Parent Interview Tips
by Tom Copeland. Posted with permission.
Family child care providers should carefully screen parents and children in an interview. Here are some tips to help you make the most of the interview process:
Set aside enough time to go over the details of your business, including all the terms of your contract and policies. Explain how you deal with issues such as discipline, toilet learning, naps, etc. Clearly express your philosophy about caring for children. Sell yourself by pointing out your strengths (Educational background, special training, and so on).
Describe your expectations of parents. Ask if they understand everything you are saying. Ask about their parenting philosophy. What types of problems have parents had with other providers they have been within the past?
Offer a tour of your home. Point out the safety features, daily routines, fun activities and children's toys. Look for these warning signs:
Was the parent unreasonably late for the interview? It may be a sign of things to come.
Is the parent uncomfortable talking about their values and expectations in raising children (especially if they are different from yours)? You want a parent who is willing to talk through future conflicts.
Does the parent show a lack of interest in how you will be caring for their child? If so, you may later be frustrated in trying to involve the parent in addressing their child's needs.
Does the parent show signs of inflexibility and unwillingness to compromise? If so, you may have trouble handling unforeseen problems.
Are there signs that indicate problems in caring for the child would be unreasonably difficult?
Does the parent treat you with a lack of respect?
This handout was produced by Think Small (www.thinksmall.org). For additional family child care business publications, contact Think Small's publishing division, Redleaf Press, at 800-423-8309 or visit www.redleafpress.org.
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How to Keep Track of Parents Who Call Looking For Child Care
By Tom Copeland. Posted with permission
When a prospective client calls your family child care home you want to keep a record of their call so you can follow up later.
I suggest you create a form that allows you to gather the parent's contact information and more. Here's a sampleParent Call Tracking Form that you can download and use in your program.
Here are some tips on how to use such a form:
* Ask for the parent's email address over the phone and followup by sending them a thank you note via email.
* Include a link to your Facebook page or website in your email. Attach a scanned business card they can forward to their friends and others who may be looking for child care.
* Ask the parent how she heard about your program, so you can measure how well your marketing efforts are working.
* If you do give out your rates over the phone, make a note of how much you quoted to each parent calling.
* Record the date and time of any scheduled interview.
* Use your Parent Call Tracking Form to keep notes of any subsequent calls or other contacts with the parent.
I've written previous articles o:
Tom Copeland - www.tomcopelandblog.com
Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/57457305@N05/
For more marketing ideas, see my book Family Child Care Marketing Guide.
Date of call _________________________
Name of parent(s)
_____________________________________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________________
Phone # home______________ work ________________ cell ___________________
Email _____________________________________________
Name of child #1 _____________________________ Birth date _________________
Name of child #2 _____________________________ Birth date _________________
Name of child #3 _____________________________ Birth date _________________
Desired start date ____________________________ Rate quoted _______________
Special needs/interests of child_____________________________________________
How do you hear about my program?
_____ Word of mouth (who?) ____________________________________________
_____ Classified ad (where?) ____________________________________________
_____ Child Care Resource and Referral
_____ Other _________________________________________________________
_____ Other __________________________________________________________
Parent concerns/notes: _________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Date/time interview scheduled: _____________________________________
If parent declined interview, why? ___________________________________________
If I turned down parent, why? ______________________________________________
Follow-up Notes (record of subsequent calls/contacts with parent):
Date of Contact: __________ Notes: ________________________________________
Date of Contact: __________ Notes: ________________________________________
Other Notes:
How to Keep Track of Parents Who Call Looking For Child Care
By Tom Copeland. Posted with permission
I suggest you create a form that allows you to gather the parent's contact information and more. Here's a sampleParent Call Tracking Form that you can download and use in your program.
Here are some tips on how to use such a form:
* Ask for the parent's email address over the phone and followup by sending them a thank you note via email.
* Include a link to your Facebook page or website in your email. Attach a scanned business card they can forward to their friends and others who may be looking for child care.
