Advice On Rates For Different Ages?

[Little People]

Do you charge the same for all ages or do you have different rates? If you have different rates, will you share the rates, ages and your reasons why??

[laundrymom]

I don't charge different rates for different ages.

[misol]

I started out charging different rates for different ages but now I charge same base rate for everyone. Any differences to the rates are due to hours in care, not ages of the children. I changed the way I charge after reading other threads on this board regarding the same thing. Expenses do not decrease as the child ages. Infants require more hands on care and most of their supplies are provided by the parent. Older children eat more food, use/waste more household supplies, need curriculum materials, potty training, need more toys, you have to pick up after them, etc. The care that is provided to each age group is different but the associated "cost" whether it's time or money, definitely does not decrease.

Note: My contract still has areas that read as if I charge different rates for different ages but since it still makes sense I left it in there in case I ever change my mind

[lil angels]

I charge more for infants $20 a week more for full time. Just because the demand is so high that it is easy to get it and when they are 18 months I go down the $20 because that is more what people are charging for that age. by then a family seems to have stuck with you and they are here till school then.

[jen]

No difference here either...BUT people in my area are charging $50 or more a week for infants. I don't, but it is a good money maker since those spots are so hard to comeby!

[littlemonkeys]

Any differences to the rates are due to hours in care, not ages of the children. I changed the way I charge after reading other threads on this board regarding the same thing. Expenses do not decrease as the child ages. Infants require more hands on care and most of their supplies are provided by the parent. Older children eat more food, use/waste more household supplies, need curriculum materials, potty training, need more toys, you have to pick up after them, etc. The care that is provided to each age group is different but the associated "cost" whether it's time or money, definitely does not decrease.

These are my exact reasons for not having rate differences for age.

[Blackcat31]

I charge the same rate for different ages but I charge differently based on hours of care needed.

My state assistant program though pays a different amount ofr each age group with infants (up to 1 yr) having the highest rate and toddlers next, follwed by prechoolers and SA'ers gettting the lowest rate payable.

If I HAD to do it on a scale based on age, I would do it the exact opposite because the littles don't break things and go through massive amounts of craft supplies and toiletries.....plus the littles only cry not sass....

[nannyde]

For me they get harder as they get older.

Newborns are the easiest and school agers are the hardest.

[DBug]

I learned the hard way, by starting out with an infant rate that was $25 higher per week than the toddler rate. Over the past year, all of my infants turned 2, and their rates went down. My income went down by $100 PER WEEK!

My advice: charge the same thing for each spot. With the cost of living increasing and parents getting raises every year, there's no reason why your pay should potentially be decreasing.

Now, if you wanted to charge more as the kids get older ... that might be an idea

[lvt77]

well here in CA I can have 4 infants and no other kids, or I can have 8 kids, 6 toddlers and 2 school agers, so it makes sense for me to charge more.
I also charge a higher rate for p/ters as its almost impossible for me to fill in the other days.

[Abigail]

LVT, can't you have any infants if you have 8 children or do they have to be only infants?

I am not charging based on age, why take a pay cut after a year? With limits on the number of children you have to set rates on what you want your annual income to be. I would charge the flat weekly rate for all ages. If I have a lot of infant inquiries then I would only raise the infant rate because those are limited to three here and are considered infants until the age of 24 months in a home daycare setting. I would charge more for any part time children with the same concept in mind.

Examples:
Full time 24 months+ $125 ($2.77/hour @ 45 hour=$25/day)
Part time (3 days) 24+ months $90 ($3.33/hour @ 27 hours=$30/day)

Full time 6 weeks-23 months $140 ($3.11/hour @ 45 hours=$28/day)
Part time (3 days) 6 weeks-23 months $100 (3.67/hour @ 27 hours=$33/day)

Really, I just raised the part time rates by $5 per day per child. No discounts. I also raised the rates for infant age group by 10% (close just rounded numbers to get even weekly rates). If I am unable to fill up, then I will end up with just the 24+month group and lower the rates for infants. The $125/week here is competitive so I can't see how I would be at a loss. Besides, by the time those infants "graduate" the rates will already have gone up 10% so I really wouldn't lose income.

[lvt77]

LVT, can't you have any infants if you have 8 children or do they have to be only infants?

