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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Parents on Daycare Assistance
PAMommy1228 11:46 AM 09-23-2010
How do you handle them? Like ones that cannot afford daycare, but they are going to apply for the program?

I've had too many problems with parents that are receiving these benefits. One parent came to me last year with 2 kids and said she was living in a homeless shelter because she left her husband and needed help. She was applying for the program. We filled out the paperwork and she said she would send it in. (big mistake). One day she never showed up again leaving a huge bill that I still need to go after her for. I called daycare assistance and they said that they never recieved paperwork, but someone was getting the money.


Another parent applied stayed in my care, she had been there for a year and 1/2 starting having difficulties paying, but when she got it, they didn't pay as much as she thought, so she still has an outstanding bill that she is supposed to be paying off. At least I am getting the current at the moment.

This last parent, applied as well. Told me she got approved for 52 hours, etc. So I have been waiting for about a week for the approval notice and my invoice for August. Finally I called just to make sure they had an agreement on file. It took them a second, but come to find out about a week ago she got denied because she makes too much. So now I got to figure out how to get 500 from her, when she can't even pay her light bill.


How do you handle these type of people? Do they have to pay a deposit, or a weekly fee? If they pay too much do you reimburse them?
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safechner 11:57 AM 09-23-2010
I am sorry what you are going through with those parents.

Number 1# Taking her to court..


Number 3# Tell her don't bring her child in your daycare until she paid in full.

You would need for them to pay you in advance from go on so you won't have to get through trouble with them if they are falling behind to pay you.

I wouldn't take child/ren in my home if they are on assistant program because it is too much trouble.. It isn't worth your time..
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marniewon 12:15 PM 09-23-2010
Many providers in my area will not take state-paid families because of all the issues and problems associated with it. When my kids were little and I was a single mom, I got assistance for daycare, and I was so grateful to my kids' providers for taking state-paid and for not charging me any more than what the state paid. But our rules have changed since then and it's a lot harder to actually get paid.

I don't have any state-paid right now, but I state that I will only take state-paid with proof of acceptance in the program before signing the contract. And then I would probably have them pay a portion of their care until the state payment starts coming.
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PAMommy1228 12:42 PM 09-23-2010
Originally Posted by safechner:
I am sorry what you are going through with those parents.

Number 1# Taking her to court..


Number 3# Tell her don't bring her child in your daycare until she paid in full.

You would need for them to pay you in advance from go on so you won't have to get through trouble with them if they are falling behind to pay you.

I wouldn't take child/ren in my home if they are on assistant program because it is too much trouble.. It isn't worth your time..

I have to find #1 first. She took off and the address she gave me was her work address.


Now I was under the impression that I am not allowed to deny if they are state aid., but I suppose I should. unless they have proof. Times are hard and at this point all I could get were these people. Now I got people calling me all the time. Go figure lol

Thanks for the help! I just wanted to see what other people did!
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MarinaVanessa 01:04 PM 09-23-2010
I accept families on subsidy (none at the moment however) and yes it can be tricky. The best way to go is to have them pay the weekly rate in advance AND a deposit of two-weeks if you do not have the acceptance letter in your hand beforehand (which you rarely do). If they can't come up with this, I don't accept them. Some parent's are bad with their paperwork and keeping their appintments and if they don't keep them up they can lose their benefits so this is just a safeguard.

If they pay in advance and then get approved for subsidy in the entire amount I deposit the subsidy check, wait for it to clear and then write them a check in return for reimbursement. If they get approved but not for the whole amount and they end up having to pay a co-payment each month then I do not give a refund, I give a credit (I also state this in my contract). I give them a receipt for what they pay of course and when their subsidy check comes in I give another receipt with the credit and the co-payments come out of this until their credit is all done. I don't see the point of giving the money back if they are just going to turn around and give it to me later. It also gives them a chance to not have to worry about paying a co-payment for quite a few months and get an idea as to how much they have to pay each month. At the end of each month when I get the letter from subsidy as to how much the family owes I write a new receipt with their new new credit balance and then fill out my worksheet and sign the paperwork that says that I've been paid and return it to the subsidy office.

