Am I Too Low For My Area?

[Josiegirl]

How do you legally and ethically find out what other places charge? I don't want to be that anonymous person calling everybody, acting the part of a parent seeking care, just to find out rates. And I don't want to appear nosy(besides isn't it illegal?)and ask fellow providers their rates.

There seems to be a huge discrepancy between areas within the state(Vermont), cities vs. small towns for example. And there is a difference in rates between centers and registered homes. One of my dcms told me yesterday the center she had her dd in, before coming to me, charged her $155.00 a week. She said that was her rate because she wasn't on state subsidy. However, if she'd been on subsidy they would have charged her $175.

I charge $105 for a ft dck, whether they're state subsidized or not. The state pays me $130ish. I had 1 person call and ask about child care. When I told her my rates, she remarked that's the cheapest she's heard in this area. I don't want to undersell myself but don't want to chase away families either. What should I do? Plus it looks as if I won't be getting new families anytime soon. Is it okay to up their rates a little bit? I made 2 changes last fall; 1) less of a sibling discount and 2) pay 52 weeks a year.

Any advice would be appreciated!!

[CraftyMom]

Does your state have a website where all licensed providers are listed? Here in MA the website is Mass.gov/eec maybe you have something similar? It lists all licensed providers and their info such as hours of operation, license capacity, rates, etc. I can easily go on there and look at my "competition"

[Josiegirl]

Our area has local providers listed and such things as what is offered, pets, schedule, etc. but not rates.

[Gemma]

You could go up just 5.00$ a day, for now, and see what happens...it isn't enough to be a deal breaker for parents, but you'll notice the difference at the end of the week.

[Unregistered]

That is incredibly low for where I am. Do you mean $105/week? That would still be on the low side for us. The housing here is insane though so that may be why. In either case- what fcc providers charge here is usually a little less than centers (I've noticed) and you can easily call centers and ask what they charge without feeling weird, right? Also many of our local FCCs have websites which sometimes have the rates up. You can look for them by looking on craigslist or even call your local resource and referral just to get the names, then google them to see if there is a website with rates. Oh, and usually anywhere that takes state subsidies, the familiy pays the rest of what is owed on top of that. I've never heard of a place charging even less than the state pays. But, different area, different rates I guess.

[Blackcat31]

How do you legally and ethically find out what other places charge? I don't want to be that anonymous person calling everybody, acting the part of a parent seeking care, just to find out rates. And I don't want to appear nosy(besides isn't it illegal?)and ask fellow providers their rates.

There seems to be a huge discrepancy between areas within the state(Vermont), cities vs. small towns for example. And there is a difference in rates between centers and registered homes. One of my dcms told me yesterday the center she had her dd in, before coming to me, charged her $155.00 a week. She said that was her rate because she wasn't on state subsidy. However, if she'd been on subsidy they would have charged her $175.

I charge $105 for a ft dck, whether they're state subsidized or not. The state pays me $130ish. I had 1 person call and ask about child care. When I told her my rates, she remarked that's the cheapest she's heard in this area. I don't want to undersell myself but don't want to chase away families either. What should I do? Plus it looks as if I won't be getting new families anytime soon. Is it okay to up their rates a little bit? I made 2 changes last fall; 1) less of a sibling discount and 2) pay 52 weeks a year.

Any advice would be appreciated!!

Usually your local child care resource and referral agency will have a provider rate sheet that tells you the average costs in your area. They gather this information via a provider business survey that both family child care and center providers submit.

Our state assistance program adjust their rates according to that rate average.

[Blackcat31]

Here is the one for Vermont from 2012.

Scroll down to find your area, county and maybe adjust since this one is for 2012. I couldn't find anything for 2013/14 but I didn't search too deeply so it might be out there...

Or your area only does them every other year and the 2014 one hasn't been released yet...??

But its a start.

http://dcf.vermont.gov/sites/dcf/files/pdf/cdd/care/Market%20Rate%20Survey%20Report%202012.pdf

[Josiegirl]

Thanks BC, that's very enlightening!! It looks like it's time to nudge them up this year, just a little bit. I think $5 a week sounds good and I'll say goodbye to any sibling discount whatsoever. I certainly don't want to scare anyone off but prices haven't gone down or stayed the same on everything else.