Payment During Coronavirus

[Firefly]

What exactly would you say to a parent who said they can’t afford to pay you while being closed?

[delferka]

I am really unsure of what to do with this. I do not have anything in my contract about having to close in an emergency like this. Even though most parents are getting paid I just feel like since it's not in my contract I can't do that. My contract states they have to pay if I'm not given the 2 week notice OR if they will be absent from care for 3 or more weeks then they need to pay 1/2 tuition to hold spot, but that really doesn't apply in this situation. So unsure of what to do.

I'm in the same boat. Not sure what to ask of these parents. I don't think they get it!

[Blackcat31]

What exactly would you say to a parent who said they can’t afford to pay you while being closed?

How do they afford to pay when you are open or are they not working?

If they are working, then they can afford to pay and if they aren't working I understand but I would have to let them go then as I have financial obligations regardless of whether a child is in attendance or not and like others have said self-employed business owners don't have the option of filing for unemployment benefits.

[Cat Herder]

What exactly would you say to a parent who said they can’t afford to pay you while being closed?

I would tell them that their power, water and internet bills have been halted, no cut-offs are allowed until the State of Emergency is over. That I am their only bill that has no protection or federal reimbursement plan, therefore I cannot afford to not be paid.

Check out what your state is currently offering parents and see if you still feel sorry for them. They will also be able to apply for unemployment income until they go back to work. Not us. We are still out of luck, we can't even write off our lost income like other small business owners. Exactly why is that?

[Firefly]

How do they afford to pay when you are open or are they not working?

If they are working, then they can afford to pay and if they aren't working I understand but I would have to let them go then as I have financial obligations regardless of whether a child is in attendance or not and like others have said self-employed business owners don't have the option of filing for unemployment benefits.

I’m sorry, let me clarify. I closed my daycare but she is still working. Since she has to find other care arrangements for her child she feels she shouldn’t have to pay for care that’s not being provided.

[Ariana]

What exactly would you say to a parent who said they can’t afford to pay you while being closed?

It is such a stressful situation for both parties! Some are getting laid off and can’t afford to pay but providers can’t afford to not charge. Everyone who is employed however can get government funding.

Here in Canada we are going to be able to apply for emergency funding. $900 biweekly for 15 weeks. We are also getting child benefits.

[WBee]

I'm not charging. I was open and got paid this week and no one came. I can't afford to lose clients when this is over so if it's only for three weeks then I will just deal with it. I'm going to be closing my daycare this summer and don't want to start any new kids before then anyways so I'll keep the families I have by doing so. Going back to school to get my Masters degree in teaching. So done with the issues of this business. My husband doesn't want to deal with any of it anymore either.

[Unregisterebonsiababy]

I totally get where she is coming from. It would be different if she was off work and still wanting to send her child. But she is working and to ask her to pay double daycare fees because you choose to close it probably doesn't seem fair to her and really puts her in a financial bind. You run the risk that if she finds someone else to take care of her child anyway then you are out of money long term. Giving her a 50% discount now would be a compromise she might go for,

I’m sorry, let me clarify. I closed my daycare but she is still working. Since she has to find other care arrangements for her child she feels she shouldn’t have to pay for care that’s not being provided.

[Lil_Diddle]

I totally get where she is coming from. It would be different if she was off work and still wanting to send her child. But she is working and to ask her to pay double daycare fees because you choose to close it probably doesn't seem fair to her and really puts her in a financial bind. You run the risk that if she finds someone else to take care of her child anyway then you are out of money long term. Giving her a 50% discount now would be a compromise she might go for,

I agree, if the family has proven to be good to you, it might be time to look at it through her eyes? Do they seem financially able to handle the strain of extra childcare?

[dmulcahy729]

I'm in the same boat. I am unable to only request 50% payment though. All of my parents are still working (from home) and getting paid, no one is paying someone else to care for their kids. I need help in how to word a letter telling them that tuition still needs to be paid otherwise I need to close

[Blackcat31]

I'm in the same boat. I am unable to only request 50% payment though. All of my parents are still working (from home) and getting paid, no one is paying someone else to care for their kids. I need help in how to word a letter telling them that tuition still needs to be paid otherwise I need to close

If you are open I would simply tell parents that fees are due like normal. Fees are based on enrollment not attendance or time used.

I explained to my families that regardless of whether kids are present or not, the child care still has financial obligations that need to be paid.

[Firefly]

I totally get where she is coming from. It would be different if she was off work and still wanting to send her child. But she is working and to ask her to pay double daycare fees because you choose to close it probably doesn't seem fair to her and really puts her in a financial bind. You run the risk that if she finds someone else to take care of her child anyway then you are out of money long term. Giving her a 50% discount now would be a compromise she might go for,

That’s what I’m doing, charging 50% and that’s what she didn’t like.

[DaddyDaycare]

I don't own a daycare (thought about opening one last year). We live in California (Orange county), which is under similar shelter in place orders. We pay ~$2k/month for our 13-month daughter. Our daycare is a chain and not an in-home or small center.

Our daycare closed this week and next. This was communicated to us right before more formal government guidance were released, and there's just a note that we'll figure out billing later. We're not sure what happens after next week and I'm sure our daycare doesn't either. We're OK with that for now as we love our teachers and wouldn't want them to not be paid during this time. But we also wouldn't want to continue in our present situation for too long.

My wife and I are now both working from home, and it's a challenge. We're lucky our income isn't affected but we also have demanding jobs. We're currently taking turns using PTO and have arranged for a nanny a few days a week. We're essentially paying an extra $500-$600 per week for supplemental daycare.

Of course we want to support our daycare but this is a lot of extra spending on our end for what is essentially services not rendered. We're willing to wait until end of the month to reevaluate, but if the daycare will be closed for another month, I'm not sure we'll be willing to keep paying full tuition. It'll depend on how much, and for how long.

When we discussed this, we thought about a few angles: Is there loss of use insurance for a business? Will there be assistance from the government for businesses like these that are hard hit? We don't know how we'll handle this but thought I'd share a perspective from the parent/consumer side. It isn't like we're chilling out at home - we're also frustrated trying to figure out our new normal.

[GuestParent]

This is going to be a difficult situation all around.

As someone whose immediate income won't be affected, I'm happy to pay full fee (or close to it) for some reasonable period. In my mind, that is 2 - 4 weeks.

We are working remotely. The work is still there. In order for my income not to be affected, both my husband and I are working nights/evenings/weekends to get our hours in and using paid leave to make up the difference. (We aren't yet willing to hire a nanny/sitter due to wanting to limit exposure.) In addition to loving the stimulation / development / teaching that happens in care, the reason we pay a lot of $$ for childcare is because we cannot do this long term. We'll run out of paid leave and energy. I fear the closures are going to go on for 12-18 months. I cannot pay for childcare I can't use for that long, even if we both keep our jobs. I haven't made any decisions based on this fear yet.

Many parents are already suffering loss of income or know that it is imminent.

I hope the (forced) closures are shorter than I'm imagining. Very few parents will be able/willing to pay for months on end if you are closed (by choice or by law). I hope that the government comes up with an emergency plan to help childcare businesses stay afloat / survive if it extends out. I don't see any other reasonable solution that can work for both parents and providers. This is pretty unprecedented.

[GuestParent2]

But staff aren't being paid?

So I'm a parent in the same boat. We've been asked to pay up 50% of tuition next week even though the owner (three centers) has told his entire staff to go get unemployment.

So I sent him a note saying that sounds unfair because it is.

25%, sure - you have to pay yourself and the rent. But 50% when none of the staff is being paid? That's just not right. That's taking advantage of a bad situation to line your pockets.