Are There General Laws On Who Daycare Can Release A Child To?

[Unregistered]

I am having an issue with a daycare my son went to in the past. His dad (my ex) was dropping him off and picking him up without my knowlege and im being sent to collections for it, The daycare is claiming that it doesnt matter who drops off or picks up a child the contract was in my name and thats all that matters but i have been to daycares since and remember HAVING to fill out a paper saying who was authorized to drop off and pick up. Does anyone have info on where i can find this or who i can talk to about this the daycare refuses to even talk to me, i have to get the collection agency to bug them just to send me the paperwork. The agency is being very helpful and are getting annoyed with the daycare as i am but they have nothing to do with daycare laws just collecting debt.
email me please at blissfulsensationsbytaresa@gmail.com

[daycare]

Contact licensing in your state
Also there is a rule of who is an authorized pick up and it is anyone that you listed at the time you filled out the paper work. If they are on the list of authorized adult to release the child to then yes the DC provider has to comply.
It sounds Like you should be taking your ex to court for racking up a bill In your name.

[momatheart]

I am having an issue with a daycare my son went to in the past. His dad (my ex) was dropping him off and picking him up without my knowlege and im being sent to collections for it, The daycare is claiming that it doesnt matter who drops off or picks up a child the contract was in my name and thats all that matters but i have been to daycares since and remember HAVING to fill out a paper saying who was authorized to drop off and pick up. Does anyone have info on where i can find this or who i can talk to about this the daycare refuses to even talk to me, i have to get the collection agency to bug them just to send me the paperwork. The agency is being very helpful and are getting annoyed with the daycare as i am but they have nothing to do with daycare laws just collecting debt.
email me please at blissfulsensationsbytaresa@gmail.com

OK wait you said in the past? To me that means that humm you finalized that provider. Now is this a center or home daycare? I know where I work we have to have all shots etc up to date and if a child leaves and comes back and DAD is the one innitiating this then I believe there should have been new paperwork involved. I wonder if the provider is the one at fault here for NOT updating and changing the paperwork after YOU had terminated care from the original agreement.

[jen]

Something is fishy here...

I would assume that you were getting a weekly or monthly bill. If thats the case, you would have known almost immediately that Dad was dropping off on your dime and you could have rectified the situation immediately and it wouldn't have gotten to the point where you had a large bill being sent to collections.

When did you become aware that Dad was dropping off? Why weren't you getting statements with past due amounts?

[morgan24]

I am new here and just introduced myself on the other board. Does any one else think her email address is fishy?

[Unregistered]

Yes it seems very suspicious to me. The whole situation sounds fishy to me. Why would a daycare let her rack up a bill in the first place?

[Unregistered]

I never recieved a notice or bill because they were going to my ex's house where i moved from. So if i did get a bill they were never given. The daycare was liscenced and a branch off of our local community college where i used to attend. the only way i found out my ex was picking up and dropping off was i called the daycare contesting this bill and i requested all the sign in and out sheets. They sent them and they are all my ex's name. But ythey insist that it doesnt matter and there are no laws in wa state about who can pick up and drop off,. That i never had any papers say who could or could not pick up. Which if i really didnt have those papers then normally no one but myself should be picking up or dropping off at least thats the way it has been at recent daycares i have had my son in. before igot to court or take my ex to court i want to find more info. THis was the exact time we separated and i honestly dont know if he was on the daycare papers or not. I am trying to find that out. I didnt want him racking up a bill in my name but if it comes to be that he was on the list then i have to pay and i can take this up with my ex. But since the daycare refuses to work with me at all it is making me very suspicious as to what is going on. I informed them that i want to take care of this but no one will help exept the collection agency. I just need to know where i can find the proper laws about this if there is any in Wa state

[Unregistered]

Do you have a contract?

1. Every licensed daycare uses a written contract plus parent handbook in order to protect both parties. What does your written contract and parent handbook say? In my state, we are required to provide a written court order to the daycare if custody arrangements are different and if the custody will affect daycare arrangements. Without the order, they have to accept or release the child from/to either parent within the limits of the written contract (scheduled days, hours, etc). You say you're receiving invoices and were sent to collection for child care days you didn't know know about that the ex dropped the child off. Unfortunately, yes, you have to pay if the contract is under your name. My contract has both parties even though we're not together. I've never heard of a daycare accepting a child on days they weren't scheduled to be there without an advanced written notice of permanent schedule change. I've also never heard of a drop off daycare that will allow you to just drop your kid off and they will bill you afterwards. Seems to me schedules are part of the state requirements - how else would a provider know to call parents or emergency numbers if your kid didn't show up or you never picked up?

2. Every licensed daycare is required to follow the State's licensing requirements for group or family care. If you need to reference those, call any daycare provider and they can give you the phone number. They will be able to tell you what forms are required and can guide you a website in your state where you can download the proper forms. Just remember that you probably can't limit parents without a written court order. Again, you'd have to check the written guidelines. If daycare won't give you any of these forms, you could ask another provider - they're all well versed in the requirements and in my area, those types of terms are standard because it's a state requirement.

[jen]

So...they never gave you a notice in your daughters bag or contacted you by phone, telling you that a) you owed money and b) you would be terminated if you didn't pay it?

In any case, he is her father and as such has the right to pick up unless you have a court order barring him from picking her up and/or had a contract with the daycare facility that she would only be in care during specific hours and times.

If I were you I would contact family court or child support services and see if you can get them to add it back in to your child support.

[Blackcat31]

I would do as Jen suggested or if you are financially able to just pay the bill so your credit isn't ruined and then take him to small claims court to get the money returned to you. I also think you are able to attach a statment of dispute at teh credit bureau explaining the situation so that anyone doing a credit check understands that this particular bill is being disputed.

[momatheart]

I am new here and just introduced myself on the other board. Does any one else think her email address is fishy?

I thought it looked like an email to get business from people.

[momatheart]

I tried to google part of her email.

[daycare]

I guess my question would be this......

if you term your care at the daycare, then wouldnt you have a document that stated your finish date?

when someone leaves usually the daycare will provide the family with a withdraw or term letter. Or even vice versa, the parents will submitt notice that their child will no longer be attending xyz daycare..... if you just stop coming without giving or getting such a notice, it is possible that the provider can continue to charge you.....

Do you have a contract/letter like this stating the finish date for your child?

[QualiTcare]

my guess is the daycare contract was never terminated. THIS is why you should always personally write a notice 2 weeks in advance (or whatever the contract calls for) and have both parties sign it and make copies.

something is weird.