Questions and Answers About Legal & Insurance Issues
Q: Is it legal to prohibit my assistant from using her cell phone in my home?
Q: If my car is registered under my husband's name, should I add my name?
Q: How do I deal with a parent that is starting rumors about me, complaining about my services and rates?
These are some of the questions asked by child care providers that I answered during a recent webinar “Legal Issues for Child Care Programs” sponsored by Child Care Resource and Referral of NW Iowa.
Here are my answers:
Q: Is it legal to prohibit my assistant from using her cell phone in my home?
A: Yes! You want to keep confidential all information you or your assistant may know about the families in your program. You should create a privacy policy for parents and assistants to address this issue. Prohibiting assistants from taking pictures of children without written parent permission is a reasonable policy.
Q: If my car is registered under my husband's name, should I add my name?
A: It's not necessary. You can count miles driven by your husband in his car for your business. If you are not married, you can't count miles unless you own the car you use for your business.
Q: How do I deal with a parent that is starting rumors about me, complaining about my services and rates?
A: A tricky question. First, tell your child care licensor about this, in case the parent later complains to them about you. Second, go to websites where parents can rate child care providers and ask one or more of your parents to post something positive about your program. Third, don't directly engage a parent making complaints. Fourth, if the situation is causing you to lose families, contact a local attorney about sending a letter to this person, asking her to stop spreading false rumors.
Q: One family is in the middle of a divorce. One parent wants me to talk with their lawyer about the other parent's involvement in my program (pick up times, late payments, etc.). What should I do?
A: I recommend not cooperating with any lawyer who wants you to discuss one of your parents. If you do respond, you are likely to be drawn in further to the divorce proceedings by the lawyer for the other side. I would just tell the lawyer that all information you have is confidential. If the lawyer gets a judge to issue you a subpoena to answer questions or appear in court, you must obey the subpoena. But, you are not required to talk to any lawyer.
Q: Would it be accurate to sum up the issues around custody as follows: Parents always have right the right to pick up their child unless there is a court order that restricts their rights. No one else has the right to pick up the child unless the provider has their name on an authorized pick up list.
A: Yes!
Q: If the father tries to pick up the child when the mother has sole physical custody, what should we do?
A: Don't do anything that would put children or you at risk. Ask the father to leave. If he won't, call 911 and report it. If you can, get a picture of his license plate. Do not try to physically prevent him from taking the child. If you do, it could be considered kidnapping.
Q: If something should happen to a child while my assistant is with the child, can I be sued by the parent?
A: Yes. You are ultimately responsible for whatever happens to a child while in your program. That means you are responsible for the acts of any assistant.
Q: Another provider said to me, "Oh, my families would never sue me so I don't need business liability insurance." What is your reaction to this?
A: Good luck to her. Lawsuits never happen until they do. A family whose child has suffered a serious injury is very likely to sue, no matter what they say now. Their lawyer will urge them to do so and they won't want their health insurnace rates to go up.
Q: What should I do if one my children blurts out something to a parent that violates my confidentiality policy?
A: There is not much you can do about this. Create a privacy policy and tell parents you will do everything you can to keep their information confidential. There is only so much you can do with children.
Q: Where can I find insurance for my home, car and business?
A: See my insurance directory.
Tom Copeland – www.tomcopelandblog.com
Image credit: https://www.google.com/search?as_st=y&tbm=isch&as_q=woman+cell+phone&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&imgsz=&imgar=&imgc=&imgcolor=&imgtype=&cr=&as_sitesearch=&safe=images&as_filetype=&tbs=sur%3Acl#imgrc=Ml99HKfzIiHLkM&imgdii=n96_W-flcx61fM
For more information, see my book Family Child Care Legal & Insurance Guide.
