Terminating my drop-in family

[monkeymama]

So I have decided to terminate my drop in family. It just isn't working anymore. dcm does not communicate their schedule with me at all (last week she just showed up one day in the hopes I would have space!) and dcb has a really hard time adjusting to our schedule when he is here. The schedule is just too sporadic. He was suppose to come this week I thought, and mom texted me this morning that they are on vacation the next 2 weeks. I have a contract with her stating 2 weeks notice. I was thinking of sending an email termination. I have never done that before, I have always done in person but If I wait until after they are back from vacation and have 2 weeks notice start then, it will be a month before it is done...any suggestions? I am kicking myself for continuing this for so long. It worked well when I was short on clients, but I am full now and don't want to deal with the disrespect any more.

[Sassygirl]

I feel for you. I have a similar situation here. I may be getting rid of my drop in families too. I have 3 full timers plus one more starting in 3 weeks that will be 3-4 days a week and I keep my last spot open for drop ins (I have 3 on call families whos parents work various shifts and its usually a last minute thing if I have space.)
I have the same thing with trouble transitioning. These kids are on completely different schedules and it sometimes seems like more trouble than its worth financially for a day here and there.
I think the right thing to do would be to give notice when they get back. Its really only 2 more weeks since they are away. If you gave notice while you knew they were away, when they got back they would be really scrambling to find someone.

[playfelt]

I think my only concern is that to give the mom notice now as they head off on vacation while I know you are justified and serves them right for not letting you know sooner it does look bad if they are out of town and come back to no care.

To give notice now but make yourself available for an additional two weeks after they get back from vacation might be a nice gesture and then hope they don't actually come back.

[monkeymama]

Good points. I really don't want to leave them in a bind, but like Sassygirl said, it is now more work that it is worth $$ wise. I don't believe her text about "last minute" approved vacation, she knew she just didn't bother to tell me. Dcb had a huge tantrum last week and she thought it was hilarious. I did not.

[playfelt]

Is it possible she is actually in the process of terminating too in the sense of instead of vacation she is looking for alternate care given the temper situation last week - in other words the last minute vacation is just to buy time.

[monkeymama]

playfelt- she could be. I don't think she would find anyone in our area willing to do drop-in care though. She knew last week I wasn't happy with her response. This "vaction" is payback I think. I am going to take the next 2 weeks to think, but I think I will be handing her a termination letter upon her return, whether she is looking to leave or not.

[Monday 2 Friday Mama]

*Hugs* to you MonkeyMama. All of the ladies here have put forward great advice - I don't really have any new insight to add. I think getting rid of this family is probably the right thing to do - drop in care is always a bit of a pain in the caboose - I find the LO's never really get into the groove like full time, scheduled children do. =( I wouldn't feel badly about giving notice via e-mail. If this family is only at daycare infrequently, a lot of time could go by before you have a chance to speak to them in person. (especially if they're heading away on vacation) If you're not comfortable with e-mail (I get that it seems a little cold/impersonal) maybe you could notify them by phone ? Good luck finding a better family ! =)

[playfelt]

The being away on vacation gives you a good reason to use without mentioning the tantrum and things that have gone on. Simply saying you didn't realize just how disruptive it was to your group to have a child that came so sporadically and that it isn't fair to the children to never know what to expect at daycare or for the pt child to properly settle in since the group is used to playing together without him. For that reason you feel it would be best to terminate care effective insert date). By email you could do it even at the end of the first week of their vacation ie after you have had time to realize how much calmer it is in daycare. But give the effective date for two weeks after their return so three weeks from sending email. Even on vacation there are plenty of online sites she can look at while lounging on the beach or whatever they are doing for vacation.

[monkeymama]

Well playfelt, you were right! Dcm and I had a chat about dcb behavior and she admitted they have been on waitlist for preschool and have decided to term. She paid her full balance and he is gone. I had already figured this out but was glad she finally fessed up and told me the truth.

[Secondtimearound]

Why not just say that in the first place ??!!! Dcp can be so frustrating !!! In not communicating !!!!
Drop ins can be so disruptive ! I personally just terminated for the same reason . Dcm wanted to schedule 5 days and for me to be "on call " the rest of the days . This dcg would come so early and sometimes I would be waiting for her to show and get a text ,"oh she won't be coming after all " then the next drop off is an hour and a half later ! When I talked to her about the no shows she just shrugged and implied I'm on call !!
So we termed nice enough but she came by last night to pick up her belongings and showed huge attitude !!!!
So much for ending nice !!!

[apples and bananas]

I have terminated by email before.

I did it because the family was a constant problem with late payments and they would always pay through email transfer. I knew they'd be a flight risk if I terminated while payment was still due.

So, I waited until they paid one weekend (late as always) and I sent the email after payment was received. I know it sounds completely un professional, but I had to look out for my business first.

The problem with email is knowing if they've received it or not. My client didn't respond at first. So, I had to make the choice to send it again with a text as well to ensure they received it as I didn't want them showing up on Monday not knowing. How awkward would that be!

I also put in my termination that I was giving 2 weeks notice. If they wished to use the 2 weeks they needed to pre pay it.