Questions Answered About Contracts & Policies
Conflicts with parents over contract and policies are not uncommon. Here are some questions I received during a recent webinar sponsored by Early Childhood Investigations Webinars.What, if anything, should you put in writing when you are going to terminate a child from your program?Keep it short. I would not explain why you are terminating a child in a written statement to parents. Parents will not agree with you and may feel insulted. Instead, write: "The last day of care for your child will be _________ (date). Payment will be due under the terms of our contract through this date."Is it illegal to tell a parent they can’t bring a child back to your program until they are paid in full?No, it's not illegal. By not paying you on time, the parent has violated your contract. I would strongly recommend that you put the following term in your contract: "Provider may terminate at will." But, even if your contract requires you to give parents a two-week notice, you can still refuse care if the parent has not paid in full.I want to give parents a written reminder that they need to pay on time. Do you have a sample statement I can give them?"According to our contract, payment is due on Friday for the following week of care. There is a late payment fee of $_____ if you do not meet this deadline. If you have a problem meeting this deadline, please discuss this with me."I want to make a change on my contract. Is there a difference between having the parents sign on the last page or put their initial on the bottom of each page?There are several ways to make a change in your contract. You can write out a new contract and have parents sign the last page. You can scratch out a change on one page and you and the parents put their initial next to the change. Or, you can write out a new paragraph, you and the parent sign the change and attach the paragraph to your contract.There is no legal difference with any of these methods. The primary purpose of a contract is to facilitate communication between you and the parents. Some providers have parents initial each page of their contract and policies. Some providers require only a signature at the end of the contract. The purpose of have parents initial each page is to stress the importance of each rule. There is no right or wrong answer.How much notice do I need to give when changing my policy? Do parents need to sign my new policy?There is no rule that says you have to give parents any notice of changes to your policies. It's reasonable to give parents some notice of any changes, but you can make changes immediately if necessary. There is no requirement that parents sign your new policy. However, many providers do have parents sign their policies so parents will take them more seriously.Can you charge parents more if they pay by credit card?Update: It depends on your state. In some states you can, but must post a sign notifying parents. In some states you are limited to how much extra you may charge. Some providers charge parents the fee charged by the credit card company. Some providers don't.Tom Copeland - www.tomcopelandblog.com
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For more information see my book Family Child Care Contracts & Policies.
