One Thing I Always Found Strange About Licensing...

[Unregistered]

We are required to have background checks and the people who may be in our home at the time of daycare...but parents dont have to have backgrounds checks. I could potentially have an ex felon or sex offender in my home dropping off their child everyday and wouldnt know it! If fact..we really dont know these people we allow into our homes with children around..

[Cat Herder]

You can run background checks online, yourself. It is public information.

https://www.instantcheckmate.com/

[daycare]

Not sure what state you are in but this is why my state has the rule that you have ACCESS TO YOUR CHILD ONLY, not the other children.

I have first hand experience with an exact situation. I have a foyer where parents enter and that's it. They get to have access to their kid only.

[Blackcat31]

We are required to have background checks and the people who may be in our home at the time of daycare...but parents dont have to have backgrounds checks. I could potentially have an ex felon or sex offender in my home dropping off their child everyday and wouldnt know it! If fact..we really dont know these people we allow into our homes with children around..

Unless you are leaving them alone with other people's children, I don't see this as an issue or anything to be concerned about.

Especially if they are dropping off their child.....must mean the state (or any authority/agency) has no issue with them either.

The sex offender people should be concerned about is the one that lives nearby that hasnt been caught yet.

[Annalee]

Not sure what state you are in but this is why my state has the rule that you have ACCESS TO YOUR CHILD ONLY, not the other children.

I have first hand experience with an exact situation. I have a foyer where parents enter and that's it. They get to have access to their kid only.

I have a foyer as well and it works great!

[Unregistered]

Blackcat- Just because im there doesnt mean a felon wont do something or sex offender...im 5'2 100lbs..not threatening at all . Actually this very thing happened in my city. A daycare provider was shot and killed by a parent, in front of a child. He had prior convictions.

[LovetheSun]

Not sure what state you are in but this is why my state has the rule that you have ACCESS TO YOUR CHILD ONLY, not the other children.

I have first hand experience with an exact situation. I have a foyer where parents enter and that's it. They get to have access to their kid only.

Oh thank you for that information! I was just discussing with my assistant how we should be more careful with the parents coming.
I didn't know this was a rule even if I worked in multiple daycares before. Could we get in trouble for not following this rule in California?

[LovetheSun]

Blackcat- Just because im there doesnt mean a felon wont do something or sex offender...im 5'2 100lbs..not threatening at all . Actually this very thing happened in my city. A daycare provider was shot and killed by a parent, in front of a child. He had prior convictions.

SO HORRIBLE!

[Unregistered]

Lovethesun- Yes her husband was also a victim. The whole city was in panic that day.

[daycare]

This is why there is a thing called interview and google.

You have to be a good judge of character and know who you are letting into your home. I google every parent that wants to even come to my home.

I always get their phone numbers and email address. There is a lot of information that can be found on someone with that small amount of information.

FB can tell a lot about a person too. I only conduct interviews with families after children are gone and if I feel uncomfortable, I end it. My husband is usually home, but if he is not, I just cut the cord very politely.

Just like anything else you do, you can't go into this blindly. Trust your gut and do your work before hand.

Court documents are public information.

[Meeko]

ALWAYS run a check on your clients.

I run a check on folks who come to interview too.

Never used to, until we found out one of the DCD's that liked to drop by to visit was a registered sex offender. Even though he was never alone with the kids, he was getting his jollies just being around them.

Since then NOBODY gets to be around a child who isn't theirs. If a parents comes by, their child is brought out of the play area to hang out with their parents. NO parent is allowed in the playroom.

This has been OK'd with licensing by the way. A parent must always have access to THEIR child. No right to be near the other kids at all.

So I say no to any parent who wants to hang out and watch our day.

Over the years, I have found out several on the sex offenders list, several with domestic abuse charges etc.

We have a right to know who is entering our homes.

[LovetheSun]

ALWAYS run a check on your clients.

I run a check on folks who come to interview too.

Never used to, until we found out one of the DCD's that liked to drop by to visit was a registered sex offender. Even though he was never alone with the kids, he was getting his jollies just being around them.

Since then NOBODY gets to be around a child who isn't theirs. If a parents comes by, their child is brought out of the play area to hang out with their parents. NO parent is allowed in the playroom.

This has been OK'd with licensing by the way. A parent must always have access to THEIR child. No right to be near the other kids at all.

So I say no to any parent who wants to hang out and watch our day.

Over the years, I have found out several on the sex offenders list, several with domestic abuse charges etc.

We have a right to know who is entering our homes.

Thank you for your input!

We usually let the parents stay for little while at pick up, but recently I found one parent behavior to be a bit strange (a lot of mood change) but her husband is completely "fine" and very nice. We might need to change that, which will probably sadden the parents they are really happy to hang out for a few minutes but the children safety is definitely my priority.

What do you use for criminal background? I usually google families and like to enrolled families from the neighborhood but this year.

[Meeko]

Thank you for your input!

We usually let the parents stay for little while at pick up, but recently I found one parent behavior to be a bit strange (a lot of mood change) but her husband is completely "fine" and very nice. We might need to change that, which will probably sadden the parents they are really happy to hang out for a few minutes but the children safety is definitely my priority.

What do you use for criminal background? I usually google families and like to enrolled families from the neighborhood but this year.

I check the sex offenders list and I use our state's "right to know" web site. Both free.

I also FB stalk too! It's amazing how much you can detect from their posts and photos. They may come to an interview appearing as sweet as pie and yet constantly post on FB how they can't pay their bills, or how they just got another DUI etc. All red flags for me.

[Blackcat31]

Blackcat- Just because im there doesnt mean a felon wont do something or sex offender...im 5'2 100lbs..not threatening at all . Actually this very thing happened in my city. A daycare provider was shot and killed by a parent, in front of a child. He had prior convictions.

:confused: :confused:

My point was that if you are that concerned, operating a child care probably isn't the safest thing to do.

In the example you gave... Not sure how knowing the criminal history of that parent would have prevented that. OTHER than not enrolling and if you are going to run a background check on every client you have then you also run the risk of alienating clients.

That's like saying guns aren't available to those with a criminal history......pretty sure most criminals get them anyways so these scenarios always pique my curiosity and I wonder how knowing a parents criminal history is going to prevent anything. Again, other than not enrolling them due to their history.

THE worst experience I've ever had (resulted in multiple CPS reports, police calls and an Order for Protection against the parent) came from a parent that had NO criminal history. NO warning label, NO clue/hint of future behavior, NOTHING that would have or could have forewarned me about what would eventually happen.

Oh, and for what it's worth........the parent was smaller than you.

So, if you have the ability to run a background check on clients and they are willing to do comply, then cool! Especially if it gives you peace of mind.

I don't know, I guess the way I look at this is I know many people that have done wrong in their lives and paid their debt to society and are now fine upstanding members of the community AND excellent parents.

IMHO, I'd have missed out on some pretty terrific kids if I held their parents criminal histories against them.

I guess I choose to not be so paranoid about stuff....but to each his/her own.

[Blackcat31]

Blackcat- Just because im there doesnt mean a felon wont do something or sex offender...im 5'2 100lbs..not threatening at all . Actually this very thing happened in my city. A daycare provider was shot and killed by a parent, in front of a child. He had prior convictions.

Lovethesun- Yes her husband was also a victim. The whole city was in panic that day.

Curious if you are referring to what happened in Brooklyn Park a few years ago?