Just in case you get a family that doesn't get approved for the full amount, make sure that your contract states that the parent(s) is/are responsible for paying whatever is not covered and that these fee's need to be paid immediately (you should get a letter at the same time that she does) or their child cannot come to daycare and payment for those days missed will still be owed. Usually the state does not cover unexcused absent days so this will also come out of their pocket so it's in their best interest to pay their share on time.
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PAMommy1228 02:04 PM 09-23-2010
Originally Posted by MarinaVanessa:
I accept families on subsidy (none at the moment however) and yes it can be tricky. The best way to go is to have them pay the weekly rate in advance AND a deposit of two-weeks if you do not have the acceptance letter in your hand beforehand (which you rarely do). If they can't come up with this, I don't accept them. Some parent's are bad with their paperwork and keeping their appintments and if they don't keep them up they can lose their benefits so this is just a safeguard.

If they pay in advance and then get approved for subsidy in the entire amount I deposit the subsidy check, wait for it to clear and then write them a check in return for reimbursement. If they get approved but not for the whole amount and they end up having to pay a co-payment each month then I do not give a refund, I give a credit (I also state this in my contract). I give them a receipt for what they pay of course and when their subsidy check comes in I give another receipt with the credit and the co-payments come out of this until their credit is all done. I don't see the point of giving the money back if they are just going to turn around and give it to me later. It also gives them a chance to not have to worry about paying a co-payment for quite a few months and get an idea as to how much they have to pay each month. At the end of each month when I get the letter from subsidy as to how much the family owes I write a new receipt with their new new credit balance and then fill out my worksheet and sign the paperwork that says that I've been paid and return it to the subsidy office.

Just in case you get a family that doesn't get approved for the full amount, make sure that your contract states that the parent(s) is/are responsible for paying whatever is not covered and that these fee's need to be paid immediately (you should get a letter at the same time that she does) or their child cannot come to daycare and payment for those days missed will still be owed. Usually the state does not cover unexcused absent days so this will also come out of their pocket so it's in their best interest to pay their share on time.
Thanks Thanks Thanks! This is exactly what I am looking for, and sounds like a good idea. I don't mind the state assistance because I like the big check around mortgage payment time LOL. It's just the tricky other stuff. But once I start getting it, it just works.
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Former Teacher 03:33 PM 09-23-2010
I have my own personal beliefs on the whole welfare system however my thoughts and opinions have no place on a daycare site. So I will keep my thoughts to myself

That being said I will tell you some of the problems my former center had with state assistance. Now with home centers it might be different. I am in TX so there again it might be different.

*We were NEVER paid on time. We would get September's payment in November. If we were lucky. Sometimes it was later.
*They always paid us below our daily rate.
*They never paid us for holidays UNLESS it was a FEDERAL holiday. The day after Thanksgiving we were not paid even though we were closed. Likewise with Christmas Eve.
*Paperwork was just a bunch of BS
*We are not allowed to charge late fees. Whether it be late pick up fee, or late co payment fee. No late fees AT ALL.
*We were not allowed to charge for field trips. We did anyway because as I have said in previous posts that during the summer is where the center would make a profit. They parents paid of course. NONE of them in all my years there (17!) EVER questioned it. They apparently don't read what they sign.

I can go on and on and on. We eventually started to weed out all the state children because of all the hassle from the state as well as the parents. The disrespect and the rudeness from these parents...opps sorry I am going off track

Anyway, as I have said maybe its different for you. It sounds like it is working out for you. I wish you the best!
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professionalmom 09:03 PM 09-23-2010
The only people I have ever had to take to court (4 families) were all subsidy recipients.

Would I ever take subsidy again? Not unless I had to in order to feed my family.

The parents were the problem. DHS paid on time (IF the parents reported their hours on time). But the parents seemed to have difficulty understanding that they were responsible for the difference, or they thought the difference was too much, got upset when they had to pay for no-call no-shows or non-sick absences, etc. Then they wouldn't pay the co-pays on time. They would pick up late (creating a fee that DHS did not pay and parents didn't want to pay). The list goes on and on. I had to practically beg them for their measly co-pay and they acted like I was cutting off their right arm and extorting money from them (even after lengthy discussions about co-pays and such BEFORE they enrolled).

