I. GENERAL INFORMATION
Chear Care will provide care for children between the ages
of infant to five years. Child care services
are available without discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color,
creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry.
Child care services will be provided between the hours of 7
A.M. and 7 P.M. Monday through Friday. Service before or after hours, weekends or the
following holidays may have additional charges (New Year's Day, Memorial Day,
July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Day).
Parents are welcome to visit my child care program at any
time during the hours of operation unless parental access is prohibited or
restricted by a court order. If so, I
will need a copy of the order. Please
understand that I can’t legally limit access to a parent if there is not a copy
of a court order on file at the center.
Children will only be released to persons listed on the
enrollment form. If anyone other than
the child's parent or someone who is listed on the enrollment form is to pick
up a child, I need to be notified in writing or by a telephone call in
advance. The person picking up the child
may need to show a driver's license or other picture ID.
It is important that we communicate daily concerning the
needs and interests of your child. If
there are issues or concerns that need to be discussed, please work with me to
arrange a convenient time to talk on the phone at nap time or in the evening so
we can give the issue the attention it deserves.
To protect each family's confidentiality, Chear Care will
not disclose personal information regarding a child or facts learned about a
child or a child's family to anyone who is not authorized to receive this
information.
Chear Care IS NOT covered by liability insurance for my
premises.
Chear Care IS NOT covered by liability insurance for my
operations.
All child care providers are mandated reporters of suspected
child abuse or neglect. If a child care
provider suspects a child has been abused or neglected, that employee is
required to report the abuse or neglect to child protective services or the
police.
II. ENROLLMENT AND DISCHARGE OF ENROLLED
CHILDREN
All children will be enrolled for a
trial period of ten days. During the
trial period either the provider or parent may terminate child care without
advance notice.
Parents must meet with me to
discuss their child's specific needs and to review program policies. I will make a reasonable accommodation for a
child with disabilities as specified under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The following items must be
completed and returned to the center by the first day of attendance.
- Chear Care Policy
- Chear Care Application
- Transportation Permission
- Medical History/ Information
- State Enrollment Form (Current Shot Record - State Exempt Form)
I will inform you of any updates
that are needed and give you a week to submit the updated forms.
A child may be discharged from the center
for reasons such as, but not limited to:
- Failure to pay fees on time (grounds for immediate termination, without advance notice).
- Lack of parental cooperation.
- Inability of child care program to meet the needs of the child. I will consult with the parent concerning how any problems might be solved before ending the care arrangement. The parent will be referred to other community resources.
- Repeated failure to pick up the child at the scheduled time.
- Failure to complete and return required forms.
III. PAYMENTS AND REFUNDS
Chear Care does not charge a
registration / enrollment fee.
An hourly rate is charged and
rounded up to the quarter of the hour. I request a one/two week schedule of hours needed so I can plan
an appropriate schedule and activities for children in care. Please notify me
of any changes within 24 hours.
There may be an extra fee assessed
for late payment or late pick up of a child. Please communicate changes in
schedule or payment to avoid fees.
Paying in advance option does
not provide refunds for days when children do not attend due to illness or
other reasons or for late drop off, early pickup. Additional fees may be
charged for early drop off or late pick up.
I may take up to two weeks of vacation
each year. I will let you know of this
time off at least two weeks in advance so you and your family can make
alternate arrangements.
For current fees, see the
attached Rate Sheet.
V. HEALTH
In the event that I or a household
resident become ill, I will notify the parents of all regularly scheduled children as soon as possible.
Children who are ill are not
to be brought to my home. The
following are examples of children who are ill:
- A temperature of 100 degrees F. or higher
- Vomiting or diarrhea has occurred more than once in the past 24 hours
- A contagious disease such as chicken pox, strep throat or pink eye
- An unidentified rash
- Has not been on a prescribed medication for at least 24 hours or continues to have symptoms of illness
- Has a constant, thick, colored nasal discharge
- Lice
If a child should become ill while
at my home, parents will be contacted immediately. Sick children will be isolated within my
sight or hearing and made as comfortable as possible. Children should be picked up within an hour. If the child is not picked up within an hour,
the emergency contact person on the child's enrollment form will be called.
