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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Frustrated! Please help!
LittleStepps 04:47 PM 03-10-2011
So I have a dilemma. I am a fairly new provider, not yet licensed, only Trustlined in CA and am watching my 3.5 year old nephew.

I began watching my nephew 1 month ago and am finding that I made several mistakes with this situation from the get go. Let's list em, shall we?

1. I did not write out a contract.

2. I set my rate WAY too low.

So these mistakes pretty much umbrella my whole issue, let me explain why.

1. Because I didn't write out a contract, there is no set time that my SIL (sister in law) and her fiancee have to come and get my nephew. They usually come and get him at 5:15. My nephew and his Dad are on subsidy child care (my SIL is not a part of it, as she is Ian's step-mom and again, they're not married yet). According to the subsidy paperwork, my nephew is in my care from 7:00 am - 6:00 pm, but he rarely stays that late. However, they have been late THREE TIMES in this last week and it's driving me nuts. Since I didn't write a contract, I don't get paid a late fee and I am NOT getting paid enough to watch him any longer than I do. This is where problem 2 comes in.

2. My rate is very low...I only charge my SIL and her fiancee $400 a month to watch my nephew 50 hrs a week. The reason I do this is because I felt bad for them and wanted to cut them some slack on childcare, so made my rates such that the subsidy would cover everything and they would not have to pay out of pocket. I was doing them a favor, right? BIG MISTAKE! They're taking advantage of me by showing up late, my nephew is a good kid but can be a very difficult child (he was kicked out of his last school), and my daughter is learning bad behavior from him. LOTS of it. I knew this would happen, but for $400 a month? Ick.


So my reason for this rant...I need to write out a contract and raise my rates but have a few questions:

1. Am I allowed to write out a contract even though I'm not licensed? I'm located in California, not sure of the rules so if someone knows, please help!

2. If I raise my rates, how much should I do it? My nephew is 3.5 years old, potty trained, etc. They want me to feed him and do pre-school (along with making sure he survives the day? yeesh.) and he is here at least 40-50 hours a week. Like I said, my current rate is $400 a month since he is full-time. Any suggestions on rates?

3. Can anyone send me their contracts so that I can get a good idea of what I should be saying? I am no good at this, have not gone through the licensing process, and need to get this done NOW before I go nuts.


THANK YOU so much in advance for the help, everyone!!!!
Reply
Michael 05:08 PM 03-10-2011
Welce to the forum. I upgraded your status.

If it's just 1 child that is a relative I do t think you need a license in CA. To be sure check your state's licensing standards www.Daycare.com/california

Here are some threads regarding contracts: www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=contract
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daycare 05:21 PM 03-10-2011
I am also in CA.... you dont need a license to watch one familys child in CA. one family can have 4 kids, but it must be only 1 family
do you plan to open a daycare any time soon? can you private message me and i will send you my contract and PHB
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Crystal 06:24 PM 03-10-2011
Congrats on being Trustlined! That's a good thing!

You can certainly have a contract with them, and most definitely should.

I am in California also. If you need help with moving forward with licensing, shoot me an PM and I'll gladly help you out. You are welcome to my contract and handbook. You can use it as a Trustlined Provider.

Welcome to the forum
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SFMamaTeacherC 09:27 PM 03-10-2011
I'm in CA too. Yes, you don't need the license to watch 1 family's children. You can have a contract and take some of the tax deductions since you are license exempt. I charge $350 a week for full time care of 2+ yr olds, so yes your rates are really really low. Just go ahead and make a contract stating what you want and need, tell the parents that if they would like to continue they need to sign and pay accordingly. If they don't like it, they can go elsewhere and you can find another child to watch. Good luck!
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LittleStepps 06:15 AM 03-11-2011
Thank you so much everyone for the great responses!

I am currently in the licensing process, just taking it veeeerrrry slowly as my nephew is my guinea pig of sorts **evil laugh**

I feel that I'm definitely just going to have to suck it up and contract them. They were late AGAIN yesterday.

Thanks again for all of the help!
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