* Ask the parent how she heard about your program, so you can measure how well your marketing efforts are working.
* If you do give out your rates over the phone, make a note of how much you quoted to each parent calling.
* Record the date and time of any scheduled interview.
* Use your Parent Call Tracking Form to keep notes of any subsequent calls or other contacts with the parent.
I've written previous articles o:
Tom Copeland - www.tomcopelandblog.com
Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/57457305@N05/
Parent Call Tracking Form
Parent Call Tracking Form
Date of call _________________________
Name of parent(s)
_____________________________________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________________
Phone # home______________ work ________________ cell ___________________
Email _____________________________________________
Name of child #1 _____________________________ Birth date _________________
Name of child #2 _____________________________ Birth date _________________
Name of child #3 _____________________________ Birth date _________________
Desired start date ____________________________ Rate quoted _______________
Special needs/interests of child_____________________________________________
How do you hear about my program?
_____ Word of mouth (who?) ____________________________________________
_____ Classified ad (where?) ____________________________________________
_____ Child Care Resource and Referral
_____ Other _________________________________________________________
_____ Other __________________________________________________________
Parent concerns/notes: _________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Date/time interview scheduled: _____________________________________
If parent declined interview, why? ___________________________________________
If I turned down parent, why? ______________________________________________
Follow-up Notes (record of subsequent calls/contacts with parent):
Date of Contact: __________ Notes: ________________________________________
Date of Contact: __________ Notes: ________________________________________
Other Notes:
Date of call _________________________
Name of parent(s)
_____________________________________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________________
Phone # home______________ work ________________ cell ___________________
Email _____________________________________________
Name of child #1 _____________________________ Birth date _________________
Name of child #2 _____________________________ Birth date _________________
Name of child #3 _____________________________ Birth date _________________
Desired start date ____________________________ Rate quoted _______________
Special needs/interests of child_____________________________________________
How do you hear about my program?
_____ Word of mouth (who?) ____________________________________________
_____ Classified ad (where?) ____________________________________________
_____ Child Care Resource and Referral
_____ Other _________________________________________________________
_____ Other __________________________________________________________
Parent concerns/notes: _________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Date/time interview scheduled: _____________________________________
If parent declined interview, why? ___________________________________________
If I turned down parent, why? ______________________________________________
Follow-up Notes (record of subsequent calls/contacts with parent):
Date of Contact: __________ Notes: ________________________________________
Date of Contact: __________ Notes: ________________________________________
Other Notes:
How to Protect Yourself When an Unhappy Parent Leaves Your Program
Occasionally parents of the children in your family child care become upset and leave your program. What can you do to protect yourself if they later decide to file a complaint against you with your licensor?
Family child care is a business where parents and children naturally come and go. Here are some suggestions for protecting yourself should a relationship end on an unhappy note:
When a family first enrolls with your program, start keeping a notebook and record any incidents, arguments, problems, or observations about the child or parents. Situations when you want to write something down might include: a parent yells at you or uses abusive language; you notice signs that the child has been injured; the child is biting other children; or the parent complains about how you are providing care.
It is always a good idea to talk with parents right away about any problems that arise, but keeping a written record will help you remember incidents and can be useful later if a more serious conflict arises. Of course, if you suspect that the child is being abused or neglected, you should report this immediately to your licensor or child protection services.
Parent Evaluation
Ask parents to fill out a written evaluation of your program on a regular basis. The evaluation should contain these key questions:
What do you like best about my program?
What can I do to improve my program?
Would you recommend me to another parent, and if so, why?
Such evaluations should be passed out at least once a year and at the time a parent is leaving. Parents will usually say wonderful things about you, and you can use these evaluations as references with prospective parents. But you may also be able use them to help you refute any serious complaints by the parent later.
Contact Your Licensor
Contact your licensor any time you are concerned about an incident with a family. Even if the incident doesn't seem serious at the time, you can ask for advice and go on record with your side of the story as soon as possible.
