Controlling the Growing Number of Unlicensed Child Care Centers

State regulators in Arlington an illegal day care center on Tuesday. Julie Swayne is part of a new, seven-person unit looking for day care businesses operating without permits. News 8 was there when she went to check out All My Youngunz in Arlington. The investigation team arrived because they had received a complaint about child care center which is located in that location. 

The women operating All My Youngunz was taking care of seven children, including babies. She was charging $75 a week, but she is not licensed. Regulators have shut down the facility and also they called the parents to come and get their children. The regulators are in the opinion that unlicensed day care centers are potentially dangerous.

A lot of them are in homes; sometimes they are in other locations; but what these regulators are looking for, specifically, for people who have not been permitted, or don't have any kind of training or any kind of background check; and still advertising to take care of kids. 

Child care different from baby sitting. If the person or child care center are doing it in your home on a regular basis for compensation, then yes, it's considered child care, They've shut down 700 illegal day care facilities in the North Texas area alone, and they expect to shut down hundreds more by end of the year.

Disciplinary action taken in Florida for unlicensed child care centers are as follows:

Florida Child Care Statutes Sections 402.310 Disciplinary actions; hearings upon denial, suspension, or revocation of license; administrative fines.

(1)
(a) The department or local licensing agency may deny, suspend, or revoke a license or impose an administrative fine not to exceed $100 per violation, per day, for the violation of any provision of ss. 402.301-402.319 or rules adopted thereunder. However, where the violation could or does cause death or serious harm, the department or local licensing agency may impose an administrative fine, not to exceed $500 per violation per day.

(b) In determining the appropriate disciplinary action to be taken for a violation as provided in paragraph (a), the following factors shall be considered:

1. The severity of the violation, including the probability that death or serious harm to the health or safety of any person will result or has resulted, the severity of the actual or potential harm, and the extent to which the provisions of ss. 402.301-402.319 have been violated.

2. Actions taken by the licensee to correct the violation or to remedy complaints.

3. Any previous violations of the licensee.

(2) When the department has reasonable cause to believe that grounds for the denial, suspension, or revocation of a license or imposition of an administrative fine exist, it shall determine the matter in accordance with procedures prescribed in chapter 120. When the local licensing agency has reasonable cause to believe that grounds for the denial, suspension, or revocation of a license or imposition of an administrative fine exist, it shall notify the applicant or licensee in writing, stating the grounds upon which the license is being denied, suspended, or revoked or an administrative fine is being imposed. If the applicant or licensee makes no written request for a hearing to the local licensing agency within 15 days from receipt of such notice, the license shall be deemed denied, suspended, or revoked or an administrative fine shall be imposed.

(3) If a request for a hearing is made to the local licensing agency, a hearing shall be held within 30 days and shall be conducted by an individual designated by the county commission.

(4) An applicant or licensee shall have the right to appeal a decision of the local licensing agency to a representative of the department. Any required hearing shall be held in the county in which the child care facility is being operated or is to be established. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 120.

For further details on the subject, please read the below links.
http://www.daycare.com/florida/statutes.html
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/tarrant/State-regulators-crack-down-on-unlicensed-day-cares-in-Arlington-267239711.html

Tips on Purchasing a Daycare Management Software

Is it necessary for day care centers to use a child care management software? Presently there are a large number of day care centers nationwide. If we check the present advertisements, we will be able to see ads of day care centers giving specialized services or giving services that cater to the need of the students. 

Managing children and their records can be a tedious task. There are lots of responsibilities that come with this job. First comes administrative work which involves data management, generating reports, maintaining participant records, attendance tracking, billing and payment processing, employee management and much more. 

To watch over a lot of children at a time and check whether they are responding well to the program along with manual entry paper work makes it difficult for day care employees. 

Many small scale businesses still rely on paper based manual entry to complete their work. In the 21st century, paper based working methods have been replaced by automated, more reliable and accurate non-paper ones. It has become almost critical to use computers or other electronic devices for a smooth work flow. The use of MS Excel and MS Word for storing written data is convenient but even that can get tedious and disorganized. The major problem of paper based storage of documents is that the information can be lost or scattered.

In order to overcome these problems in day care centers, it becomes essential to use a daycare management software. There are lots of such software products available in the marketplace today. You should opt for one that is cost effective, user friendly, encompasses a myriad of features and for which upgrading can be done easily. A good customer support service should be provided by the company that has developed the product. 

Since the number of software products is on the rise, it becomes crucial for the program director or manager to make a thorough research before purchasing a product. There are low priced daycare software products out there but are they really up to the mark? It’s recommended by the experts that users should not buy low cost software that ranges from $10-$50 because it will lack quality and professional touch.

