Hello, I'm new, so.......How much does the state reimburse for meals

**daycaremom1998** · 09-03-2008, 04:38 PM

Originally posted by uno

How do you know if you are under charging for childcare services in your area, what are the indicators?

How much does the state reimburse for meals?

How do you plan for YOUR vacation without inconveniencing (sp) the parents??

Eho gurantees that you'll have clients when you come off of hiatus??
and if you have an assistant, how much do you pay them and what should their qualifications be??

Hi there Uno,

I will try to answer a few of your questions. When trying to determine your rates, I always recommend that you start with looking (either in the phone book or from other parents) for a referral agency in your area. Call them and ask if they have a fair market or average rate analysis. If they don't then you can ask for a list of daycare providers in your area. Once you receive this list, call these providers and inquire about their rates. You can try the direct approach and tell them that you are wanting to start your own home daycare and you would like to know what their rates are. Some might give you this information and some might not. If they don't you will need to take a more stealth-like approach and call them back in a few days pretending to be a parent looking for care for your child. I know this sounds sneaky, but some providers are very protective of their rates when it comes to competition.

As for meals, each state is different. If you use the list from the referral agency and are calling other daycare providers, ask them if they participate in the food program. If they do, ask them which one. You can then search on the internet and find the phone number to these companies and call them directly. If you tell them you are thinking about signing up with a food program, but you are looking for information first, they will be more than happy to offer you the information you seek.

As for my vacations, I always give my parents a list at the first of the year or all my planned closures, and then give at least two-weeks notice if something else comes up. I have it in my contract that parents need to have a backup just in case I have to close for some reason. This has worked very well for me, and I have been doing daycare since 1998.

I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be much help with the assistant question. I don't have an assistant, but I do use very close friends on occassion if I have an important appointment. They are first aid and CPR certified and are listed on my license as my backups.

I hope this helps a little. Have a great day.

**Guest** · 09-05-2008, 01:35 PM

Originally posted by daycaremom1998

Hi there Uno,

I will try to answer a few of your questions. When trying to determine your rates, I always recommend that you start with looking (either in the phone book or from other parents) for a referral agency in your area. Call them and ask if they have a fair market or average rate analysis. If they don't then you can ask for a list of daycare providers in your area. Once you receive this list, call these providers and inquire about their rates. You can try the direct approach and tell them that you are wanting to start your own home daycare and you would like to know what their rates are. Some might give you this information and some might not. If they don't you will need to take a more stealth-like approach and call them back in a few days pretending to be a parent looking for care for your child. I know this sounds sneaky, but some providers are very protective of their rates when it comes to competition.

As for meals, each state is different. If you use the list from the referral agency and are calling other daycare providers, ask them if they participate in the food program. If they do, ask them which one. You can then search on the internet and find the phone number to these companies and call them directly. If you tell them you are thinking about signing up with a food program, but you are looking for information first, they will be more than happy to offer you the information you seek.

As for my vacations, I always give my parents a list at the first of the year or all my planned closures, and then give at least two-weeks notice if something else comes up. I have it in my contract that parents need to have a backup just in case I have to close for some reason. This has worked very well for me, and I have been doing daycare since 1998.

I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be much help with the assistant question. I don't have an assistant, but I do use very close friends on occassion if I have an important appointment. They are first aid and CPR certified and are listed on my license as my backups.

I hope this helps a little. Have a great day.

thanks for the heads up. sorry 'bout the late reply.

**NEDaycare** · 10-28-2008, 12:22 PM

Answers

How do you know if you are under charging for childcare services in your area, what are the indicators? Use the stealth mode as recommended above. Nobody that I know is going to share that info. If you want to have a full house, you could park your rates $5 a week under what the average is, but until recently I was $10 under the average without knowing it, and was wondering why I kept getting a bunch of meth addicts and that type coming for interviews. Sorry.... I just dont want that kind of lifestyle around my home, my children, or my daycare children. I found that rates do go up annually around here, so make sure you double check annually to see if you are still "in the game".

How much does the state reimburse for meals?
Depends on the parents' income. If the household income falls at welfare rates, then it's more. If it does not, then it's less. Makes no sense to me, but it's true. Tier 1 is low income and Tier 2 is higher income families. For Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks, respectively Tier 1 reimbursement is 1.06, 1.97, and .58. For the same on Tier 2 it is .39, 1.19, and .16 reimbursement. And they only let us claim 3 times. They require that we serve 4 times (breakfast, a.m. snack, lunch, p.m. snack) but we can only claim 3 serving times.

How do you plan for YOUR vacation without inconveniencing (sp) the parents?? It's in my contract and I create a quarterly newsletter for my parents so that they all see it coming again, plus so I can discuss any issues or announcements that I need to make. If they dont read it and then are taken by surprise (this happens every time) then at least I've given them plenty of notice.

Who gurantees that you'll have clients when you come off of hiatus??
and if you have an assistant, how much do you pay them and what should their qualifications be?? There are no guarantees you'll have clients when you come back from vacation. However, when we returned from our summer vacation we found that the kids were so unhappy at other daycares, they were begging for us to come back. The parents did not enjoy dropping their kids off elsewhere while we were gone and listening to them scream to come to my house. I dont have an assistant because I cant afford one!

**tymaboy** · 10-28-2008, 04:08 PM

This is what child care resource has for rates in our area

Child Care Homes

Infant Hourly $2.46 Weekly $106.90
Toddler Hourly $2.39 Weekly $103.73
Preschool Hourly $2.38 Weekly $102.29
Before & After School Hourly $2.37 Weekly $44.66

Child Care Centers

Infant Hourly $3.15 Weekly $139.04
Toddler Hourly $2.90 Weekly $122.39
Preschool Hourly $2.76 Weekly $116.57
Before & After School Hourly $2.74 Weekly $46.17

NEDaycare listed the prices of the meals & snacks which may vary a little by state. Keep in mind that if you are a participant in the food program you can not charge families for meals.

Hello, I'm new, so.......How much does the state reimburse for meals

Hello, I'm new, so.......How much does the state reimburse for meals

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