Hmmm - that is a tough one Cocoon - they are not being fair with the 'wishy washy' nature.

I recently had an issue with a mat leave parent who was waffling about going on mat leave early or waiting for babe to arrive and sending older sibling for a few weeks ... I had to finally just go to her and say 'I have a prospective client lined up to take the space you are vacating they are wanting to start on X date - I need you to decide what your plan is because I would hate to loose out on a potential match for the program but I do not want to leave you in a lurch either" .... they were awesome and apologized for the waffling and committed to be done for the Friday before the family wanted to start.... sometimes just being honest and telling clients what we need from them in a heartfelt way is all it takes ... perhaps just explaining to the current family that you are in a difficult position because they told you they were leaving so you took steps to protect your income and find a replacement for them and you have - so therefore you need them to commit to the original termination date of September?