Establecer claramente sus políticas y aplicarlas es útil para las familias, para usted como profesional y para mantener las condiciones necesarias para la licencia y el cuidado de alta calidad.
Este recurso de Town Square fue creado con la ayuda de profesionales del cuidado infantil familiar que compartieron lo que consideraron necesario en el contrato.
Ya sea que usted esté comenzando su programa o sea un veterano, este recurso puede ayudarlo a revisar y pensar más en su contrato.
Hoja de consejos de Town Square – Lo que debes incluir en tu contrato
As you think about your environment, you may find this checklist useful for self-assessing quality in your environment and making an improvement plan. The checklist is based on the NAFCC Accreditation Observation Checklist.
With tax season in full force. We wanted to share this wonderful resource created by Home Grown Child Care with Civitas Strategies.
This tax workbook for Home-based Child Care providers, available in English & Spanish, was designed to simplify the process of completing 2022 taxes and alleviate some of the stress by providing step-by-step guidance.
One of the most significant challenges many providers face is ending the workday and giving yourself time off. Given your workplace is your home, it can feel like you are working all day and can’t take time off.
It is essential, especially during a stressful time, to take time for our mental health and be away from work. Having clear boundaries can help set the expectation of the importance of your time. Natalie Harrison, a family child care professional, and owner of Natty’s Treehouse Childcare in Muncie IN, shares the time boundaries she created for her business. She communicates these boundaries with families using her handbook; in doing so, families agree to her time limits.
Hours of operations – hours your business is open. Within that time, set time restrictions for how long a child/family can be in your care.
Natalie states in her handbook:
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday 6:00am-5:30pm
(No child should exceed 10 hours a day unless previously discussed with Natalie.)
Another time restriction can be time for families to communicate with you. While families can message/call you during opening hours, you can also set limits on after-hours messages; restricting messages can help you end the day.
Lastly, give yourself time to take time off, adding information on the vacation policy gives you time to close your business along with holidays you would like to celebrate or need a break.
Holidays
Natty’s Treehouse Childcare will be closed on all major holidays. Holiday dates and times are subject to change!
• New Year’s Day • Labor Day • Memorial Day • Thanksgiving • Friday after Thanksgiving •Christmas • 4th of July
Provider Vacation Policy
The provider will take up to two weeks of vacation each year. Formal notification will be provided to families 30-60 days before the vacation.
Setting clear time boundaries within your handbook can help communicate your business’s value and the need for you to take a rest.
A successful business requires marketing to help reach and engage families about your program’s services. This brochure from Child Care Aware gives simple tips for marketing your FCC business, including connecting with networks and other providers and ideas about ways to market your business in your community. Getting the word out about your child care services is an important part of maintaining and
sustaining your business.
12 Tips to Market your child care program
A vital part of owning a family child care business is having a budget; a budget provides essential information for operating, managing unexpected challenges, and turning a profit. Child Care Aware® of America created this Child Care Provider Budget Excel Worksheet to help you get started on creating a budget.
Having a mission and philosophy statement is an essential part of any business; it sets the foundation for how you want to operate and why. Having a written statement can help in centering your business and effectively communicating with families. Use this Town Square-created resource to guide you in developing a mission and philosophy statement.
Mission and Philosophy Resource
Un factor fundamental de la operación de un negocio desde su casa es el porcentaje de tiempo-espacio que ayuda a determinar la parte de los gastos de negocio utilizados para fines comerciales y personales. El porcentaje de tiempo/espacio se calcula anualmente tomando el número total de horas que cuida a los niños en su casa, el número total de horas que dedica a actividades relacionadas con el negocio cuando los niños no están presentes y el número total de pies cuadrados utilizados para su negocio. Esta hoja le ayudará a controlar sus horas, asegurándose de que todo su tiempo (tanto con los niños como sin ellos) se incluya en el cálculo del tiempo-espacio.
Para utilizar este contador de horas, simplemente imprima una copia para cada mes. Cada día, anote cuándo llega el primer niño y cuándo se va el último, calculando el tiempo en que los niños están presentes. Luego anote la cantidad de tiempo que ha trabajado en el negocio cuando los niños no estaban presentes. Hemos dejado algunas de las columnas vacías para que añadas tus propias tareas/actividades; recuerda que deben ser actividades para el negocio y dentro de tu casa. Al final del mes, después de sumar las horas de cada día, obtendrás un número final.
It’s impossible to predict the future, you never know when a natural disaster or emergency can occur. While you can’t prevent all emergencies, you can protect the children in your care, your family, and your business by having adequate insurance protection. This resource by Child Care Aware and Tom Copeland summarizes four types of insurance policies and why they are necessary to have.
How Insurance Protects You in an Emergency
An essential factor of operating a business out of your home is the time-space percentage helping determine the business portion of expenses used for business and personal purposes. The time/space percentage is calculated annually by taking the total number of hours you care for children in your home, the total number of hours you spend on business-related activities when children are not present, and the total number of square feet used for your business. This time tracker sheet will help you track your hours, ensuring that all your time (both with and without children) is included in the time-space calculation.
To use this time tracker, simply print out a copy for each month. Every day write down when the first child arrives when the last child leaves, calculating the time when children are present. Then write down the amount of time you worked on the business when children were not present. We have left some of the columns empty for you to add your own tasks/activities; remember, they must be activities for the business and inside your home. After adding the hours for each day, you will get a final number at the end of the month.
