Rick and I have started to look into childcare options. We put this off wayyy too long. I naively assumed that since I don't need childcare until January I didn't need to get started on the search until now. I was very wrong. We will be on at least two waiting lists. I was told not to expect a call from the William and Mary Childcare Center for at least a year (probably 18 months). We will be on another waiting list for the YMCA which may only take 6 months to get to the top of.
We are on another waiting list, but Rick and I toured the place yesterday and we majorly underwhelmed. Not scared, but not excited about sending our infant there. And we were going to try another place, but then read the Virginia Department of Social Services inspection reports which are handily available online and we got very scared. This is only a small example of what we have read about at infant day-care centers (not one we are looking at):
Standard #: 22VAC15-30-430-F Complaint related: Yes Description: On April 30, 2008, a three year old child was left unattended on the center play area for approximately twenty minutes.
Standard #: 22VAC15-51-50-A Complaint related: No Description: Licensing representative reviewed the criminal background check of staff member #1. The background check in the record was a copy with ink signatures in the section designated for state police use. After consultation with the CCRE/State Police, it was noted that there was no record of a background check being processed for this individual.
Not to mention that infant day care costs anywhere from $8000 - $10000 a year! I would gladly pay higher taxes to make sure women can get back to work, or take at least 6 months paid leave. What about all of you without children?
2 comments:
Have you considered an Au Pair?
I work with an awesome Au Pair agency, Cultural Care Au Pair, www.culturalcare.com. We place Au Pairs in homes all across the nation.
Au pairs are 18 to 26 years old, secondary school graduates, proficient in English and typically female (95%). They come from 40 countries on five continents. An au pair's childcare experience can range from babysitting to working in day care centers to teaching. They are interested in becoming au pairs to improve their English, experience life in the United States and care for children.
Our au pairs—young women and men from all over the world—are carefully evaluated, selected and trained. They are between the ages of 18 and 26 and are excited to spend a year (or more!) with an American family to provide up to 45 hours per week of childcare.
Hosting an Au Pair offers a unique option instead of standard child care (i.e. a day care provider). By doing so you expose your children to cultural diversity and provide a flexible live-in care for your child at a very affordable cost.
I know you will not need child care for a while but as you mentioned there is no time like the present. I would love to talk with you about hosting an Au Pair. Feel free to surf our website and email me with any questions, Michelle.Miller@lcc.culturalcare.com.
Best Wishes -- Michelle Miller, Local Childcare Coordinator
No way man.
All my taxes are earmarked for bombs and corporate wellfare.
U-S-A!
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