Preparing Child Care Programs For Emergencies: Fill & Download for Free

Note: This isn’t an adoption experience but it is our story of an attempt at adoption from our county foster system.It was November 2012 and we were out and about the night we got the call. They had a 3 months old girl whose mom was nowhere to be found and her dad was going to jail for a few weeks (turned out to be much more intense than 3 weeks). Were we interested in her? Yes! They said they would bring her to our house around 10 pm. It was 8 pm so we drove home to prepare for this new little one. I told my 5 year old that she could stay awake until our foster daughter came. 10 pm passed and then 11 pm. I called the county worker to no avail. Midnight comes and just as I tell my daughter that it looks like she won’t be joining us tonight we hear a knock on the door.Long story short – she lived with us for 12 months and was then 15 months old when we were told that her biological parents were getting their rights taken away. They asked if we wanted to adopt her and in unison my husband and I said, “Yes” We loved her like we loved our own biological kids; she was an integral part of our family and she belonged. I asked the county worker if they would be able to continue assisting us with child care for 6 months while I finished up my bachelor’s degree. I already had employment lined up for after graduation and at that point we wouldn’t need assistance. They said no. Without the continued temporary child care assistance we would not be able to keep her. The county was ok with that and began to find her another home.Some friends of ours were foster parents and they had babysat her on a few occasions and because she was familiar with them I asked if they would consider adopting her. (It is more difficult for children to form healthy attachments when they live with multiple caregivers) They agreed and took her home 24 hours later. It was hard to say goodbye but we knew we would see her often. Well, turns out the little girl’s biological mom was pregnant again and gave birth to another baby - he was born with severe medical, physical, and developmental delays. The county asked the foster family to adopt him as well so that the siblings could stay together. The family said yes on one condition - they asked to receive assistance with his medical care. The county said no and began searching for another foster family that would adopt both children together.They found another family and after 3 weeks the new couple decided the children were too much for them to manage. The county was now looking for another family to take in both children. At this point the little girl was 3 years old and showing signs of major attachment issues. They ended up not being able to find a home that would take both children and therefore had to place them in temporary emergency placement. They stayed there for 3 months while the county found separate adoptive families for each child- one that would take a 3.5 year old with moderate to severe behavioral issues due to attachment issues and another that would take her special needs brother. Five homes later and this little girl has finally found her forever home, but not without a great cost.If only the county had offered me the 6 months of child care, then maybe, just maybe, we would have an emotionally stable child in our family. This is only one of our potential adoption stories. We fostered for 4.5 years and have attempted adoption 2 other times.I know many families that have positive experiences adopting from foster care but I also wanted to share the realities that it may not turn out the way foster parents picture. For anyone considering foster care, please don’t consider doing it for the sake of adoption or growing your family. Do it because you desire to provide a safe and loving home for amazing children with challenging backgrounds.

A common conservative misconception about liberals in the US is that we “care about everyone’s feelings.” This one has been around for a while, and spawned such terms as “bleeding-heart liberal”.Personally, I don’t give a shit about most people’s feelings. I care about effective management of the country and our prosperity, much of which is contingent upon fiscal responsibility and equal treatment under the law.When people hear the term “fiscal responsibility” they tend to think of the conservative obsession with reducing governmental spending on social welfare programs, which is actually very irresponsible. Let’s assess.To be productive, working, tax-payers, people must be healthy enough to work. (People not healthy enough to work get disability payments.)Preventative care is cheaper and more effective than emergency care.People who pay out of pocket for health care frequently use emergency/urgent care instead of preventative care.Medicare and Medicaid provide health care for pennies on the dollar vs private health insurance.Unpaid health care bills (either out-of-pocket or rejected by private insurance companies) are recouped by increasing prices for the rest of the consumers - hospitals use a >25% markup on all services to recoup losses from unpaid bills.From these five points, we can assert that 1) we are already paying for the health care costs of indigent people, 2) we are not likely getting our money’s worth, 3) we (as a population) receive poor health care, or unequal access to preventative care.It seriously would just be cheaper to provide universal health care, and would result in more people working and earning money for longer, which in turn results in more spending, more taxable income, and a stronger economy.Here’s another assessment. Which is cheaper?A free bag of condoms and a pelvic examORAn unwanted pregnancy for which the mother is not financially preparedA baby that forces an unprepared mother to drop out of college/corporate career and work evenings and weekends, or around whatever child care she can afford. (Think reduction in taxable income.)Possibly 18+ years of Medicaid, WIC, food assistance, etc. Oh yeah and earned income credit.Cutting funding for social programs isn’t fiscally responsible. The country as a whole, and all the individuals within it, benefits from tending to the well-being of its populace, and disadvantaged people in particular. Caring about other people’s feelings has nothing to do with it.

Many parents forgo commercial daycare programs or nannies and look for home-based child care solutions that allow their children to be watched in someone's home with other children.If you love kids, are exceptionally responsible, have impeccable references, and can handle high-stress situations, a home-based child care business may be an excellent small business for you to start. A tried and tested business plan like Daycare Business Plan Template (child care) can help you a lot as a start-up.The ProsHere are some of the benefits of starting a home-based child care business:You can take care of your own children as part of your business. They count among the number of children you can watch, depending on the state regulations where you live, but this is one of the biggest reasons why people open home daycare businesses.If having nights and weekends to yourself is a priority, this is a venture that should fit into that plan. Your schedule likely will follow standard business hours, and you won't have to accommodate weekend or holiday hours.If you have a passion for education, this is an opportunity to play a key role in the lives of the children under your care. You can positively impact their growth and development through organized and stimulating games and activities, better preparing them for school when they are old enough to attend. For older children you watch after school hours, you can help them with their homework and to develop good study habits at an early age.There should be no shortage of potential clients, as parents always are looking for quality daycare for their children. And the better your reputation as a provider, the more demand there will be for your services based on word-of-mouth marketing.The ConsSome of the potential challenges you may face if you start a home-based child care business include:Startup costs have the potential to be extensive, depending on how prepared your home is for such a business. Areas, where children will have access, need to be made safe and age-appropriate if they are not already. This includes your yard, as children will need to have playtime outdoors. Toys, games, and indoor and outdoor play equipment will need to be purchased.You will need to have comprehensive insurance to protect yourself and the children in your care.Depending on where you live, licensing requirements can be extensive. Before deciding on starting a home-based child care business, be sure to check your state's requirements.Taking care of multiple children in your home means dedicating a large portion of your living space to the operation. Make sure this is something you are willing to do before committing to such a venture.It may be necessary to hire part-time help that can be available during your busiest times or in the event that you are ill or need to be away to deal with a personal emergency. Families leaving their children in your care need to be confident in your reliability.