Not Sure What to Do

[Unregistered]

I have a parent who brings her children in with the same clothes from the previous day. Occasionally she'll change her daughter but her son ALWAYS comes in with the same outfit THE STAFF puts him in the day before. She has brought him in twice with dried poop on his bottom and a FULL diaper. Yesterday she sent the little girl with no underwear on and this morning the little girl had an accident on the way and I called the mother to let her know we needed a change of close that was at 8:52 this morning. I honestly don't know what to do because the mom runs out of here in the morning and when she picks up them and she doesn't return our phone calls

[MunchkinWrangler]

That's neglect. I would be considering reporting.

[Unregistered]

That's honestly what I am thinking of doing the only thing is the parents aren't paying the tuition it's the grandparents. So I honestly have no idea how to go about this. Do I mention it to the grandparents first or just report it?

[BabyMonkeys]

That's honestly what I am thinking of doing the only thing is the parents aren't paying the tuition it's the grandparents. So I honestly have no idea how to go about this. Do I mention it to the grandparents first or just report it?

Who is your contract with? If the contract is with the mother, I'm not sure you can talk to the grandparents without it being a breach in confidentiality? I would report.

[Blackcat31]

Upon arrival, do a once over body check.

If either of the children do not have clean clothing (including underwear) do not accept them into care.

I would also tell the mother that she MUST be reachable and if you (or anyone from care) calls her, she needs to answer or return your call within X amount of time.

Let her know that should either of those two things above (clean clothes and being reachable) do not happen you (or the center) will report to CPS

[Cat Herder]

Is this family homeless?

[Miss A]

Document, document, document. If you are going to turn this into CPS, you will need to have the documentation to back your claims. This includes the state of cleanliness of each child each day, as well as how many times have contacted mom, noting the time you made contact and the time she response. I suggest following BlackCat's advice first and foremost though.

[Mike]

Many good answers here.

If the grandparents are the ones you are working for, I'd talk to them. They may already know the mother has problems and could be why they are helping out.

It is neglect and should be reported, and definitely keep detailed notes including dates and times. You can give the mother a couple days to improve first if you want, and like BlackCat said, you can refuse the kids if they are not suitable for drop off. Doing that may make the mother do a better job, but I doubt that will change her, at least not permanently.

[Unregistered]

Thank you all for the advice I do document everything and we have cameras in mostly all the rooms. I will try Blackcat's advice and see how the kids come in at the end of the week.

[CityGarden]

Hmm I think that screams neglect and I would immediately bring it to the dcm and grandparents attention and state that it is not okay. I agree with document.

From my policies...
School is open Monday through Friday. School begins promptly at X and end at X. The child must be accompanied by a parent or designated person for
admission by the teacher. At the gate, the teach or Head of School will check each child for colds or other obvious symptoms of illness. We have hand sanitizer at the gate for your child to clean their hands before entering the school.

[Unregistered]

Its possible they are homeless or living out of their car.

[LysesKids]

Its possible they are homeless or living out of their car.

That is possible... I was homeless for a few weeks with 2 oldest & again years later with 4 kids (2nd hubby was killed and I was SAHM); I busted ass to make sure homework was done & faces were washed while waiting for section 8 or a job (first hubby would not pay CS, and to this day refuses to acknowledge kids some 30+ years later); thankfully my daycare provider both times let me use her washer to clean clothes... now I wash clothes for my babies for free.

Sometimes life isn't fair, but you do what is needed. It's not always what a parent wants, It's the little extras a parent sometimes needs to survive.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I would ask if everything is okay at home in person where she is absolutely reachable.

I would also report it and I would not tell the family. If she is purposely neglecting the children she could run and hide leaving the children with no help. I'm not sure about your state, but here (south) they would provide her with assistance in parenting and do well checks on the children. They would not automatically remove them from the home.