Children may return to my home when they are symptom free, have been appropriately treated or have been given
medical approval to return to child care.
I will follow procedures on personal cleanliness and communicable
diseases in accordance with licensing rules and the guidelines for exclusion of
children from child care as adapted from the Division of Public Health.
I will report all communicable
diseases, when required, to the local health department and to parents of all
enrolled children. Parents of all
enrolled children will be notified when their child has been exposed to an
illness other than a communicable disease.
Superficial injuries will be washed
with soap and water and covered with a bandage or treated with ice. Parents will be told about the minor injury
when the child is picked up at the center or delivered to the parent or other
authorized person.
I have received training in first
aid. I will follow standard emergency
medical procedures for treating injuries.
A head injury will be treated as a serious injury, and parents will be
notified as soon as possible. I have a
current certification in infant and child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
including training in the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED).
If there is a need for emergency
medical treatment, 911 will be called and the child will be taken to hospital
or urgent care. Should an ambulance be needed, parents will be responsible for
any costs. Parents will be contacted as
soon as possible after contacting 911.
If possible, I will ask that your child be taken to the emergency
medical facility that you designated on the child enrollment form.
Prior to applying sunscreen
or insect repellent to a child, I will inform child’s parent of the brand and the ingredient strength.
To reduce the risk of SIDS I
will do the following:
·
Children
under one year of age:
- Child will be placed to sleep on his or her back in a crib or playpen, unless the child’s physician authorizes another position in writing.
- Child will not sleep in a crib or playpen that contains materials such as sheepskins, pillows, fluffy blankets, bumper pads or stuffed animals.
·
Children
under two years of age:
- Cribs and playpens shall contain a tight-fitting mattress and any mattress covering shall fit snugly over the mattress. Waterbeds may not be used.
- If child falls asleep in a swing or car seat, the child will be removed from the swing or car seat and placed to sleep on his or her back in a crib or playpen.
VI. NUTRITION
I will follow USDA
guidelines when planning our menus. No
child will go without nourishment for longer than 3 hours. I will offer the following meals and snacks
to all children in attendance at the times identified in the daily
schedule.
Breakfast
A.M. snack
Lunch
P.M. snack
Dinner
Dinner
If your child has
special dietary needs (medical condition or personal choice) or has food
allergies, parents must notify me in writing. Weekly records of meals
and snacks are available for your review upon request. School-aged
children will be offered an afternoon snack upon arrival from school.
Chear Care does participate in the
USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program.
VII. DAILY ACTIVITIES
I do include religious instruction
or practices in my daily activities. We do
offer prayers before meals and snacks.
We celebrate the following
occasions: Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and each child's birthday.
I will plan activities and provide
children with a variety of experiences.
Some of the activities will include:
- Language development: Books, music, story time, finger plays, flannel board stories
- Large muscle skills: Balls, hula hoops, bean bags, swinging, outdoor play
- Small muscle skills: Arts / crafts, stringing beads, pegboards, blocks
- Creative expression: Dramatic play, puppets, music / instruments, flannel board
- Self-help skills: Assist with mealtime preparation, dress self for outdoors
- Literacy skills: Books, story board, alphabet and drawing/writing games
PLAY is the major component of our
program. Enough time, materials and
space will be provided for children to actively explore the world around
them. Children will have an opportunity
to use a variety of art materials and manipulative and housekeeping equipment.
Children, including infants and
toddlers, will go outdoors daily when weather permits. The children may be kept indoors during
inclement weather such as any of the following:
- Heavy rain
- Temperatures above 100 degrees F.
- Wind chills of 0 degrees F. or below for children age 2 and above.
