Using the List

When I first started writing this post there had been some talk in the news about the Online Childcare Registry.  I got sidetracked by my playroom renovation but still want to finish this post – better late than never.

Some parents complain that they have had their names on the registry for years and never get called because childcare facilities do not use the list.  I can’t speak for all facilities but I can say that I definitely do use the list.

In fact, recently I’ve used it a lot.  I’ve had a couple families that have moved away and so I’ve had some open childcare spaces – actually I’ve had more open spaces in the last six months than in the three years prior to that.

So yes, the online childcare registry works but it is complicated.  The most recent space I had was actually empty for two whole weeks!  That is a really long time for a space to be empty especially considering that I had more than a month’s notice as to when the family was moving.  Why did it take six weeks for me to find someone for that space?

Was I being picky?  I know providers who interview several families for a single childcare space – like an employer seeking a new employee.  They contact everyone on their list and set up interviews to narrow the list down to a few preferred applicants.  Some families get called back for a second interview or even a meeting at the family’s home.  Eventually the provider chooses the family whose child they believe will be the ‘best fit’ for their program.

I can’t do that.  I simply can’t make the call to say that I decided another child was a better fit for my program and you didn’t make the cut so you’ll have to keep looking.  Yes, it would be easier for me to enrol a child whose family shared all my values and beliefs but what about the families that are not so easy?

I’d love to fill all my spaces with outdoorsy children whose families would never complain about their child getting dirty or going out to play on cold or wet days.  Does that mean that I shouldn’t take the child that hates is afraid to be outside – the one that doesn’t even have proper outdoor clothing because they never get to play outside – the family that will require me to spend a lot of time explaining the reasoning behind and the benefits of unstructured time outdoors?

No, it took me so long to fill that space partly because I did use the childcare registry. There were 137 children on my waitlist on the registry.  I chose to sort by ‘space type’ because I had an infant space available. Then I started at the top of the list – families whose ‘required for’ date had already passed.

This is where the problems begin.  I click on the name of the first child on the list – the family’s info is  displayed on six tabs; ‘Child’ including name, age, # of siblings etc, ‘Requirements’ including date applied and preferred start date, ‘Hours’ including FT, PT, evenings, weekends, etc, ‘Notes’, ‘Main Contact’ name, address, phone #’s, email etc, and ‘Other Contact’.  I have to click through the tabs to get all the information I need – and write it down on paper.

It would be easier if all the information was on one page and I could just copy/paste what I need to contact the parent.  I can’t just leave the information open on my computer screen – the system will time out before I finish the phone call/email.  I’m also going to want all that information again later if I do manage to arrange a meeting – assuming all the family’s information is up to date.

Being unable to contact the parents on the list is another issue if they haven’t updated their contact information.  I’ve had parents call me and explain that they are already on the registry but have a new ‘required for’ date or other information and the system wouldn’t let them log in or change their information.  I’ve encountered problems logging in too – once the login button had mysteriously vanished – the rest of the page displayed fine but there was a blank space where the login button should have been.

When I am logged in I usually write down the information for several prospective families just in case I can’t contact any of them and I am unable to login again.  Each time I view a family’s information and then return to the main list I have to redo my ‘sort by’ selection because it automatically reset.

I know, this probably is beginning to sound like a rant against the registry but it is just frustration.  I really do prefer the online registry over my old paper list but I just wish the registry was a little more user friendly.  I shouldn’t have to set aside a large portion of a day just to create a list from a list.

But I did, and from that list I eliminated several who had already found care, and there were some I couldn’t reach.  Yes, I did have an empty space for two whole weeks before I managed to fill it – with  a child from the online registry.

I know there are many parents desperately seeking childcare – they call and interrupt my online search.  So, I ask them – ‘Are you on the childcare registry?’  It might be quicker to just to set up an interview with the caller but I’m stubborn.  There are others who have been waiting longer I just have to find them. I want the online childcare registry to work.

