I have been in the business of child care for 15 years now. There are several things I’ve done to help make my child care facility one of the best. I have learned many new things from other providers and workshops and I am always striving to operate my business in a more professional way. The good news is that all of this is helping to make the care your child receives the best possible. The bad news is that I must increase your current child care rate by $5.00 per week. This was a difficult decision. However, I have been forced to realize that I am way behind the current wages and benefits that my contemporaries are receiving. This rate increase should be reflected on your check for the week of January 3rd, 2000. I appreciate you understanding why this is necessary. I am enclosing information that may help you better understand my reasoning. If you have any questions, please feel free to discuss it with me.

Like most women today I must work to help my family make ends meet. I chose family child care because I love working with children, and I think it’s important to have a variety of happy, healthy and safe places for our children. However, contrary to popular belief, there is not a lot of money to be made in home child care.

What you pay will buy quality child care, nutritious meals and a nurturing environment for your child. Your fees must provide my income, including taxes and social security. Beyond that, your fees pay for special insurance, training, food, toys, equipment, art supplies and all of the other things your child will use. For children over the age of 2 years it also helps pay for the enrichment program. Like other self-employed workers, family child care providers do not get the benefits, which many employees take for granted:

These benefits often amount to as much as 35% of an average employee’s salary.

Unlike other forms of self-employment, family child care is very restrictive. There is absolutely no room for growth while doing family child care because the State of Texas dictates the size of my business. Also I cannot take time off for appointments or obligations without careful planning and covering of my responsibilities.

To protect my rights and my income you will find that a guaranteed wage is part of my contract. To protect precious time with my family you will also find late fees in this contract. Most people have a 40 hour work week, but mine is 55 hours and up, and this does not include my training, preparation, bookkeeping, paperwork, shopping or cleaning time. I really do not want the extra fees, but it’s unfair to have parents cut into my already limited family time, and the fees serve to control this problem. I hope this gives you a better picture of the true cost of child care.