Paying the Child Care Bill
Child care fees are a very hot topic of conversation.
Regardless of where parents are on the economic scale, and regardless of where families live throughout the US, there is no doubt that child care fees are a very large portion of a family's budget.
And since so many families are two-income families there is no doubt that quality child care is a necessity in today's world and not a luxury.
Sometimes parental frustration because of high child cares fees spills over and affects the parent-teacher-management relationship.
Everyone agrees this should not happen when caring for young children, but nevertheless everyone agrees this is an emotional topic, not a rational topic.
The bookkeeper or director may be the first to notice a financial crisis with a family.
It begins with payments arriving later and later.
It then may move into explanations of why a fee can not be paid.
Perhaps a parent lost a job, or perhaps there is a medical emergency.
Whatever the reason, the child care past due bill builds up.
The larger the bill, the more evasive the parent becomes.
During this time parents may alter their arrival and departure time to avoid seeing the administration.
They may wait to come into the center with a large group of people or pretend being on the cell phone to avoid conversation about their financial situation.
Most centers require a security deposit for each family equal to two to four weeks of child care payments.
If all goes well and the family has provided the agreed upon notification, the security deposit is returned to the family upon their departure from the center.
Or, sometimes with proper notification, centers will allow families to use their security deposit as payment for their last weeks of service.
Notification is very important for centers because it allows the administration time to recruit new students.
Without notification, it is possible for a center to loose a significant amount of revenue until a new student replacement is found.
It is important for center directors to create an opportunity to talk with families in financial distress and to help them create a plan.
The plan might be a face-saving exit plan if there is no realistic hope the family will be able to pay their child care bill.
Or, if the financial emergency is temporary, the plan might be a realistic payment schedule that is suitable for the parents and the center.
It's important to empathize with the parents' situation and to treat all information as confidential.
The trusting relationship we work so hard to build with parents is carried into the financial world of child care fees.
Regardless of where parents are on the economic scale, and regardless of where families live throughout the US, there is no doubt that child care fees are a very large portion of a family's budget.
And since so many families are two-income families there is no doubt that quality child care is a necessity in today's world and not a luxury.
Sometimes parental frustration because of high child cares fees spills over and affects the parent-teacher-management relationship.
Everyone agrees this should not happen when caring for young children, but nevertheless everyone agrees this is an emotional topic, not a rational topic.
The bookkeeper or director may be the first to notice a financial crisis with a family.
It begins with payments arriving later and later.
It then may move into explanations of why a fee can not be paid.
Perhaps a parent lost a job, or perhaps there is a medical emergency.
Whatever the reason, the child care past due bill builds up.
The larger the bill, the more evasive the parent becomes.
During this time parents may alter their arrival and departure time to avoid seeing the administration.
They may wait to come into the center with a large group of people or pretend being on the cell phone to avoid conversation about their financial situation.
Most centers require a security deposit for each family equal to two to four weeks of child care payments.
If all goes well and the family has provided the agreed upon notification, the security deposit is returned to the family upon their departure from the center.
Or, sometimes with proper notification, centers will allow families to use their security deposit as payment for their last weeks of service.
Notification is very important for centers because it allows the administration time to recruit new students.
Without notification, it is possible for a center to loose a significant amount of revenue until a new student replacement is found.
It is important for center directors to create an opportunity to talk with families in financial distress and to help them create a plan.
The plan might be a face-saving exit plan if there is no realistic hope the family will be able to pay their child care bill.
Or, if the financial emergency is temporary, the plan might be a realistic payment schedule that is suitable for the parents and the center.
It's important to empathize with the parents' situation and to treat all information as confidential.
The trusting relationship we work so hard to build with parents is carried into the financial world of child care fees.