For example, you might call and say, "I wanted to let you know that Mrs. Jones has been unhappy with me the last several weeks because we have had an argument about my policy of not allowing children to bring their own toys to my program. I've explained why I have this policy, but she is still upset. I want you to make a note in my file that I've had this disagreement with Mrs. Jones. If you have any advice for me I would appreciate it."
If the licensor knows that you have been having trouble with a parent, he or she is more likely to be sympathetic to you if the parent later files a complaint.
Once the decision has been made to terminate the relationship with the parent, no matter whose decision it was to end it, try to be as positive as possible about the transition. If it was your decision, do not put the reasons for terminating the parent in writing. Parents will never agree with your reasons and anything you write will probably insult them. Just tell the parent that the situation is no longer a good fit and that no one is at fault.
I believe it is helpful to contact your licensing worker whenever a parent is leaving, in particular when the parent is leaving on bad terms. Before you terminate a parent (or before suing a parent to enforce your contract), call your licensor and explain why you are taking this action. Ask for any suggestions the licensor might have about how to handle the situation.
If you fear that the parent may file a complaint against you, tell the licensor. Refer to your notes about previous incidents with the parent. Licensors have told me that when a provider has talked to them first about a conflict with a parent and the parent later makes a complaint, the parent's complaint is often taken as a contract dispute rather than a violation of a child care regulation, which is more serious.
Hopefully, you will not have to cope with an unhappy parent who files a complaint against you. In fact, the vast majority of the relationships between parent and provider are positive and rewarding for all involved.
The Basics of a Parent-Provider Contract
By Tom Copeland. Published with permission.
Some state child care licensing rules define what should be in your contract, so check with your local child care licensor before finalizing your agreement.
Federal anti-discrimination laws make it illegal for you to discriminate in your contract based on race, color, gender, religion, age, disability or national origin. Your state or local government may add additional categories such as sexual orientation.
Other than these limitations, you can establish whatever rules you want in your contract. All contracts, however, should contain the following four clauses:
1) The names of the parties to the contract (the parent and the parent), as well as the name(s) of the children. Also include contact information for each parent (home and work number, email, etc.).
2) The terms of the contract: the days and hours your program is open and the fees you charge (weekly/monthly rate, holidays, vacations, late fees, holding fees, registration fees, etc.). These are the only rules that can be legally enforced by a court of law. In other words, if you refuse to provide care on a particular day that is covered by your contract, the parent is not legally required to pay for that day.
If the parent refuses to pay for care that is covered by the contract, the provider can go to court to enforce this rule. All your other rules are not legally enforceable. These are defined as policies: illness and emergency policies, activities, meals, naps, toilet learning, discipline, etc. If you or the parent are unhappy because the other person is not abiding by these policies, the solution is to end your agreement, not to take the person to court.
3) The method to terminate the contract. Usually providers require parents to give them at least a two-week written notice before the agreement can be terminated. I recommend that providers should include the language "Provider may terminate the contract at will" in their contract. This allows you to immediately end your agreement if a parent becomes disruptive or the child becomes unmanageable.
4) The signatures of the parent and provider. When both parents are caring for their child, you should get both parents to sign your contract so that it can be enforced against either parent.
Make sure at least these four points are covered in your contract. You can always modify it later. Put your policies in a separate document from the contract.
1) I will call someone to pick up the child from the following list of people who are authorized to do so:
Policy on Parents Transporting
Their Children
|
.
In operating my child care business my first responsibility is to protect the health and safety of the children in my care. When parents drop off and pick up their children, I want to make sure their children are transported safely. When a parent transports children under the influence of alcohol or drugs or fails to use an appropriate car seat, it creates an unsafe transportation situation for the children. If, in my opinion, a child cannot be safely transported to or from my home, I will ask the parent not to transport the child and will propose the alternatives listed below. (If the parent refuses to agree to one of the alternatives and insists on transporting the child, I will immediately call the police and report the unsafe driving situation.)
