Long Timers (Veterans) and Changes in Child Care

[MarinaVanessa]

There have been a lot of changes in child care in the 30 years or so and I'm wondering about what exactly they are from the viewpoint of a provider. I'm writing a small report for my class and I'd love to hear about the thoughts on these changes from those veterans that have been doing child care for a long time and your experiences with them.

When you first started:
What was child care like?
How difficult was it to find clients/get started?
Did you have licensing regulations? What was that like? Relaxed? Strict?

What about 20 years ago?
10 years ago?
5 years ago?

What are your thoughts on the changes in child development, child care philosophies and trends?

[Country Kids]

I will post during naptime! Sounds like a wonderful paper you are doing and I'm anxious to read what everyone writes-

[MarinaVanessa]

I will post during naptime! Sounds like a wonderful paper you are doing and I'm anxious to read what everyone writes-

I'm excited too, I'm really interested to know first-hand experiences of the changes in child care over time compared to now when it seems the term "quality" is everywhere and isn't going anywhere. I can read about this stuff in books and news articles but nothing beats actual experiences . Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.

[Blackcat31]

What was child care like?


When I first started child care, it was a lot different compared to now. Especially in terms of quality.

Quality was in the work, the day to day tasks, the relationship between provider and child/family. The overall type of care given and received.

Quality now days is on paper. Practices now supported, taught and required by licensing authorities and agencies are now considered quality. It's on paper but not in practice.

Child care was CARE, NOT education. When it was CARE, the quality was easy and real and what parents looked for, wanted and desperately needed if they felt the mommy-guilt for having to work.

Now that education has become the new synonym for care, it is no longer quality. Provider's can't provide care anymore, they must first and foremost provide education.

Unfortunately as an educator, my goals for the children have changed.

I used to support, encourage and assist Timmy in making friends, over coming his shyness and learning to speak up for himself. Stopping to hug him as he made over came small successes along the way.

Now, I have to have written plan for development and document all outcomes. Having to do that takes away from the time I had to just "be" with Timmy on a regular basis, supporting and encouraging him to explore his world. Now when I have a moment to snuggle or hug my DCK's I find myself putting it off because instead I need to get up, find my pen, get Timmy's file and document a short blurb about how he has progressed.

QRIS being implemented has changed a lot for providers and for parents.

I have some personal feelings about QRIS (both positive and negative) if you want to PM me..I'd be happy to share.

I could go on, but you get the point.

How difficult was it to find clients/get started?

It wasn't hard. Again parents were in charge of finding care they liked and weren't pushed in to finding care that had a degreed early childhood teacher or an environment that offers preschool curriculum (even for the babies).

Parents used to want loving, nurturing attentive providers. Now they want providers that have curriculum, daily routines and a degree.

I have been lucky in the finding clients area as I haven't really ever had trouble enrolling or left with empty spaces for long but I have notices the manner in which parents seek care, the questions they ask and their expectations of what child care is like have changed.

Did you have licensing regulations? What was that like? Relaxed? Strict?

The rules and regulations for my state have not changed since I opened. Other than the crib changes and the changes to CPR, everything is pretty much the same now as it was then.

In all honesty, I think my state is in need of a major overhaul in the regulation department.

I have been in business for 2 decades so I am sure I have tons more to offer if you have any other questions. Just let me know...you are welcome to PM or e-mail me.

[nanglgrl]

There have been a lot of changes in child care in the 30 years or so and I'm wondering about what exactly they are from the viewpoint of a provider. I'm writing a small report for my class and I'd love to hear about the thoughts on these changes from those veterans that have been doing child care for a long time and your experiences with them.

When you first started:
What was child care like?
How difficult was it to find clients/get started?
Did you have licensing regulations? What was that like? Relaxed? Strict?

What about 20 years ago?
10 years ago?
5 years ago?

What are your thoughts on the changes in child development, child care philosophies and trends?

