I was initially excited to place my child at this facility. They had a good location and a long history of ownership. On my first visit I met with the owner and when I asked what the curriculum was for the 6-12 month old children she told me there was no set curriculum and the qualification of the care providers was "love," or something to that effect. Okay, sure, maybe that age range is a bit young for all of that.
I was asked to provide food, drinks, diapers, wipes, and a pack-n-play for my child. Okay, that was probably worked into the lower price.
On his first day at the facility my husband picked up our child and the care providers were across the room on their cell phones. These young women were later let go, and I was told it was because they were not being attentive. Chock one up for addressing the issue I suppose.
A month or so into care I drop my child off in the morning and the care provider asks me how my kid is feeling. A bit puzzled I say, "Why?" She tells me that my child had hit his face two days prior and had a mouth full of blood. They applied ice and didn't call me, which is fine, but I was also not notified of the injury until this passing conversation. Which brings me to communication and safety. You do not need to sign your child in or out at this facility. The door is unlocked and, sometimes, there is a woman at the front desk and sometimes there is no one in the lobby at all. When a policy changes or something needs to be communicated it is put in a note and sent home in the child's belongings to be found at some point in the future.
Overall, most of the care providers were qualified in "love" and were very sweet to my child. The breaking point for me and my family was the unprofessional behavior of the owner. As with any facility you sign a contract. This contract, as most, states that the facility will be closed for holidays but that payment will still be required. This is standard and perfectly acceptable. However, the way in which the policy is written allows for, effectively, any day of the year to be determined to be a holiday by the owner. Therefore, when we received notice that we would be expected to pay the full rate for care over the two week period during Christmas and New Years, when the facility would be closed six of the ten days (inclusive of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, the day after Christmas, New Years Eve, New Years Day and the day after New Years Day), we were more than perturbed. Technically only two of those six days are holidays. The reasoning was to give the staff long weekends as Christmas and New Years Day (again the only two holidays) were on Thursdays. I was instructed to use my vacation time (if I had had any) to cover their staff's vacation. Classy.
I wasn't the only person perturbed by this and was told that many families withdrew their kids due to this application of the policy. As a result, the procedure for withdrawing a child changed and you were now required to give the two weeks of tuition (in cash) directly to the owner. Notice via red paper sent home in child's bag. And good luck scheduling that exchange. But the scheduling isn't as bad as the interaction with the owner who immediately goes on the defensive, interrogates you as to what you did with your other (teen) children on the dates they were out of school over the holiday break, and berates you for not thanking her for caring for your child.
This facility is okay. It doesn't have a waiting list, which isn't a huge surprise. The rates are reasonable, but you get what you pay for. If you deal solely with the care providers they are mostly professional and pleasant. If you have to interact with the owner, watch out. And beware of potential last-minute closures on Groudhog Day and maybe even the day after Groundhog Day ;) read more
