Mrs. Jen's Childcare

HANDBOOK:

HOURS OF OPERATION:

Monday- Thursday

7:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.

I will be closed on all statutory Holidays.

 

1)  WEEKLY FEES:

• I charge $50 a day if picking up by 4:30 or $55 a day if picking up between 4:30 pm and 5:15 pm. Days and times must be scheduled and contracted in advance.

• You are responsible for paying for contracted/scheduled days regardless if your child attends or not.  Weekly fees must be paid on the first day of the start of your childcare week.

• I do not charge for holidays, your vacation days or my vacation days. (These days must be planned and I must be informed at least 2 weeks ahead of time and must not be more than 5 days at a time and must not happen more than twice a year.)

•  All payments are due by the first day of care for the week ahead.

•  Payments further in advance are always accepted.

2) EARLY PICK-UP/LATE ARRIVAL

       Your child's late arrival or early pick up will not reduce your weekly rate.

Call Offs on your contracted day will not have a reduction

 

3)   ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES

• Children are to arrive clean and fed (unless arriving just before a mealtime).

• It is normal for some children to have difficulty separating from parents, or cry when being dropped off. Please be very brief (no more than a few minutes is sufficient) during drop-off times; the longer you prolong the departure the harder it gets. A smile, cheerful good-bye kiss, and a reassuring word that you will be back are all that is needed. In my experience, children are nearly always quick to get involved in play or activities as soon as parents are gone.

• Please be very brief at pick-up times also. This is a time of testing when two different authority figures are present (the parent and the provider), and all the children will test to see if the rules still apply.

 

4)   LATE PICK UP POLICY: Please advise me immediately if you will be arriving later than the pre-arranged time to pick up your child. It is the parents’ responsibility to ensure that children are picked up no later than 5:15p.m. If you are not able to pick up your child by 5:15 p.m. alternate arrangements must be made.

• A late fee of $1.00 per minute per child will apply if a child remains in care after 5:15 p.m. These fees are due with your following payment.

• Please notify me if an unauthorized person will be picking up your child. Verbal or written permission must be received before I will release a child to anyone who is not authorized on the emergency card.

•  In the event that a parent cannot be contacted it is my policy to call an emergency contact should a child remain in care after 6:00 p.m.

 

5)   PAYMENT POLICY:

•  Parents agree that all weekly fees will be paid by the day of week start. Drop-in fees are payable per occurrence. Unpaid fees are subject to immediate suspension or termination of care unless reasonable arrangements are made and accepted by both parties.

• Any payment that has not been made by Friday will have a $6.00 a day late fee per day (now including weekend days). Ex. If NOT paid on Friday you would add $6 plus for Saturday and $5 for Sunday and so on until your total payment is paid.

• Any parent who needs to temporary withdrawal their child for more than 1 week for any reason should come to me in advance to discuss holding spot option and fee’s or so that I know to advertise for an opening spot to replace your spot.

• I accept cash, checks, Venmo, and Zelle (just use my phone number).

• A fee of $60.00 will be charged for all NSF checks along with any fees I may get. Upon a second occurrence of an NSF check, all subsequent payments must be made in cash.

·        

NOTE: Unlike other forms of self-employment, family child care is very restrictive. There is no room for growth. The state dictates the size of my business. I cannot take time off for appointments or obligations without careful planning. To protect precious time with my family you will find extended time and late fees in my contract. Most people have a 40-hour work week. Mine is well over that, and that does not include my training, preparation, and bookkeeping, paperwork, shopping or cleaning time. I really DO NOT want the extra fees but it is unfair to have daycare families cutting into my already limited family time. I hope this gives you a better picture of the true cost of child care.

 

6)   ACTIVITIES & CURRICULUM: The main goal of this childcare is to have fun, improve social skills, and encourage creative expression. I will utilize a variety of activities to accomplish this goal. Free play, circle time, reading, arts and crafts, music/singing, dancing, dramatic play/pretend, puzzles, and educational TV/videos are just some of the activities we will be doing.

 

7)   VACATION: A minimum of two weeks' notice of my (UNPAID) vacation days will be provided when possible to enable parents to find alternate care during that time. The parent is responsible for finding back up care. I may be able to help find alternate care with another in home daycare provider if need be. I will always inform all parents as soon as I know I need a day and will create a yearly calendar of all my vacation days and holidays off for the whole year but keep in mind that there may be days added with at least a two week notice.

 

8)   EMERGENCY DAYS OFF: In the case of an emergency ex…death in family, extreme illness or accident I may need to close the daycare; parents will be notified as soon as possible and parents are responsible for having a backup plan in the case of such an event.

 

9)   EMERGENCY/SUB PROVIDER: In the case that I may need to leave the house for a short time, Aaron Seal (my husband) will be the sub provider. If I ever decide to use a sub/emergency provider you will be given a notification of who it is before I use them unless there is a serious emergency.