I've only been doing this a total of 11 years now but first started a home daycare 18 years ago. I did it for 2 years the first time and then took a long break and reopened. I pretty much charge the same as I did 18 years ago but spend a lot more on daycare. It's not that I charge too little now just that the rates in my area haven't increased very much. When I first started parents just wanted their children to be safe and loved. No one put to much thought into screen time, themes or learning.
A good environment was just someone's house, usually they had a child and the child's room was the playroom. No one had to post signs all over their homes (we currently have to post parent info., no smoking signs, fire signs, drill signs, emergency exit signs...lots of things that the children can't read but make the house look less like a home). No rules about outside time, food, policies (at least not that they enforced).
Parents, for the most part, were less worried about cost on convenience and more worried about having a place their child was happy at. I didn't need a thick contract because parents were generally more respectful and didn't need rules to use their common sense. In fact I don't believe I had a contract at all. I think I've seen the most changes with parents in the last 5 years.
Children seemed more independent and I don't remember ever having the problems with self help skills, language and tantrums that I see now. Parents were parents. Parents often became my friends back then and I invited them to birthdays and they came to my child's. It wasn't a problem. Now, the state has made sure to make this more like a business and while there are upsides I feel like its a lot less personal. I don't really know my clients anymore but I take care of their children 40 hours a week.
The only time we dealt with the state back then was if there was a complaint, now between them, our local referral agency and food program we have about 6 visits a year.
I don't remember any real regulations back then. If there were any they must not have enforced them.
It was super easy to get clients and to keep kids from infancy to kindergarten. There was less saturation in my area and no one worried about preschool even though back then preschool was more like school than it is now and daycare had more in common with babysitting.
Providers didn't have all of the resources back then. There weren't online groups (obviously) or trainings where you could meet other providers and discuss the trials and tribulations of childcare. I guess that's a good thing but I don't remember childcare being so hard back then that I would need to vent and everything was just common sense.
Of course this is just my experience in my state and we all now how much a few miles can make a difference. Also it's generalization. Whereas 18 years ago most of the people I interviewed were respectful to me and acted like parents to their children now it's the opposite. I currently have great clients but now I have to be incredibly picky to find the right clients.
I do believe some of the changes are probably needed even if I don't like or agree with some of them because people have changed.
Now it's all about funding and spending more to get more funding. As long as parents believe that QRS is beneficial and they can get providers to sign up they will get their funding even if it doesn't prove to be beneficial. We have so many studies saying thT preschool isn't beneficial for the majority of children and for those that it does being it it's temporary. Yet the push towards 3 and 4 years old preschool grows every day.

[Annalee]

There have been a lot of changes in child care in the 30 years or so and I'm wondering about what exactly they are from the viewpoint of a provider. I'm writing a small report for my class and I'd love to hear about the thoughts on these changes from those veterans that have been doing child care for a long time and your experiences with them.

When you first started:
What was child care like?
How difficult was it to find clients/get started?
Did you have licensing regulations? What was that like? Relaxed? Strict?

What about 20 years ago?
10 years ago?
5 years ago?

What are your thoughts on the changes in child development, child care philosophies and trends?

When you first started:
What was child care like? Simply, taking care of kids. I started in 1992. In 2000, the changes started happening here.

Blackcat's answers regarding differences between care vs education are superb. I cannot relay that any better. I agree WHOLEHEARTEDLY with what she had to say so I am not going to duplicate her answers.

How difficult was it to find clients/get started? Licensing was complete in 4-5 weeks. I had quit a day care center so many followed along with me to FCC. Word of mouth, just like today, travels fast and was my best advocate.

Did you have licensing regulations? Very few. I saw my licensing counselor maybe once year. I didn't understand the importance of ratio, so if someone called I took their child. I can remember having over 20 kids and 12 preschool and 3 school-age was the limit. I had NO contract/policy, just kept kids till they left in the afternoon. There were NO FCC support groups.

What was that like? Relaxed? I was relaxed because I was too naive to worry about anything. Strict? No strictness at all.

What about 20 years ago? I began 22 years ago, so first answers are based on this time-frame.