1) I will call someone to pick up the child from the following list of people who are authorized to do so:
________________________________________________ ____________________________
Name Phone number
Name Phone number
________________________________________________ ____________________________
Name Phone number
Name Phone number
________________________________________________ ____________________________
Name Phone number
Name Phone number
2) I will call a cab to pick up the child and the parent. The parent will pay the cab fare.
3) If the parent has failed to bring an appropriate car seat for the child, I will ask the parent to drive home
without the child and return with an appropriate car seat installed in the car.
without the child and return with an appropriate car seat installed in the car.
I ___ will / ___ will not charge a late pickup fee under these circumstances.
4) Other acceptable alternatives proposed by the parent: _____________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
How to Say "No" to a Prospective Parent
The moment of truth has come. You are getting ready to tell a parent who wants to enroll in your family child care home you don't want her child in your program.
What do you tell her?
I think the best answer is, "I don't think this is the best place for your child at this time."
If the parent asks for specific reasons, don't elaborate. If you feel that you must say more, you can add, "It's not personal. I try to make decisions based on what's best for each child, and I have a feeling that your child would be better off in another child care program." The parent can't argue with your intution.
If you try to give the parent a reason, the parent may feel insulted. She may even think you are discriminating against her if you say the wrong thing.
Unfortunately, many child care providers have trouble following my advice. Some will tell a parent, "I'm waiting to hear from another family who I interviewed earlier this week. If she calls me back I won't have a space for your child."
There is a problem with this response. What happens if a week later this parent sees an ad you posted on Craigslist? The parent is likely to conclude that you weren't honest with her and feel insulted. She may make a complaint to your licensor. So, I don't recommend doing this.
How have you handled saying "no" to a parent?
* Parents are given a fifteen minute grace period and then are charged $.50/$1.00 per minute. (You could charge $.50 or $1 a minute for early drop offs.)
* Parents are charged $1 a minute late fee if they pick up after the scheduled pick up time.
Time versus Money
Before deciding on your late pick up rule, consider this question: What is more important to you - your time or the parent's money?
If your time is more important, this means you don't want to work after your scheduled pickup time of 6pm. It doesn't matter how much money parents might pay you to be late, because you want to do other things with your time. Therefore, set a high late fee to ensure parents won't be late.
At one workshop a provider said she charged $50 a half hour late fee. However, her complaint was that one parent kept paying it! Since this fee wasn't deterring the parent from being late, I told her to raise her late fee for this parent. You can have different late fees for different parents.
If the parent's money is more important to you, this means you wouldn't mind working after 6pm if you were paid enough. If parents paid you $1 a minute late fee, you could earn $30 for a half hour of work. This is a lot more than you are making per hour before 6pm.
However, most providers tell me that parents aren't consistently late if they have to pay $1 a minute late fee. Therefore, you might want to set a lower late fee to make it more affordable!
If you charged $.50 a minute you would be earning $15 a half hour which is still a good wage. At the lower rate, more parents might not mind paying it, and you can earn some extra money.
One provider came up with a perfect solution in dealing with late fees. She said that late fees created tension and stress between her and her parents because they were associated with guilt and blame.
Since she was willing to work a half hour after her pick up time of 6pm, she announced to her parents that if they picked up between 6pm and 6:30pm they would be charged an "evening rate" of $1 a minute. No more late fees, because parents aren't late. No more stress because parents didn't have to rush to her home. It worked for the provider as well because she didn't mind working an extra half hour and being well paid for her time.
In the end, it's up to you to set your rules regarding late pick ups and enforce them. You can ask the parent to pay the late fee at the time they are late, by the next morning, or add the fees onto their next regular payment.
How do you handle late pick ups?
When a parent does show up drunk or without a car seat, you need to take action and follow the steps in your transportation policy. If the parent demands her child, do not refuse to give up her up. Failure to give the child to the parent could expose you to a charge of kidnapping!
Do not act like one child care provider who told me she kept a baseball bat inside her front door to deal with disruptive parents. No!