Yes and NO...Yes per lic. No becuase I teach. If I had infants I would not be able to teach my program to the olders. I only have one infant and is here only on Friday for a few hours with older bro. I dont teach during this time

[lvt77]

I charge a higher rate for non potty trained kids
Reason is that I can't begin to tell you how many blankets I have to wash, carpets I have to scrub, mats I have to scrub when a child has an accident during nap or play time. Ive had kids poop on my bathroom rug pee on my carpet and so until they can put it in the toilet I charge extra for all the extra cleaning supplies and after hours cleaning I have to do to sanitize the daycare so that it can open the next day. I don't see this as an income loss once they potty train because I will be buying less supplies.Sorry for the run on sentence I'm on my phone. Lol

[nannyde]

The ADA requires child care programs to make accommodations in the areas described in
Question 10 unless:
• In cases of changes in policies, practices or procedures, the accommodation would
fundamentally alter the nature of the program or services offered;21
© 2009, Child Care Law Center 2/5/09
4
• In the case of auxiliary aids and services, the accommodation would
fundamentally alter the nature of the program or pose an undue burden (i.e.,
pose a significant difficulty or expense);22

When you have a small group and a childs medical and psychological needs require a level of care that removes the adult away from the nature of the program or the nature of the services then you are not required to care for that child.

You have to be able to properly care for the child AND be compensated for EVERTYHING you do in your business. The client base HAS to be able to support your entire business. We are NOT required to provide care for free. If a child presents with needs beyond the course of normal care that consume a substantial portion of the services and the client base can not support the extra funding needed to support those services then the provider is not required to care for the child.

Breathing treatments are a perfect example of something that can quickly consume a lot of staff time especially if the child needs them as many as three times per day. In my care I have to assess lung sounds before administration and document. I have to monitor the child's breathing and heart rate during the treatment, and assess lung sounds directly after the treatment and any time after the treatment I deem necessary. Also, I have to do parent conferencing to manage the entire thing: getting medication in the home that is current with current doctors orders, discussing when and IF the child has been given the meds at home, if the child has been given the meds ever, if there is a combination of two or more meds if they can be given together in the same jet or if they are to be given apart and the timing apart. This may take phone calls and orders from the Doc and pharmacy to find out best practice. There is also insurance to consider for specialty medical procedures. Your insurance rates may raise substantially. It is important to get insurance information and ask SPECIFICALLY about being covered for this type of procedure. If the cost of the insurance is beyond the means of your client base you need to take that into consideration also.

This is VERY time consuming and requires hours a day of one to one care. In order to be compensated for it my client base would have to supply at least three/four dollars per day per child to cover my time and expense. A raise increase of this nature would substantially alter my business in that my clients would seek care elsewhere due to the rate increase being beyond their means.

I would need to survey my clients and ask for the rate increase to cover the cost of the service to the child and then get documentation from each client as to whether or not they are willing to assume the additional cost. This information, the attempts to access funding beyond your client base, plus a time study done on the particular child care needs beyond normal care would be the documentation needed to share with parent, DHS, and the DOJ if a discrimination claim was made.

The ADA isn't asking for providers to be uncompensated for additional care. They are wanting you to evaluate whether or not your business can sustain the level of care the child needs. Nobody wants a child in a child care where there isn't funding in place to provide the care the child needs. It's not best for the child or the other children in care.

The ADA is used a LOT in conversations about HAVING to take special needs kids but it is very clear about what a provider needs to do to assess whether or not she can provide the service. Persuing a small one man operation like a home day care who traditionally net very little money per hour at the end of the year isn't something that they spend a lot of time on.

The ADA isn't meant to be a govermental bully that forces you to take kids who have care needs beyond your means or the financial means of your client base. It's always what is the best interest of the child within what you are ABLE to do. Just keep good records and be willing to provide the documentation regarding your decision and be willing to take a stand for the best interest of the kid.

I don't take kids I'm not comfortable caring for or kids that present needs beyond what my very small client base can sustain.

[ninosqueridos]

I charge more for infants $20 a week more for full time. Just because the demand is so high that it is easy to get it and when they are 18 months I go down the $20 because that is more what people are charging for that age. by then a family seems to have stuck with you and they are here till school then.

I do the same thing except my difference is $25 per week until age 18 months.