10 years ago? In 2000, licensing became much stricter. I was introduced to a 30-hr orientation which taught me to develop firm/non-negotiable contracts/policy/handbook. I thoroughly enjoyed becoming a "business owner". I had always had a passion for children and bookwork so the two become important to me in the same profession/career path. In 2002, QRIS begin work in our state by becoming law for all providers to compete an annual report card. During this time, providers were embracing the NEW system and felt empowered. Providers received grants to further education through Accreditation, CDA, AS/BS degrees. Providers, including myself, become confident with education.

5 years ago? The empowerment from moving forward with education turned to frustration and many providers went underground/quit. The expectations increased so drastically and became unattainable for many. The ones of us who stuck together are working to gain back the enthusiasm/love we once had for our profession. Providers have had to accept where they are and realize it is OK to let go of some things that are just not appropriate for our programs.

What are your thoughts on the changes in child development, child care philosophies and trends? I feel there needs to be a coming-together between state/QRIS/licensing/provider to have a clear understanding of what is realistic and expected to represent quality childcare. Too much is left to perception of whichever state dept is in your child care program. I feel QRIS should allow for some voluntary room for providers and allow each provider to grow at their own pace. Dictating to providers is NOT reaping positive rewards.

I look forward to hearing the responses and how your paper turns out. happyface

[Blackcat31]

I feel there needs to be a coming-together between state/QRIS/licensing/provider to have a clear understanding of what is realistic and expected to represent quality childcare. Too much is left to perception of whichever state dept is in your child care program. I feel QRIS should allow for some voluntary room for providers and allow each provider to grow at their own pace. Dictating to providers is NOT reaping positive rewards. [/B]

I look forward to hearing the responses and how your paper turns out. happyface

I think that QRIS should allow TWO separate and distinct groups.

Care providers and educators.

In my state, those that provide care can't earn more than 1 maaaybe 2 stars.

Those that have a degree, pretty much get 4 (max) stars immediately.

I think that if they allowed, rated and supported the two separate groups as two separate groups, EVERYONE would benefit.

[Annalee]

I think that QRIS should allow TWO separate and distinct groups.

Care providers and educators.

In my state, those that provide care can't earn more than 1 maaaybe 2 stars.

Those that have a degree, pretty much get 4 (max) stars immediately.

I think that if they allowed, rated and supported the two separate groups as two separate groups, EVERYONE would benefit.

We have 6 components on our report card and 3 stars is the highest. I think they should average ALL the stars (you get 0,1,2, or 3 in each component) and NOT place so much weight on Assessment. Right now, if you do not score at least a 4 (32 items rated 1-7 and then averaged) on your FCCERS-R assessment you automatically get a 0 regardless of the other components which means if you have a BS degree you can still get a 0 across the board. I think providers should be allowed to opt-out of assessment and take a 0 in that category but still have some stars from the other components which are Developmental learning, parent involvement, business practices, professional development, licensing compliance, and assessment.

[Cat Herder]

I remember there being a lot of this info posted in the old Joanns thread?

[Annalee]

We have 6 components on our report card and 3 stars is the highest. I think they should average ALL the stars (you get 0,1,2, or 3 in each component) and NOT place so much weight on Assessment. Right now, if you do not score at least a 4 (32 items rated 1-7 and then averaged) on your FCCERS-R assessment you automatically get a 0 regardless of the other components which means if you have a BS degree you can still get a 0 across the board. I think providers should be allowed to opt-out of assessment and take a 0 in that category but still have some stars from the other components which are Developmental learning, parent involvement, business practices, professional development, licensing compliance, and assessment.

There are actually 5 components listed for FCC homes. Licensing is listed on the website but not on the report card I have posted in my child care program.

[Blackcat31]

I remember there being a lot of this info posted in the old Joanns thread?