What to Do When Parents Are Late to Pick up Their Children
It is a common problem for many family child care providers: Your pick-up time is 6pm and a parent shows up late several times a month. Another parent always arrives before 6pm, but often doesn't leave your home until 6:20pm.
You work long hours caring for children: an average of eleven hours a day, according to several national surveys. It can be frustrating to deal with parents who want even more of your time.
What can you do to address this issue?
First, make sure your written contract states the specific times when parents are expected to drop off and pick up their children. The pick-up time can be different from one family to the next.
Second, state the consequences if a parent doesn't pick up her child on time. Most providers charge a late fee. Here are some examples:
* Parents who notifies provider at least 2 hours before pick-up time that they will be late will not be charged a late fee.
* Parents who are late picking up their children once or twice in a month will not be charged a late fee. Parents will pay a late fee if they are late more often than this.
* Parents are given a fifteen minute grace period and then are charged $.50/$1.00 per minute. (You could charge $.50 or $1 a minute for early drop offs.)
* Parents are charged $1 a minute late fee if they pick up after the scheduled pick up time.
In a workshop of mine a provider once said, "My contract states that if you are ever late picking up your child, you will be immediately terminated." That's strict! It worked for her, but
I wouldn't recommend this rule to anyone else.
I wouldn't recommend this rule to anyone else.
Time versus Money
Before deciding on your late pick up rule, consider this question: What is more important to you - your time or the parent's money?
If your time is more important, this means you don't want to work after your scheduled pickup time of 6pm. It doesn't matter how much money parents might pay you to be late, because you want to do other things with your time. Therefore, set a high late fee to ensure parents won't be late.
At one workshop a provider said she charged $50 a half hour late fee. However, her complaint was that one parent kept paying it! Since this fee wasn't deterring the parent from being late, I told her to raise her late fee for this parent. You can have different late fees for different parents.
If the parent's money is more important to you, this means you wouldn't mind working after 6pm if you were paid enough. If parents paid you $1 a minute late fee, you could earn $30 for a half hour of work. This is a lot more than you are making per hour before 6pm.
However, most providers tell me that parents aren't consistently late if they have to pay $1 a minute late fee. Therefore, you might want to set a lower late fee to make it more affordable!
If you charged $.50 a minute you would be earning $15 a half hour which is still a good wage. At the lower rate, more parents might not mind paying it, and you can earn some extra money.
One provider came up with a perfect solution in dealing with late fees. She said that late fees created tension and stress between her and her parents because they were associated with guilt and blame.
Since she was willing to work a half hour after her pick up time of 6pm, she announced to her parents that if they picked up between 6pm and 6:30pm they would be charged an "evening rate" of $1 a minute. No more late fees, because parents aren't late. No more stress because parents didn't have to rush to her home. It worked for the provider as well because she didn't mind working an extra half hour and being well paid for her time.
In the end, it's up to you to set your rules regarding late pick ups and enforce them. You can ask the parent to pay the late fee at the time they are late, by the next morning, or add the fees onto their next regular payment.
How do you handle late pick ups?
What to Do When a Parent Shows Up Drunk
One day a parent is picking up her child from your family child care home when you notice one of the following:
* The parent smells of alcohol
* The parent does not have a car seat for her toddler
* The parent is barely awake, or is acting erratically
You face two potential risks in these situations. If the child is injured in a car accident, you could lose your license. This is because child care providers are mandated reporters of child neglect, and the child in these situations is at risk. (If you are not certain that you would be required to report this, contact your state's office of child protection.)
In addition, the parent could sue you for failing to take steps to keep the child safe.
To protect yourself, you should adopt a transportation policy that will help keep children safe. Ask for the names of people who can pick up the child in an emergency. Call a cab.
Tell the parent to go home and get their car seat and then return. Drive the child home yourself. Discuss other options with the parent. In the end, if the parent refuses to cooperate, call 911. Here's a sample transportation policy you can use (see the next post).