Private pay clients paid on time, every week, and never complained about charges, fees, or the quality of care I gave their children. Basically the subsidy clients were DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA, but the private pays were drama-free.
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kay 01:23 PM 12-09-2010
my problem is awhile back i recieved an approval letter for a family.. the social worker herself called me and told me the family was approved for care immediately and that i should start taking the child immediately and now dhs is refusing payment because they say the family didnt put a two weeks notice in... now i know the lady is entitled to her two week notice, but regarding i should never have recieved an approval from the county....now im stuck late on rent with no way to get money..
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mac60 07:32 AM 12-10-2010
We call this the "Entitlement Syndrome".
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sahm2three 07:58 AM 12-10-2010
I have families on assistance. Until they are accepted and you get an award letter, I ALWAYS charge the families the fees. If the state will go back and back pay, I charge the state and then reimburse the family. I want to help people out too, but not going to take money from my pocket to do it.
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Blackcat31 08:15 AM 12-10-2010
I actually LOVE the families on assistnace because I have a few simple rules for the familes receiving the assistance:

1. NO care until I have the actual contract agreement from the state IN HAND. (no exceptions)

2. ALL co-pays, late fees, and additional cost are to be PRE-PAID. No exceptions. No care the next day if you have a balance owed to me.

3. Anything the state does not cover is the parents problem to pay...they sign this agreement. If you have money due...you pay it up front or there is no care.

This works because where I live the assistance program works like this:

1. Parents get a pre-determined amount of hours per week so I know how many hours are covered by asistance.
2. The program pays a full day rate for any attendance over 5.5 hours per day.
3. Our billing vouchers are for two weeks at a time and turned in on Fridays and we are paid via direct deposit the following Tuesday at midnight.
4. If a parent lies or doesn't do whatever their personal contract says they need to do it is their problem NOT mine. Meaning I am paid for whatever I bill the state and if the state sees a problem with it or doesn't like what the parent did or the schedule parent set up the state goes after the parent for reimbursement NEVER me. I am not required to know where the parent goes or what they do..I don't have to even ask. I only have to record the number of hours or days the parent SCHEDULED with me, NOT the actual hours they were in attendance. The state also pays for the 10 federal holidays (IF I bill all families for them) and the state pays for 10 absent days per contracted period which is 6 months.
5. Also if a family up and quits and I get no 2-week notice, the state covers it.
6. If a family does leave owing me money...I call their worker and the family is not allowed to get assistance anywhere else until I am paid in full first.

This program has only worked this way for the last 3 years...before the state did a major overhaul of the program I had the same issues as everyone else and hated families on assistance because I was the only one who got the short end of the stick.
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sweetnini 05:08 AM 02-17-2011
Do you a sample agreement that your parent sign that I can have a copy? we have similar problems at our center; we often learn parent with subsidy after enrollment, and subsidy payment often one month late, and we bill one month in advance and you see the problem. Do you any suggestion for a better way to handle this sticky problem. since we are run by college, we often told not too harsh when try to collection money from parents(customer service) and yet I am one who being held responsible when receivables are too high. I welcome any help on agreement, past due letter and better to handle past due parents, thank you.
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Unregistered 06:36 AM 02-17-2011
Redleafpress.com has a Family Child Care Cd with all the professional forms you need for this issue (and many others). Including a pre pay of two weeks care, and an agreement for subsiddy payments. I bought it two years ago and love it. I don't think it is legal for me to paste the forms on here since you have to pay for the cd. I believe it was around $20.

Also, I take assistance clients and bill them for the remainder of what is due from whatever the state shorted me on. I figure you get some benefits of having them here- like getting paid a full day for 5.5 hours-. Luckly in our area we can talk to our assistance people whenever we want to get answers about hours, pmts, agreements, etc. I stand firm on the pay ahead- no copay- no daycare- I have never had an issue.
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momatheart 06:59 AM 02-17-2011
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I actually LOVE the families on assistnace because I have a few simple rules for the familes receiving the assistance:

1. NO care until I have the actual contract agreement from the state IN HAND. (no exceptions)

2. ALL co-pays, late fees, and additional cost are to be PRE-PAID. No exceptions. No care the next day if you have a balance owed to me.

