Wishlist – What Do You Wish Existed To Help You?

[CareHub]

MN. There are probably two dozen forms that are required that we print from the state website and/or our county website. A few are keyable (but can't be 'saved' - so you end up retyping all the info each time you need a copy of the form) but most are not keyable. You have to print them out and fill out handwritten, or have parents fill out handwritten.
These are forms with child info or business info that we must give to families.
Then there are annual forms, including an enrollment list, safety checklists, pages of information on various parts of licensing compliance, an application, etc. Some are mailed to us to be handwritten; others we must print from the website and handwrite.
I have scanned most of the child enrollment forms, printed the information on them that doesn't change, and then scanned again. I use these for my families so that I don't have to do quite as much handwriting, but then I have to check the two websites before I enroll a family to be sure they haven't updated any of the forms. If it has changed, I have to either handwrite or re-do the scanning/printing/scanning process. No matter how you do it, it's a pita

There is no software. We are in the dark ages ::

Thanks for the additional detail. That's a huge amount of work to put on the provider! I see them all here.

What about daily forms like check in/out and logs for infants? I don't see them on the list. Are you able to use your own? And what kind of record keeping does MN require for them?

Would love to know if others also have pretty strict requirements in terms of forms. Thinking if there are ways to make it easier within the requirements.

Thanks!

[CareHub]

I would have liked a clone! LOL Or 4. One could do menus, one paperwork, one could make lunch and snacks, and one could deal with parents while I played with kids all day!


The most helpful thing was a place that had form templates. I cannot remember the name of the site now, but it was really nice. I just put in my daycare name, changed whatever I wanted my contracts/forms to say, and print! Most of the work was done already and clued me in to a lot of policies/procedures I'd never have thought of on my own.

I would have LOVED to enroll online or take credit card/debit payments as well. I dont think I'll ever go back to doing child care again, but if I did, I think that having those options would eliminate "I forgot my money" comments. I could be like "Oh, well, let me swipe your card for you!"

OT> Yesterday, a mom of an infant came in after her sched time. She was quite rude because I refused to park in DCP's driveway since she's never said it was OK, so I moved to the side and told her to pull in if she had permission. We both go into get our kids. Of course, it's PAYDAY. The lady tells DCP that she can only pull $200 out of the ATM because she went shopping to buy her daughter a bunch of "fun" stuff! I was like !!
I know that most banks allow you to shop and swipe a card AND allow you to pull $400 per day out of an acc't. She LIED to the provider. And anyway, she had enough money to buy a bunch of "fun stuff" for her infant but not enough to pay the extra money she admitted she owed! Poor provider told her "It's ok, just have it Monday morning" and the lady told her she'd have it Thurs because she can't take $ from ATM on weekends! Which, seriously? I have NEVER heard of that! I wanted to say "LIAR" but I kept my mouth shut. I am sure DCP knows that the mom was lying anyway.
I think DCP doing a CC option could eliminate these payment issues.

Thanks for the reply! So sounds like top issues for you were:
1) Forms + paperwork
2) Tracking down payments

For #1, just to confirm, you were able to create and use your own forms?

[SignMeUp]

Thanks for the additional detail. That's a huge amount of work to put on the provider! I see them all here.

What about daily forms like check in/out and logs for infants? I don't see them on the list. Are you able to use your own? And what kind of record keeping does MN require for them?

Would love to know if others also have pretty strict requirements in terms of forms. Thinking if there are ways to make it easier within the requirements.

Thanks!

Things change almost weekly here right now. At this moment, we are required to have sign in/sign out logs for all ages if we are on any government program, such as care paid for by the government, or the Food Program. But there is no required form for this at this time in my county or state, so I made my own. Some providers use an app, but it does not sound like most are fully functional, so I am going low-tech. Plus who knows if the app will be allowed, if they come out with a required form.
I also have an Infant Sleep Check form that I check off each time I check on my babies. We are "encouraged" to check on them, but no form is required at this time. However, like I said, things change a lot, so I like to have my ducks in a row.
And you can see on that list, there are more required forms for infants, to be used before swaddling, if an infant rolls before 6 months of age, and for any sleep position other than on their back.

[CareHub]

Curious to know if others have pretty stringent state or local requirements similar to SignMeUp?

Also, if others are using apps for signing in/out.

[CareHub]

Things change almost weekly here right now. At this moment, we are required to have sign in/sign out logs for all ages if we are on any government program, such as care paid for by the government, or the Food Program. But there is no required form for this at this time in my county or state, so I made my own. Some providers use an app, but it does not sound like most are fully functional, so I am going low-tech. Plus who knows if the app will be allowed, if they come out with a required form.
I also have an Infant Sleep Check form that I check off each time I check on my babies. We are "encouraged" to check on them, but no form is required at this time. However, like I said, things change a lot, so I like to have my ducks in a row.
And you can see on that list, there are more required forms for infants, to be used before swaddling, if an infant rolls before 6 months of age, and for any sleep position other than on their back.

Thanks, that's good to know. Do you have requirements around how long you need to keep hard copies of the required forms, as well as the daily forms you use? Seems like it would add up to a lot of paperwork?

[SignMeUp]

I don't recall whether or not there are legal requirements. There are suggestions all the way from shredding immediately after a child leaves, to keeping everything forever.

[CareHub]

Thanks for all the responses thus far. So biggest pain points I’ve heard seem to be:
-Documentation – daily, applications, etc
-Accounting and billing – getting payments on time, extra billing, etc.
-Families – managing needs and communication

Any other pain points that you experience that are missing here? Anything else that would be on your “wishlist”?

In terms of solutions, it MMK seems to be widely used. If you use it, does it address these things? What areas do you feel like it falls short?

Thank you!