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I was wondering what everyone tells the remaining parents when a contract is terminated either by you or the client.
a) Do you tell them the absolute truth?
b) Tell them half the truth in order to keep some type of confidentiality between you and the previous client
c) Tell them that you must keep confidentiality and are unable to tell them
d) Something else
If I were a parent, I might get nervous that another family is leaving care and I don't know why.
I tell the truth, why lie?
In my case the parent/family I'd be terminating does not respect me and doesn't follow the contract so... I think it's a perfect EXAMPLE to the others of the fact that I'm not bluffing! Follow the contract or you'll go too! :laugh:
Mostly parents already know that there are issues since this is family care. All the kids come to the door when a parent comes, they see who in care is crying, whining, and to a certain extent are my sounding board without telling the whole truth if that makes sense. On the confidentiality while I know that some issues no matter what remain in my head this is family care - for 10 hours a day these 5 kids are siblings - stepchildren so to speak and each parent that comes has an equal say in what happens with the group in the sense that there is no way for it not to effect their child no matter what is going on.
When a family is terminated it is rarely for positive reasons. I let other parents know enough to let them relax knowing that I have taken care of an issue that we were having in our daycare and as such life will be better for their child. I do it by asking them if they know anyone needing care to let me know because as of whatever date XXXX will no longer be with us at daycare. Then usually the parent breathes a sigh of relief and tells me what they really thought of child XXXX and/or their parents. Which of course I am not going to lie about my feelings either.
I had to terminate families when I was starting and the reason was plain to all the other families because of the violent behaviour of one little girl toward the others and because of the nonstop crying all day for the other little girl. I was honest with all the families. I wouldn't tell them all the facts, like that these parents were not co-operative in dealing with their own children. But I tell that story in interviews now so that potential clients know I will work through anything with them, but that's how I learned we have to be a team.
Yeah, I've only had one that has left, and I haven't done any termination yet, but I told the parents the truth. She wasn't adjusting here. The other families know that THEIR children have already adjusted and love it here, so ti wouldn't be a bad reflection on my day home. If it was a situation where there was bad blood, I know it'd be nothing that would make my daycare parents question my quality of care anyway...is that what you mean? They all already trust you and believe you give good care, or they would have gone elsewhere.
I have not had anyone leave on "poor" terms on either side so have always been able to share X is leaving for school, new house or to be a big brother/sister and throw a goodbye party ... if I had to terminate a client I would just tell current clients "X will not be attending program anymore as we realized we are not an ideal fit on ideology therefore I will be looking for a new friend to join us shortly so you may have prospective clients calling for references any time." ... as previous posters have stated confidentiality in such a close knit group is a challenge I do not need to TELL them details they can likely draw a conclusion on their own - every client I have knows who my challenging kid is - they have eyes and ears ;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skysue
This! I don't lie to my families. I tell them the exact reasons why someone is leaving. If I'm the 1 who is terming, it also shows that I won't put up with any BS and WILL terminate families.
I agree with all the ladies who have said they tell the truth. We are such a small group that parents can tell on pick up/drop off if something is not going great in the daycare home. I recently had to terminate twins and was very honest with my current families in telling them they were terminated because: they were a danger to to others, they used foul language, they were wilfully destructive to my home, etc. I like my parents to be totally honest with me and hope that if I give them total honesty they will return the favour. Communication is HUGE for me (not that it always works, but I like to try)