The Paperwork

I remember one day – many, many years ago – when I was chatting with a group of family childcare providers.  We were discussing the recent departure of a couple of other providers.  They hadn’t left the field entirely but they had left family childcare.  They had originally worked in childcare centers and had opened their family childcare homes when they had their own children.  Now that their children were older they were returning to work in centers.  They claimed they missed working with others and they desperately wanted their homes back.

I couldn’t imagine ever leaving family childcare – I had finally found my niche.  This was a job that so perfectly suited me that it didn’t even feel like work.  As the discussion continued we began to reflect on what we would miss the most if we couldn’t be family childcare providers.  My answer then was ‘the paperwork’.  Seriously!  I said I would miss doing paperwork and if I ever went to work somewhere else.

That wouldn’t be my answer now – even then I don’t think that was what I really meant.  You see, back then the majority of the ‘required’ paperwork was still done on paper.  I was an avid computer user. I began using computers in the early 90’s – programs were very basic and using them required a significant amount of resourcefulness.  It was fun to design my own spreadsheets for recordkeeping and to create parent handbooks.  ‘Paperwork’ using computers provided a creative outlet and I thought it was exciting.  Back then even doing paperwork was really just play.

Now, everything is done on computers – it is automatic and boring.  There is little imagination required just fill in the blanks.  Someone else has already done the creative part and all that’s left is the work.  Sure, some things can be ‘personalized’ but even that requires little more than the click of a button and if you don’t like it just click ‘undo’. The thrill is gone.

There is also the ever increasing need for written policies and procedures and required revisions — there is a ‘correct’ way to do paperwork and when you do it differently you’re ‘wrong’.   Blah blah blah….’Paperwork’ – even on computers – has become ‘required work’ instead of play.

Maybe this is a good time to point out that one of the reasons that I’m self employed is because I don’t like to take orders.  I could be considered to be a ‘Compliant Rebel’ – I will not openly defy authority but that doesn’t mean that I like what I am required to do — sometimes I can be resentful and I hold a grudge. I am creative, and following instructions is the opposite of being creative so ultimately required paperwork makes me feel stifled.

As a family childcare provider I am considered self employed but there are still rules and regulations that I am required to follow in order to be licensed.  So, I have some freedom and some restraints.  As the amount of required paperwork steadily increases there are days when I just want throw my hands in the air and scream “No more paperwork, that’s it, I quit”.   I don’t because I am…well, naturally compliant…submissive.

So now, I want to mention something good.  For the first time in a long time, the Province is about to unveil something that I am truly excited about; the OnlineChildcareRegistry  actually promises to make my life easier.

My current waitlist is depressing, confusing, and I’ll admit that it doesn’t work very well. It is depressing because in the last year I have added roughly 150 children to my waitlist – and I’ve enrolled three of them. I’ve had people call when they first learn that they are expecting a baby and they call again two years later when their maternity leave is over and they should have already returned to work but haven’t because they still haven’t found childcare. I don’t like to answer the phone because it could be another young woman with a dream for her future which should begin next week when she’s expected to start university except that she has no one to care for her child so she won’t be going.

My wait list is confusing because of the timing of calls.  Many people call me from work on their lunch break when they have time.  Do you know what my house looks like at lunch time?  I work alone and I’m serving lunch to eight children and some need to leave for school soon and some are cranky because it is almost nap time.  I get calls other times of the day too – when we’re out in the yard, when we’re creating masterpieces with glue and paint, when I’m in the middle of changing a baby’s diaper or in the evening when my husband yells “Don’t answer it – the daycare is closed”. But I do anyway.  And when I have time I try to decipher what I scribbled on that napkin/scrap of paper/fencepost and add it to the official list.  The list that doesn’t really work very well because it’s just a chronological list of when people called but it does little to help me choose who to call for the one space that may be available.

Yep, I’m looking forward to the centralized online waiting list because finally it is something that doesn’t require me to do more work and in fact it will be useful – for all of us.