- Wind chills of 20 degrees F. or below for children under age 2
There is an outdoor play space on
the premises of the center. Trampolines
and inflatable bounce surfaces on the premises may not be accessible to or used
by children in care. If I choose to
provide a wading pool for the children, I will be outside providing sight and
sound supervision when the wading pool contains water and is present in the
outdoor play space.
I do not have a swimming pool on
the premises. The center may be using an off-premises pool, wading pool, water
attraction for the children. If I decide
to utilize any of these off-premises, water-oriented facilities, I will follow
all safety and supervision requirements as specified by licensing rules and
notify parents.
Infants and toddlers (children
under two years of age) will have a flexible schedule which reflects the
child's individual needs. They will be
given individual attention including lots of time for talking. The body position of non-mobile infants and
their location in the center will be changed frequently. I will provide safe, open spaces for children
who are creeping and crawling. Infants
and toddlers will be encouraged to play with a wide variety of safe toys and objects.
School-age children will
have a quiet place to study or relax access to appropriate materials and
activities and will have ample time for large muscle activities and to
participate in food preparation.
Quiet or Naptime will be
provided for all children younger than five years of age who are in care for
more than four consecutive hours. Children
who do not sleep may get up after 30 minutes, and children who awaken early
will be allowed to get up when they awake.
I will help children not napping to find appropriate activities. I will launder the bedding / sleeping bag
after every five uses or sooner if necessary.
Children over the age of one year will sleep in a crib, playpen, mat,
sleeping bag.
I will allow children to watch
television including VHS or DVDs of a G or PG rating during quiet time for no
more than 2 hours a day. Children are
not required to watch television, and other activities will be available and
encouraged during that time for children to use.
We occasionally take field trips,
including walks around the neighborhood/park.
Emergency information for each child will be taken whenever the children
leave the premises a note placed on door and a cell phone.
VIII. CHILD GUIDANCE
Children's behavior will be guided
by setting clear limits or rules for children.
I will talk with children about expected behaviors and model those
behaviors consistently for them. I will
state positively what children can do, using specific terms (e.g., "you
need to walk" rather than "don't run"). Undesirable behavior will be redirected to
another activity. Children will be given
a wide variety of age-appropriate activities to choose from and will be given
the attention they need before they demand it.
Behavior management will be for the purpose of helping children develop
self-control, self-esteem and respect for the rights of others.
I understand that there will be
times when a child will become distraught, fussy or won’t quit crying. My first action in these situations will be
an attempt to determine the cause of the distress. It may be related to a basic need such as
hunger or comfort, or it may be that the child just needs some extra time and
attention. I understand that crying is
normal, and that all babies will have times when they cannot stop crying. At these times, I will stay calm and will do
whatever I can to soothe your child.
Sometimes this may mean just allowing the child to cry for a few minutes
and then trying again. However, there
also may be times when I need your advice or assistance, and I won’t hesitate
to call you if I feel that it is necessary.
I do use "time outs" to
deal with unacceptable behavior. A "time out" or "take a
break" may be used when other techniques have not been successful. A time out will be used to remove a child
from a situation that has gotten out of control before a child can hurt himself
or others. Time outs will never exceed
five minutes and will not be used with children under two years of age. When used, the time out will immediately
follow the behavior. I will stay with
the child and talk about what behavior was unacceptable, and what else s/he
might have done or said instead. Rather
than use a specific time-out chair or corner, I will have the child "take
a break" near the others so the emphasis is on relax / cool down rather
than isolation and punishment. The child
will be praised after completing the time out and will be helped to rejoin the
group.
I recognize that no single technique
will work with children every time. If a
child exhibits unacceptable behavior, I will request a conference with parents
to consider how to deal with the behavior.
If the behavior continues, the next steps may include referrals to appropriate
community resources, and / or discharge of the child from care.