Tell the parent to go home and get their car seat and then return. Drive the child home yourself. Discuss other options with the parent. In the end, if the parent refuses to cooperate, call 911. Here's a sample transportation policy you can use (see the next post).
When a parent does show up drunk or without a car seat, you need to take action and follow the steps in your transportation policy. If the parent demands her child, do not refuse to give up her up. Failure to give the child to the parent could expose you to a charge of kidnapping!
Do not act like one child care provider who told me she kept a baseball bat inside her front door to deal with disruptive parents. No!
Use your transportation policy to communicate with parents upon enrollment, so these situations do not arise. If they do, follow your policy. If the parent takes the child, don't hesitate to call 911 and report the license plate number.
Taking these steps will help keep children safe and protect your business.
The Truth About Giving Parents a Receipt
Every January I get many questions from family child care providers on the same topic:
"Do I have to give the parents in my program an end-of-year receipt?"
"Am I responsible for giving parents my Social Security number, even if they left owing me money?
"Do I have to complete IRS Form W-10 and give one to each parent in my program?"
The answer to all of these questions is "no."
There seems to be a lot of confusion around this issue, so let's clear things up.
Most parents who pay a child care provider are entitled to claim a federal child care tax credit using IRS Form 2441 Child and Dependent Care Expenses. That form requires the parent to list the name, address, identification number of the child care provider, and the amount paid to the provider.
You do not want to give parents your Social Security number because of the potential problem of identify theft. Instead, get your Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. It's free. See my article on how to get your EIN.
The Instructions to Form 2441 tell parents they can use IRS Form W-10 Dependent Care Provider's Identification and Certification to collect the identification number of the caregiver. It's the parent's responsibility to give this form to the child care provider. It's not your responsibility to give this form to the parent.
According to the law, family child care providers are not required to give parents their identification number and are not required to give parents an end-of-year receipt. If the parent left your program in 2013 you are not required to track them down to give them this information.
If you are on good terms with the parents in your program I do recommend that you give parents an end-of-year receipt, along with your identification number. Ask the parent to sign one copy and keep it in your records. This can help protect you if you are audited and are asked to provide evidence of what the parent paid you for the year. Many providers give receipts to parents this time of year, but most don't keep a copy signed by the parent.
You can use the Form W-10 as your end-of-year receipt. Although the form doesn't provide a space indicating how much the parent paid, you can write the amount across the top of the form and have the parent sign it.
Form W-10 is included in the Minute Menu Kids Pro software program as well as in my 2013 Family Child Care Tax Workbook and Organizer. Redleaf Press also publishes a family child care receipt book.
You can also create your own receipt: "Received by ______________________(your name) for child care services for the care of ________ (name of child) for 2013. Provider identification number __________ Signed _________ (parent) _____________ (your name) Dated: __________"
Parent Leaves Owing You Money
If a parent left owing you money I would recommend telling the parent that you will only give them your EIN once they have paid you in full. The only time you face a consequence is if the parent gives you a copy of Form W-10 and you fail to fill it out. If this happens you face a $50 penalty. But since 99% of parents don't know they are supposed to do this, I wouldn't worry about it.
How have you handled end-of-year receipts?
Every January I get many questions from family child care providers on the same topic:
"Do I have to give the parents in my program an end-of-year receipt?"
"Am I responsible for giving parents my Social Security number, even if they left owing me money?
"Do I have to complete IRS Form W-10 and give one to each parent in my program?"
The answer to all of these questions is "no."
There seems to be a lot of confusion around this issue, so let's clear things up.
Most parents who pay a child care provider are entitled to claim a federal child care tax credit using IRS Form 2441 Child and Dependent Care Expenses. That form requires the parent to list the name, address, identification number of the child care provider, and the amount paid to the provider.
You do not want to give parents your Social Security number because of the potential problem of identify theft. Instead, get your Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. It's free. See my article on how to get your EIN.
