We have had several providers let us know about a scam that is targeting childcare providers. Please be careful if anybody from overseas contacts you looking for short term childcare. Do not send money to anyone, do not cash any checks sent to you, and report any suspicious activity to your local authorities.
Here's how the scam works...
Individuals are contacting childcare providers and saying that they need childcare for a short period of time, often as brief as a week, while they are visiting the US. They then say they will mail you a cashiers check to pay for the care in advance. When you get the check, it is for a much larger amount than the cost of childcare. They will then ask you to cash the fake check and send the extra money back to them at an address outside the US.
Your safety and security is important to Daycarematch. That is why we only show the first initial of your last name, and keep your e-mail address protected.
Please let us know about anybody you feel is using our site fraudulently.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Happy Birthday Daycarematch!
It was about a year ago that we launched Daycarematch. In that year, we've had providers sign up from all 50 states, and across Canada. We had planned to keep the site just for our area of Madison, WI, but the power of the internet helped it spread faster than we ever imagined. We're excited that others agree that a site like this is a good idea.
After struggling to find care for our then infant son, we thought there must be an easier way. We got a list of providers from the local referral agency, but the list was out of date, and having just names and phone numbers meant we had to call every provider to find out more information about their experience. We wrote down what we wanted to know about childcare providers, asked our friends, and then asked childcare providers what they wanted to tell parents. We pulled that all together, and came up with Daycarematch.
We look forward to another exciting year. Thanks for being a part of it!
After struggling to find care for our then infant son, we thought there must be an easier way. We got a list of providers from the local referral agency, but the list was out of date, and having just names and phone numbers meant we had to call every provider to find out more information about their experience. We wrote down what we wanted to know about childcare providers, asked our friends, and then asked childcare providers what they wanted to tell parents. We pulled that all together, and came up with Daycarematch.
We look forward to another exciting year. Thanks for being a part of it!
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Childcare Unions - Good or bad Idea?
We've heard from several providers that there is talk in the childcare world about unionizing childcare providers. Some providers seem to be for this, while others are against it. Here's an interesting article about what is happening with childcare unions in Iowa ....
Vilsack's Order Paves Way for Union
The Associated Press
Tuesday 17 January 2006
Gov. Tom Vilsack has issued an executive order allowing child care providers to form a union and negotiate for better wages, health care and incentives for training, union officials said.
Vilsack issued the order Monday, allowing more than 13,000 in-home daycare providers in Iowa to begin collective bargaining.
"We need to make a comprehensive commitment to early childhood in order to uphold our responsibility to ensure every child in Iowa reaches his or her full potential," Vilsack said in a statement.
The reason providers have pressured the governor for help is that many workers care for children from low-income families whose child-care costs are subsidized by state and federal funds.
Child care providers now have to decide which union will represent them.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees/Child Care Providers Together and the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, have been vying to represent the group.
About 5,000 providers, certified through AFSCME, have signed support cards with the union, spokesman Joe Lawrence said Tuesday. Some of those providers will formally petition the state for recognition on Tuesday at the Iowa Mediation Services, Inc., he said.
"Without Iowa child care providers, Iowa parents couldn't go to work," Dan Homan, president of AFSCME Iowa Council 61, said in a statement. "Hats off to registered providers for winning this important victory for families across the state."
SEIU has said it wants to represent all 13,000 child care providers, both certified and otherwise.
Iowa Mediation Services will conduct a review of the support cards to see which union has the most backing from child care providers, said Mike Thompson, executive director.
Vilsack's order follows a similar deal for providers in Illinois, where workers have unionized and received a 35 percent average increase in their daily rates over the life of the 39-month contract.
Workers would be able to demand an even higher rate increase by taking training courses, and they'll have access to health care coverage in the final year of the deal.
The contract agreed upon last month, which covers 49,000 in-home child care providers, will cost the state of Illinois $250 million and increase child-care expenses by $70 million.
Information on the impact of the executive order in Iowa was not immediately available.
Currently in Iowa, child care providers have received a state subsidy that ranges from $7.36 to $11.25 for a half day, or five hours of care, depending on the child age and the provider's education and experience.
In Illinois, AFSCME and SEIU battled over who would represent the child care workers. AFSCME was forced to drop its campaign by the AFL-CIO, whose rules govern both unions. The AFL-CIO determined that SEIU had been working to unionize the state-subsidized child care workers longer, so AFSCME was forced to stop campaigning.
A telephone message left with the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, on Tuesday morning wasn't immediately returned.
Vilsack's Order Paves Way for Union
The Associated Press
Tuesday 17 January 2006
Gov. Tom Vilsack has issued an executive order allowing child care providers to form a union and negotiate for better wages, health care and incentives for training, union officials said.
Vilsack issued the order Monday, allowing more than 13,000 in-home daycare providers in Iowa to begin collective bargaining.
"We need to make a comprehensive commitment to early childhood in order to uphold our responsibility to ensure every child in Iowa reaches his or her full potential," Vilsack said in a statement.
The reason providers have pressured the governor for help is that many workers care for children from low-income families whose child-care costs are subsidized by state and federal funds.
Child care providers now have to decide which union will represent them.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees/Child Care Providers Together and the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, have been vying to represent the group.
About 5,000 providers, certified through AFSCME, have signed support cards with the union, spokesman Joe Lawrence said Tuesday. Some of those providers will formally petition the state for recognition on Tuesday at the Iowa Mediation Services, Inc., he said.
"Without Iowa child care providers, Iowa parents couldn't go to work," Dan Homan, president of AFSCME Iowa Council 61, said in a statement. "Hats off to registered providers for winning this important victory for families across the state."
SEIU has said it wants to represent all 13,000 child care providers, both certified and otherwise.
Iowa Mediation Services will conduct a review of the support cards to see which union has the most backing from child care providers, said Mike Thompson, executive director.
Vilsack's order follows a similar deal for providers in Illinois, where workers have unionized and received a 35 percent average increase in their daily rates over the life of the 39-month contract.
Workers would be able to demand an even higher rate increase by taking training courses, and they'll have access to health care coverage in the final year of the deal.
The contract agreed upon last month, which covers 49,000 in-home child care providers, will cost the state of Illinois $250 million and increase child-care expenses by $70 million.
Information on the impact of the executive order in Iowa was not immediately available.
Currently in Iowa, child care providers have received a state subsidy that ranges from $7.36 to $11.25 for a half day, or five hours of care, depending on the child age and the provider's education and experience.
In Illinois, AFSCME and SEIU battled over who would represent the child care workers. AFSCME was forced to drop its campaign by the AFL-CIO, whose rules govern both unions. The AFL-CIO determined that SEIU had been working to unionize the state-subsidized child care workers longer, so AFSCME was forced to stop campaigning.
A telephone message left with the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, on Tuesday morning wasn't immediately returned.
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