In accordance with DCF 250 Licensing
Rules for Family Child Care Centers, actions that may be psychologically,
emotionally or physically painful, discomforting, dangerous or potentially
injurious are prohibited. Prohibited
actions include spanking, hitting, pinching, shaking, slapping, twisting,
throwing or inflicting any other form of corporal punishment on the child;
verbal abuse, threats or derogatory remarks about the child or the child's
family; physical restraint, binding or tying the child to restrict the child's
movement; enclosing the child in a confined space such as a closet, locked
room, box or similar cubicle; withholding or forcing meals, snacks or naps;
actions that are cruel, aversive, humiliating or frightening to the child; or punishing
a child for lapses in toilet training.
These forms of punishment will never be used, even at a parent's
request.
IX. TRANSPORTATION
I do provide transportation.
I transport children to and from field
trips such as library or museums.
You will be notified in advance of the date, time and destination of any
field trip requiring transportation.
Public transportation may be used for field trips. You will be
notified in advance of the date, time and destination.
Children will never be left unattended in a vehicle.
When children are being transported while in my care I will
take medical and emergency information as well as my cellular, snacks, and
first aid kit.
X. PETS
Chear Care has a large dog currently and may invite other pets to come visit with us on pet week. Pets will not normally be allowed in areas accessible to
children during the hours of operation. The children will be closely supervised when
the animals are accessible to ensure that both the children and the animals are
protected from harm. All pets for which
there is an effective vaccine against rabies have been vaccinated. Prior to adding new pets to the center, I
will notify parents in writing.
If your child has pet allergies,
please inform me verbally and also be sure to write them down on the Health
History and Emergency Care Plan under the non-food allergies section.
XI. EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
Fire drills shall be
practiced with the children every month, and completion of the practices will
be documented.
In case of an
emergency that would require an evacuation, children will be evacuated
through the nearest safe exit. The
attendance form and list of phone numbers for parents and emergency contacts
will be taken along to ensure that all children are accounted for and all
families notified.
In the event of a lost
child, I will check all areas of the center.
If the child cannot be found, the child's parents and / or emergency
contact and the police will be notified immediately. I will notify the Department within 24 hours
after the occurrence.
If the center should
lose the use of heat, water or electricity before the center opens, I will let
the parent know immediately and resort to backup 72 hour kits.
In the event that
local schools close due to severe weather, the center may also close. Parents will be contacted to pick up their
children within the hour.
XII. ITEMS TO BE PROVIDED
Parent Center
Provided Provided Items
o o Car seat or booster seat
x Cups, silverware, plates/bowls
RATE
SHEET
Rates at Chear Care are
as follows per child:
PAY IN ADVANCE rate 3.00 per hour (for bi-weekly
schedule provided by parent)
Late pick up of child (after hours) 3.00 per
30 minute interval
Late Payment fee 5.00 per day (unless previous
arrangements made)
I legally by the state
can only watch 4-6 children depending on their ages. Schedules and notification helps your child maintain a spot otherwise I may have to deny child care.
Any care requires two
week schedule to written out as probable days/times of care needed with 24
hours notice of changes. Payment is due weekly or bi-weekly as notated in
contract unless arrangements made before hand. PAY IN ADVANCE needs to be made
before first day of care weekly or bi-weekly. Late fees assessed up to one
week.
By state law I have to
charge a 7.875% gross receipts tax for hours charged which is tax deductible to
you. I will provide paper receipts to you weekly or bi-weekly as well as a end
of the year total for you.
Please make checks out
to Chearsten Webb or have exact cash.
You will be charged an
additional NSF fee of $25 for returned checks.
The financial terms
will be finalized upon signing of the parent-provider contract.
Families will receive
a minimum of 30 days notice when a rate increase is planned.
I, the parent, by my signature below attest that I have received a copy of these policies. I further attest that I have read and understand these policies, and I agree to abide by them.
__________________________________ Signature – Parent ___________ Date
__________________________________ Signature – Provider ___________ Date