The user must always buy a day care management software based on the needs of the company. EZChildTrack is one such software that is highly flexible. It is also cost effective, user friendly and can be customized based on user needs.

Healthy Children Needed to Build a Better Future

Good health begins at home. Giving your baby the best start in life, creating a safe home environment and helping your teenager deal with the pressures of adolescence are just of few of the health issues families face every day. Eating healthy is not a choice at all when struggling families has to make a choice. As a result,more than half of children living below the poverty line in rural America are overweight or obese. Every child deserves a chance at a healthy start.

Our Healthy Choices program exposes children to healthier ways of living through activity, nutrition lessons and balanced food choices so they can be healthy and active in both learning and life.

Eating well and being physically active at an early age helps children focus, improve attendance, boost academic performance and grow up to be healthy adults.

Health programs conducted in USA:Recently 

It has been more than 25 years that the CATCH Programs have guided kids on how to be healthy for a lifetime and it is now the #1 health promotion and childhood obesity prevention program available .

The CATCH Programs Provide:

• Training
• Equipment
• Support
• Consultation
• Online Curriculum
• Evidence-based programs

The Eat Smart school nutrition program , K-5 Classroom curriculum,a Physical Education program, and a Family program. The Coordination of health messages between these four component areas is critical to positively impact children's knowledge and behavior these are four critical components of CATCH program.

The components of CATCH

• CATCH PE- Physical Activity
•  Go for Healt- Classroom Curriculum
•  Eat Smart- School Nutrition
•  Home Team- Family Activities
•  Middle school program
•  CATCH Kids Club- after-school and summer programs

Learn the Signs. Act Early: program aims to improve early identification of children with autism and other developmental disabilities so children and families can get the services and support they need. The Act Early Initiative promotes collaboration among early childhood programs in states and territories so children with autism or other developmental disabilities can be identified early and get the services and support they and their families need.

Information for parents

What we know about kids and food:Parents are usually more receptive to activities that can be done at home than to those that require their attendance at the school (223,224). To involve parents and other family members in nutrition education, schools can

• Children have to try the same food 10 - 15 times before they will develop a like or dislike for it.
• Positive peer pressure works. Children are more willing to try something another child likes.
• Kids will ask their parents to buy healthy foods that they have tried at school.
• Send nutrition education materials and cafeteria menus home with students,
• Ask parents to send healthy snacks to school,
• Invite parents and other family members to periodically eat with their children in the cafeteria,
• Invite families to attend exhibitions of student nutrition projects or health fairs.
• Offer nutrition education workshops and screening services, and
• Assign nutrition education homework that students can do with their families (e.g., reading and interpreting food labels, reading nutrition-related newsletters, and preparing healthy recipe

What schools must do in order to keep kids healthy 

• Schools providing appealing, low-fat, low-sodium foods in vending machines and at school meetings and events;
• School counselors and nurses providing guidance on health and, if necessary, referrals for nutritional problems;
• Community organizations providing counseling or nutrition education campaigns;
• Physical education instructors helping students understand the relationship between nutrition and physical activity;
• School food service personnel serving healthy, well-balanced meals in the cafeteria; and
• School personnel acting as role models for healthy eating (153). The USDA is promoting health-enhancing changes in the food service component of the school health program by requiring schools to serve meals that comply with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (154) and by providing technical support to schools through Team Nutrition (151).

For more information regarding this, read the full article here - http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00042446.htm

How Enrollment Report on Daycare Management Software Works

There are a number of enrollment based reports which you can generate using a web based daycare management software like EZChildTrack. These include enrollment list, enrollment count and details based on child information records and child registration forms. The enrollment list report helps users to print elaborate reports on program participants and their enrollment details. The enrollment count reports the number of daily enrollments for a selected program.

A generated enrollment based report also contains complete details of students like student contact information, medical treatments, emergency contact information etc. The daycare provider can sort out reports of each student individually through child's name or primary account holder’s name.

The parent portal serves as a gateway to better engage parents during the registration process. In addition to registering for courses, it allows them to automatically submit all required documentation, view status and pay fees.

EZChildTrack helps in reducing administrative tasks and eliminate paper-based processes. This allows you to reap the benefits of a massive cost reduction in your annual enrollment and registration process. It is possible to further filter down report data by using the filters on each report screen. This helps you to drill down data that you actually need for your analysis. Such a reporting tool which helps you to narrow down results help in reducing ample time needed to make informed decisions.