3. Anything the state does not cover is the parents problem to pay...they sign this agreement. If you have money due...you pay it up front or there is no care.

This works because where I live the assistance program works like this:

1. Parents get a pre-determined amount of hours per week so I know how many hours are covered by asistance.
2. The program pays a full day rate for any attendance over 5.5 hours per day.
3. Our billing vouchers are for two weeks at a time and turned in on Fridays and we are paid via direct deposit the following Tuesday at midnight.
4. If a parent lies or doesn't do whatever their personal contract says they need to do it is their problem NOT mine. Meaning I am paid for whatever I bill the state and if the state sees a problem with it or doesn't like what the parent did or the schedule parent set up the state goes after the parent for reimbursement NEVER me. I am not required to know where the parent goes or what they do..I don't have to even ask. I only have to record the number of hours or days the parent SCHEDULED with me, NOT the actual hours they were in attendance. The state also pays for the 10 federal holidays (IF I bill all families for them) and the state pays for 10 absent days per contracted period which is 6 months.
5. Also if a family up and quits and I get no 2-week notice, the state covers it.
6. If a family does leave owing me money...I call their worker and the family is not allowed to get assistance anywhere else until I am paid in full first.

This program has only worked this way for the last 3 years...before the state did a major overhaul of the program I had the same issues as everyone else and hated families on assistance because I was the only one who got the short end of the stick.
THIS is exactly what I was going to say regarding payments.
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Unregistered 07:41 AM 02-17-2011
I have had 2 subsidy families, both times everything went fine. Here in Nevada they have to turn in a pile of paper work at there appt to get approved, then they send out the certificate saying how many hours they were approved for. I kept the sign in and out sheet here with me and they signed in and out every day, signed the bottom and I mailed it off every month. The biggest problem that I saw was that the checks take a month to kick in when you first start a child, but then I got paid every month. Our agency was really good about paying us on time. (lucky I guess)
The need for susidy is far less common where I live than other parts of town. I would take a subsidy family again.
I think families dont understand that they are responcible for what ever the subsidy doesnt cover. They automatically think that they will be 100% covered. I had one mom who way over paid me (waiting for the subsidy to kick in) and I just treated it as a credit and let her use it up. I think subsidy is hard to come by these days, our agency has a waiting list now. The two familes I have had were treated no diffrently than my other familes. (I know thats not always the case).
Im so sorry that you have had such bad experiences with subsidy.
Debbie
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3girls 05:39 PM 05-01-2012
In my state if you have even one subsidy family you have to maintain a sign in/out sheet and every parent has to sign in and out every day. I just don't want that hassle I keep my own attendance sheet where I check off whether the child was there that day or not.
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christinaskids 08:18 AM 05-02-2012
I havent had too many problems with state pay. I have had a few people start their kids saying they get dc assistance and come for two weeks and bail out on payday. Not anymore. I let everyone clearly know that they are private pay until i get an approval letter and i can pay them back if i was overpaid. I havent had a problem since. All of my state pay clients were single moms just struggling to survive and were very appreciative of having someone that they could depend on.
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Meeko 08:53 AM 05-02-2012
In Utah, they warn us to get funds up front. If a parent comes to me and says they are state, I fill out the paperwork for them to turn in, but not a second of care is given unless they pay up front (I reimburse if necessary after the state pays) or they wait until the state puts the fund on their card.

A few years ago, we were warned of a scam, where moms would go to the welfare office and pick up the child care forms that were just on a table. They weren't even eligible for funds, but would take the form to various providers and find one gullible enough to assume the funds were coming. they would then disappear when the provider would start getting concerned that funds were taking too long to be issued. The moms weren't even turning the forms in. They knew they could possibly get a few weeks of care for free before moving on.

So my rule applies to state parents as well as self-pay parents. Not one single second of care without payment in advance.

Now once ON assistance...getting paid is a breeze. Just transfer funds from their welfare card directly to my bank account...easy peasy. And a web site so we can check the money is going to be there on the first. We can even get the parents to add us to their "My Case" account and we can then see if they have turned all the necessary paperwork in. No more excuses and blaming it on their case worker!!
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