That was an awesome thread! lovethis

[MarinaVanessa]

Just wanted to see what others thought about how our state is handling QRIS.
CA QRIS MATRIX

Here is the matrix. They will have 7 rating elements which each have their qualifications that earn points. Based on your total points you get a rating of 1-5, 5 being the highest. All 7 elements apply to centers while family child care providers only require 6. Centers need 32 points or more to reach a score of 5 while FCC needs 22 points or more. Just by looking at it I would rate as a 2.

For us the QRIS will tie the the CA Learning Foundations and Frameworks (guide to what children should know and how educators can do that. It's play-based, embraces child-led, open ended activities and positive relationships), FCCERS and licensing regulations together. It also introduces child observations, requiring health screenings, CLASS assessments and education for FCC (centers are already doing most of this, especially if they are accredited).

How is my QRIS different (if at all) than yours?

[Annalee]

Just wanted to see what others thought about how our state is handling QRIS.
CA QRIS MATRIX

Here is the matrix. They will have 7 rating elements which each have their qualifications that earn points. Based on your total points you get a rating of 1-5, 5 being the highest. All 7 elements apply to centers while family child care providers only require 6. Centers need 32 points or more to reach a score of 5 while FCC needs 22 points or more. Just by looking at it I would rate as a 2.

For us the QRIS will tie the the CA Learning Foundations and Frameworks (guide to what children should know and how educators can do that. It's play-based, embraces child-led, open ended activities and positive relationships), FCCERS and licensing regulations together. It also introduces child observations, requiring health screenings, CLASS assessments and education for FCC (centers are already doing most of this, especially if they are accredited).

How is my QRIS different (if at all) than yours?

In my state, our center and FCC report cards are figured the same way...each component is rated 0,1,2,3 and averaged. Centers do have two extra components...staff compensation and ratio/group size. FCCERS-R scores must at least be a 4 to get a star. 4.0 to 4.4 is 1 star, 4.5 to 4.9 is 2 star. 5 and above is a 3 star. I just do not like the assessment having so much weight. Those scores have to be obtained or it is an automatic 0 even if every other component reaches a 3 star level. I have attempted to place a copy of my state FCC report card. I hope it works.

[Josiegirl]

I started child care when my ds was born, 32 yrs. ago. It felt very informal, felt like babysitting all the way except my first family could only afford $40 a week for caring for her 2 ds. There was much negotiating and compromising on my part, no handbooks, contracts, nothing.

I felt I needed to be a yes provider in order to keep my families and find more. So whatever they wanted I agreed to. Some of those families were ridiculous. Plus, I don't recall much support back then, not nearly as much as now.

I let my license lapse one year and never bothered to renew for many years. But then there was a problem with my insurance company not renewing my insurance due to the whole 'if your house was built before 1970' thing unless I became re-licensed, had a lead inspector and got dc insurance. So to keep my insurance company happy, and the state, I went through the whole process again. This time I feel more involved, have learned a lot more from all that's offered through trainings, home visits, STARs program, etc.

[MarinaVanessa]

I think that QRIS should allow TWO separate and distinct groups.

Care providers and educators.

In my state, those that provide care can't earn more than 1 maaaybe 2 stars.

Those that have a degree, pretty much get 4 (max) stars immediately.

I think that if they allowed, rated and supported the two separate groups as two separate groups, EVERYONE would benefit.

What do you define as programs that provide "care" and what do you define as a program with an "educator"?

I can see how legislature would maybe allow two separate groups if divided into "center" and "family child care home" categories each with their own set of standards so that a family child care home can have a chance at getting a high score however I don't see how they'd go for "care" as a category that could get a better score if all they provide is care.

I mean I'm a FCC provider and I'm getting an education (12 units) and have a child-led curriculum, do observations, am familiar with FCCERS and I couldn't even get higher than a 2 in my state even if I got my degree. I would need to take CLASS training, use their assessment tools and get assessed by them myself ($$$), have a certified FCCERS assessor evaluate my environment ($$) and it seems that apart from the education aspect of it we as FCC providers are set up to fail. We are at a huge disadvantage because we have limited income compared to a center yet we must pay the same fees that they do for these materials and assessments.