Our student registration system and enrollment software delivers the simplicity and convenience that both you and your participants require. The daycare management software helps you to avoid duplicate records effectively. Simplify the management of your admissions process and move applicants through the admissions funnel more quickly with electronic checklists, actions, reminders, and status updates – all giving you more time to invest back into getting to know your prospective families.

Working Moms and Child Care Center with New Trends in US

Working mothers are one of the people who benefit from child care centers. They need someone to take care of them while they go for work. Child care makes or breaks a working mom's career.A child care Center is more advantageous because there will be many children who are enrolled in these centers so that your child can mingle with and make new friends. A good child care center helps children develop mentally, physically and socially. It will be better if you can, take an active role at the center. This will help you in being assured of making the right decision for a daycare and also help you with any feelings you have of guilt about working.

According an article on www.workingmother.com, there are many creative childcare strategy work that may work for you. Deciding which type of care giver is best suitable for you is the most difficult part. But after getting in to a routine schedule you will be able to decide which type is most suitable for you. Consider these trends:

(Photo Courtesy: Telegraph.co.uk)

Care From a Relative: 

• You may be lucky enough to have a father, mother-in-law or sibling who offers to care for your child.
• You can be far more confident that your child is with someone who loves and cares for your kid.
• The care may be free of cost, but not without strings. Your mother may feel comfortable ignoring your feeding, sleep or other care preferences. After all, her rules worked fine for your childhood.

Flex Care:

• Lisa Mars, VP of global benefits for CA Technologies, based in Islandia, NY. “Employees need to be able to achieve their work goals if they work from home.” Her company has six on-site child-care centers around the globe as well as summer programs for school-age kids with options that cater to employees with compressed and part-time schedules. “Even work-at-home moms drive in and drop off kids at on site care before returning home to work,” Mars adds. 
• Flexible child care is a great option if … You have a flexible job ,You have a separate workspace,You have backup ,You like being the boss 
• Flexibility and work life balance. 
• It helps mothers greatly for those who work-from-home arrangements and have compressed schedules. 
• Employer work-at-home policies vary - A care situation like this depends on the nature of your work.

Sharing Care:

• Share can be a great solution for families looking to reduce costs while maintaining individualized care. 
• This needs a lot of teamwork, communication and shared responsibility . 
• In the case of a nanny share, expect the caregiver and other kids to be at your home at least part of the time . 
• Everything should be well organized. 

À la Carte Care:

• For many entrepreneurs and part-time or flextime working moms, sticking to any one schedule or shared situation just isn’t possible—or even desired. And then there’s the money part. 
• In the case of a nanny share, expect the caregiver and other kids to be at your home at least part of the time. 
• Its not time for assuming anything. Some gyms will assign a personal trainer to watch the kids who may not have experience or safety training.

A check list for moms While selecting a nanny, a home-based caregiver, or center-based care.

1.In case of nanny:

• A smiling face and pleasant disposition speak volumes . 
• Nanny should take responsibilities, respects your decisions, and takes initiative in doing the task provided by you. 
• Nanny should be happy to fill you in on the details of the day and give you a detailed report on 
• About a sniffly nose, missed nap, anticipating potential hazards both at home and on the playground and keeps an eagle eye on your tot at all times. or menu at lunchtime. 
• Punctuality,discipline should be checked in to , nanny should always inform you if there is any delay in reaching your residence. of course, you should do the same when you're running late

2. At a center-based or home care setting:

• Watch the way children are greeted 
• A good caregiver should be a pro at helping to smooth transitions. 
• At emergency situations the care taker should have presence of mind as well use the knowledge of training at the right time,training in safety rules and competence in first aid . 
• Late policy,holidays and vacations scheduled should be informed in advance. 
• Conscientious caregivers have a plan in place — such as providing you with a responsible substitute — if they have a family emergency . 
• Neat clothes and a clean face and hands are signs that the caregiver values cleanliness . 
• Good grooming is also a sign of self-respect and responsibility. 
• A good caregiver has the right staff-to-child ratio and her center or home is properly licensed and/or accredited. 

3. Checking out daycare and home care settings

• Make note of the facility's conditions: 
• Working moms should check if there are smoke and/or carbon-monoxide detectors, Are the play and sleeping areas hazard-free, Are staircases and other danger zones (like kitchens and bathrooms) sufficiently safeguarded? Is the place childproofed, with drawer locks and outlet covers? Look for signs encouraging hand washing, and check to see that there are soap and paper towels by the sink for the staff and the kids. Make sure the facility smells fresh and the toys and furniture look clean 
• A quality facility has nothing to hide and will be comfortable with unannounced visits. 
• The staff will also protect your child from unauthorized adults, including visitors and employees. Most states require criminal background checks on jobs and criminal records