Formulating a Day Care Contract

Having a foolproof, comprehensive contract in place is a vital aspect of your day care business. Spending some time on this crucial document should be one of your high priorities. Speaking from painful exerience, much potential grief and gnashing of teeth can be avoided by having a well crafted contract.
Quite simply, your day care contract should indicate to parents what you do, how you do it, who you are, your expectations in terms of their behaviour and how you deal with transgressions and complaints- essentially you are setting out your terms, conditions, procedures, rules and policies in a clear and concise manner. There should be no gray areas, nothing left to chance or misinterpretation.
So, I hear you holler - what should be in this epic tome and how do I even get started! Well, as it happens I have more than a few years of operational experience in this madcap world of day cares and, through much trial, error and ongoing learning have a pretty good idea of the stuff that you need to address. Allow me to give you a few tips and pointers but I'll leave you to do the work of fleshing it out and personalizing your own contract!.what?? You don't get off scott free y'know!.now get those pencils out!!
I would suggest starting, at the beginning (strangely enough) where you can wax lyrical about your mission statement and ethos generally. Try and incorporate every aspect of a child starting in your day care i.e. what enrollment forms are required, the specific hours/days that care is required, necessary supplies, whether or not you institute a trial period (unfortunately, not everyone adjusts for various reasons) and detail your termination policy (if you kick my dog on the way in you're outta here!!). You would be amazed how much incredibly important stuff is often glossed over so be sure and include your opening hours, late collection penalties, what dates you close, total number of children allowed, ratios of staff to child, insurance and license details. . Sticking to some of the nitty, gritty minutiae you could then launch into your payment policy. How much, when it's due, what happens when one or other party takes a vacation, how and who to pay (you'd be surprised), your policy on late fees (a potentially very destructive element in the day care/parent dynamic if not addressed from the outset), your reservations/deposits procedure and rate increase policy.
I have what I call my 'rambling section' where I rattle on about general stuff such as the different programs we offer, meals information, advice on drop off/pick up/settling in procedures (please don't parachute your child in!), diaper changing routine and a few lines where I beg parents not to bring toys in from home!! I include my behaviour policy where I document what actions I will take in specific situations plus!.what I don't do (duct taping a child to a chair is not really an option!). Parent and provider cooperation is emphasized in the toilet training policy right down to what clothing should be worn (having your child run around naked doing the business at home is one thing!large groups of toilet training toddlers is quite another!).
Illness is a problematic area of recurring issues and problems. Set down stringent guidelines for your health and illness policy so that there is no doubt as to what your actions will be given specific symptoms and signs. Ultimately, a sick child needs to go home and you cannot have a contagious child in your day care. My sign doesn't say Doctor's Surgery. Have a specific time frame within which a child must be collected once you have contacted the parents and insist that it be respected. Following on from this you can explain your medication administration policy (both prescribed and non prescribed) which will incorporate the necessary forms.
Communication with parents is vital so let them know your preferred method i.e. informal, verbal report in the evening, individual report sheets or a little daily journal. Reassure them though that, while you may be busy they can also make an appointment to meet with you for a more in-depth discussion should the need arise. Scheduling annual parent/teacher meetings is another effective method of ensuring that everyone is up to date and on the same page.
So, there you have it! The day care contract or parent handbook in a nutshell!grin. Admittedly there is a lot to consider and quite frankly, this is an organic document that will evolve with your business. Stuff will happen and you will amend your paperwork accordingly. However, I hope that my pointers go some way towards getting you on the road to (even thinking) about formulating your contract. If you need a little more help you can check out my Day Care Paperwork Package at www.childcarepaperwork.com or if you buy my fantastic Start a Day Care DVD Guide you get the paperwork package for FREE www.startchildcare.com. Believe me, your contract will save you much grief and minimize the tears shed as you go about running your day care (there will be tears though!.but lots of laughs too!!)

Article Source: http://articlepowerplant.com

10 years of running a daycare leaves Fiona Lohrenz with a lot of knowledge to impart. This she does on her website plus on her 'Start a ChildCare Business' DVD guide: Start a Day Care You can find her at her website: Child Care Provider Resources

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