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By
Catherine M. Pruissen
Welcome
to the first special of our "Getting to know
you..." series. Throughout the next few weeks
we'll introduce you to the many child care agencies,
organizations and related services who can help you
with your child care needs and concerns.
The
fact is, there are many services available to asssit
parents, caregivers and employers. Most are as close
as your computer or your telephone.
CHILD
CARE AGENCIES
Child
Care Agencies
Can parents avoid high caregiver turnover? It's unlikely.
But by enlisting the services of a child care agency
they can lessen the chances of having to search for
a new caregiver often. In the least they'll have a
whole network of support personnel to help them out
when the time does come.
Finding,
and for that matter keeping quality child care, is
not always easy. Considering that daycare has one
of the highest turnover rates of any profession, it
is easy to see why hanging on to a quality caregiver
is so difficult.
Child
care agencies can be found in urban and rural areas.
The services they offer vary. . Where one agency operates
a network of family daycare homes, another offers
everything from group care to family day home care,
and from emergency care to help for children with
special needs (multi-service agencies). And, there
are nanny services, granny services and (wince) babysitting
agencies.
For
the most part these agencies assist parents in identifying
their child care needs and work to match them with
a caregiver or centre. In addition, the agency handles
the financial arrangements, recruiting, training,
and monitoring of caregivers. Many work with government
offices on subsidy programs for parents who are struggling
financially.
Depending
on the agency there may be a small to substantial
initial processing or service fee. Parents should
ask the agency about their fees when they call for
information. While on the phone parents should also
inquire about:
- waiting
lists
- backup
care, and
- the
agency's policy if things do not work out (i.e.,
will they replace the caregiver or find other suitable
care for their child).
Parents
would be wise, as well, to ask for three or more agency
references and, before they go any further, do a complete
check on the agency. A quick call to the Better Business
Bureau, local and or state/provincial licensing offices
and Child Care Resource and Referral Agency to inquire
about the agency is usually all it takes.
While
most agencies are a welcome resource for parents,
some have been known to do little more than headhunt
for providers. Background and reference checks are
seldom performed. Again, this is not always the case,
but as with any type of child care parents choose,
checking references is a must.
Family
Daycare Agencies
Family
daycare agencies take care of all the time-consuming
work parents must do when selecting unlicensed or
licensed independent family care.
What
makes the agency a good option for parents is that
in addition to a parent's own diligent monitoring
of their child's care, agency providers are subject
to monthly visits by the family day home inspector
who ensures each child is adjusting well. Safety inspections
are conducted annually.
Parents
are also assured that local staff/child ratios are
not exceeded and in many instances the family daycare
home is accredited, providing a higher level of care.
Agencies
are often (but not always) regulated by the state
or provincial government. Many are non-profit corporations
run by a board of directors made up of parents, providers
and others prominent in the child care field. A quality
agency provides its members ongoing support through
networking, promotion, information, research and advocacy.
Waiting lists are common place with such agencies
and parents are advised to get their child on the
list early to ensure placement in time for them to
return to work.
In
addition, agencies offer parents flexibility by offering
replacement care if things do not work out with the
original provider, as well as back up care when a
provider is ill, has personal appointments, or simply
decides not to continue providing care.
A
word of caution - though agencies are a valuable resource,
they too have their problems and parents would be
well-adivsed to run reference checks on any agency
they choose.
Multi-Service
Agencies
In addition to the above, multi-service agencies offer
parents licensed group care, play school, summer day
camp, a resource center, child care information service,
short term and special needs care, and does it all
under the watchful eye of nurses, social workers,
early childhood specialists and teachers.
Because
of the range of services a multi-service agency provides,
parents can easily move a child from a family day
home infant setting to group care, then back to family
care when the child reaches school age, without ever
having to worry about starting the searching process
over again and again. It works the same if a child
is having trouble adjusting to group care -the agency
can ~ arrange to place the child in a family setting,
or vice versa.
Each
agency varies on the types of services they provide,
and, needless to say, the amount of funding an agency
is able to secure greatly enhances the services it
provides.
Nanny
Agencies
In-home care is by far one of the most expensive forms
of child care. And the price to register with some
of these agencies is not cheap either. Furthermore,
nanny agencies are not regulated. A word to the wise,
check, check, check. It may be easier on parents to
verify a nanny's references BEFORE interviewing her.
Be wary of an agency do does not readily offer a nanny's
references.
Nanny
agencies do all the work involved with locating trained
nannies from many parts of the world including England,
France, Italy and the Philippines. Parents need to
clearly understand their obligations when hiring this
type of child care, which usually involves payroll
deductions such as income tax and pension plans, as
well as working Visas.
To
begin the search for a child care agency, parents
should contact their local Child Care Resource and
Referral or Community Information Service located
in the Yellow Pages of their phone book under daycare/child
care.
For
more links to child care organization on a national,
state/provincial or local level, please visit our
Valuable
Links Page.
Additional
Resources in our Getting to know you series...
Daycare
Licensing Offices
Child
Care Resource & Referral
Child Care Organizations
Family Resource
Centres and Toy Libraries
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