The Instructions to Form 2441 tell parents they can use IRS Form W-10 Dependent Care Provider's Identification and Certification to collect the identification number of the caregiver. It's the parent's responsibility to give this form to the child care provider. It's not your responsibility to give this form to the parent.
According to the law, family child care providers are not required to give parents their identification number and are not required to give parents an end-of-year receipt. If the parent left your program in 2013 you are not required to track them down to give them this information.
If you are on good terms with the parents in your program I do recommend that you give parents an end-of-year receipt, along with your identification number. Ask the parent to sign one copy and keep it in your records. This can help protect you if you are audited and are asked to provide evidence of what the parent paid you for the year. Many providers give receipts to parents this time of year, but most don't keep a copy signed by the parent.
You can use the Form W-10 as your end-of-year receipt. Although the form doesn't provide a space indicating how much the parent paid, you can write the amount across the top of the form and have the parent sign it.
Form W-10 is included in the Minute Menu Kids Pro software program as well as in my 2013 Family Child Care Tax Workbook and Organizer. Redleaf Press also publishes a family child care receipt book.
You can also create your own receipt: "Received by ______________________(your name) for child care services for the care of ________ (name of child) for 2013. Provider identification number __________ Signed _________ (parent) _____________ (your name) Dated: __________"
Parent Leaves Owing You Money
If a parent left owing you money I would recommend telling the parent that you will only give them your EIN once they have paid you in full. The only time you face a consequence is if the parent gives you a copy of Form W-10 and you fail to fill it out. If this happens you face a $50 penalty. But since 99% of parents don't know they are supposed to do this, I wouldn't worry about it.
How have you handled end-of-year receipts?
No family child care provider wants to take a parent to court for not paying what is owed them.
It can be stressful, take up a lot of your time, and you may not win - even if your contract is clear that the parent does owe you money.
Going to court should be only considered as a last resort if all other efforts to collect have failed.
Most disputes between parents and providers are resolved outside of a courtroom.
The best way to stay out of court is to require parents to 1) pay at least a week in advance and 2) pay for the last two weeks in advance. If you don’t already have such language in your contract, add them now. You can make this change just for the new parents that enroll.
Before going to court you may want to take these steps first:
- Give the parent a deadline and then terminate care. If you are still caring for the child and are having trouble collecting from a parent, give the parent a deadline for paying you and a warning that you will terminate care if they don’t pay. “I need the $400 you owe me by next Monday or you cannot bring your child that day.” For low-income parents you can offer to accept extra weekly payments until they catch up. Putting your foot down is sometimes all it takes for parents to pay up.
- Consider mediation. Mediation is a voluntary dispute-resolution process that can help you and the parent reach your own solution. Contact your local legal aid society to see if there is a mediation center near you.
- Offer a compromise. You may want to offer to accept less money than the parent owes you as a compromise to avoid going to court. Tell the parent you are willing to accept something less. “You owe me $400. I will accept $300 instead if you pay me by Monday, or pay me $100 a week for the next three weeks. If you don’t agree to this I will sue you for $400, plus court costs.”
- Send a demand letter. If the above efforts have failed, send the parent a “demand letter.” In this letter, tell the parent how much she owes. Make a copy of the section of your contract that indicates what she owes (two-week notice, for example). Give the parent a deadline of when to pay. Indicate whether or not you will accept weekly/monthly payments or whether you will accept a lower amount to settle. Tell the parent if they don’t contact you by the deadline you will sue them for the amount they owe you, plus court costs. You want the parent to know that they may have to pay you more money if they don't settle now.
Sometimes these steps will work and sometimes they won’t. I believe it’s better to try them before taking the final step of going to court. You can decide not to take the parent to court even after sending a “demand letter.”
Some providers use collection agencies, rather than going to court. A collection agency can write letters on your behalf and call the parent. But, you will pay a fee if they do collect money. To find a collection agency, Google, “Collection Agency.”
Remember, if the parents are paying you in advance, they can’t leave owing you money!
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