 40 B: The home‘s hours of operation or business hours are on the provider‘s application for licensure and listed on the department‘s public website.

Anytime the provider cares for at least one child for compensation (whether during the stated business hours or not), all children except the provider‘s own children and children who reside in the home are considered to be receiving care.

If six or more children (except the provider‘s own children and children who reside in the home) are receiving care outside the home‘s business hours, the home is subject to the requirements of these standards.
Thank you for your concern, but that does not apply to me in this situation. In our policy book, I cannot get penalized, nor can the parent when it is mission essential. I am providing a much needed service to one of our service members, and should be compensated. I am not looking to get rich, just earn a little extra for taking on the responsibility.
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Blackcat31 09:59 AM 05-11-2016
Originally Posted by Shylos13:
Thank you for your concern, but that does not apply to me in this situation. In our policy book, I cannot get penalized, nor can the parent when it is mission essential. I am providing a much needed service to one of our service members, and should be compensated. I am not looking to get rich, just earn a little extra for taking on the responsibility.
Okay now I am confused... Nothing I stated was about being penalized for anything..

Aren't you in Virginia? If so, what I posted is a state licensing rule so I posted it as an FYI and a positive that if you assume legal guardianship when the parent is deployed you wont have to count him in your ratios/capacity.

Also the state licensing regulations state a child in care more than 24 hours is a "resident" so just another piece of info I came across when reading.

If you are a military provider that serve military families on base etc...then none of that may apply but you didnt say that so it was not immediately known.

However.... I think you are doing an extremely generous thing and should be commended for it....I (and others) are simply concerned about you possibly being taken advantage of or given the short end of the stick.
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Shylos13 07:48 AM 05-24-2016
I asked the parent what he thought would be a fair price for, what I called, child support. He gave me a number, and when I added the normal pay, plus what he offered, I thought it was fair at $1420 until school begins in the fall, and then $1280 once school begins.

Thank you for all of your feedback!
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Controlled Chaos 08:13 AM 05-24-2016
Originally Posted by Shylos13:
I asked the parent what he thought would be a fair price for, what I called, child support. He gave me a number, and when I added the normal pay, plus what he offered, I thought it was fair at $1420 until school begins in the fall, and then $1280 once school begins.

Thank you for all of your feedback!
I am glad you worked out a price that works for you
Hope it goes well.
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Tags:contract, contract - long term, contracts, deployment, guardianship, military
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