Today is a crazy day in LA. All of the LAUSD schools are closed related to “credible threat”. To my knowledge, this has never happened before. I saw this on the news when I woke up this morning and immediately started thinking of what the parents were going to do if they were not able to take off work today. In this post, we will look at why it might be a good idea to add Drop-In/Back-up Childcare to your list of services.
Our child care started receiving calls and texts as early as 7:15 am regarding backup care for some of our former students. Thankfully we were able to help.
Do you offer Drop-In/Back-up Childcare?
This morning I sent out a message to our childcare families and put out a post on our child care’s website as a reminder that we offer Drop-In/backup childcare. Do you offer Drop-In/backup childcare?
In a recent post, I listed many extra services you might offer at your childcare. One I added many years ago was Drop-In/backup childcare.
I initially saw how this worked from my days as an intern at a daycare facility. When I saw the need in my community for this service I knew I wanted to add it to my menu as well.
Drop-In Contract
I have a separate one-page contract for these occasional clients and have them update emergency info at the same time. And I keep in touch with them in emails throughout the year when there are breaks in the school year. Spring, Summer, and Holidays are usually when I start getting reservations for a day here or a week there.
It is not my primary service, but when you see a need in your community, and especially in your clientele base it’s just good business to see if you can fill the need.
Sometimes it may lead to a seasonal or even a weekly enrollment
This a great way to stay in touch with former clients and maybe continue to service them. It is also a way to get the word out in the community that you are there for them if they should ever need Drop-In/backup care. Sometimes it may lead to a seasonal or even a weekly enrollment.
As I said before when this crisis arose today some of my previous clients started calling. On our child care website, I stressed that “This is just another reason why it is a good idea to have a relationship with your local childcare providers if you have young children. You just never know when you might need a back-up plan.”
Related Reading:
Reach Out to the Community
Accordingly, I will be taking contact info over to the local schools this week just to reach out as a Drop-In/backup childcare resource for parents in the community who may be in need of alternative childcare arrangements in the future, for any reason.
I also posted a local ad reminding our community that we offer Drop-In/backup childcare at our childcare. I noted “If you are a working parent and you have young children (school age or younger), think about making a plan about how you might deal with emergency situations like today. You might find it a good idea to reach out to the child care providers in your community to inquire if drop-in/back-up care is available should you ever need it.”
Another way to serve the community
Hopefully, this turns out to be a false alarm and I am certainly not encouraging capitalizing on tragedy. This really is another way to serve the community that you serve.
If you already have this in place at times like this Drop-In/backup care really can be of great assistance.
Do you offer Drop-In/Back-Up Child Care? Is this a service you might consider offering your community?
