Hello - this message is really for all the providers out there. My son was recently registered with a dayhome agency. He is special needs and after a few weeks of care, I began to notice several behavioral issues that were emerging at home. Try as I might, his behavior began to escalate. It came to the point where I was afraid the his behaviors would spill over into the dayhome (my son was having nightmares, started banging his head on the wall, was stamping his feet and yelling and screaming at me when he didn't get his own way, this would progress to slamming doors and locking himself in the bathroom or his room). The provider was aware of my son's issues (she had babysat him privately for over a year before she came a licensed provider). I approached her with my concerns only to have her tell me that there was no problem in the dayhome and that this must be a home issue. When my son's behavior continued to escalate at home (he now started throwing things and biting me when in a tantrum), I approached the provider again; she refused to work with me in trying several strategies to help calm my son (he has severe sensory issues and she had implemented many changes in her home plus taking on several more children - I felt that it was all too much for him and that he was overwhelmed). After two frustrating mornings of not being able to convince her that if this escalation continued, that the other children may be placed at risk, I told her that I would be giving my notice. I left for work, intending to speak with her that evening about the termination. My contract states that I must provide 2 weeks of written notice but I know that she was struggling financially. I wanted to sit down with her and discuss how we would go forward, I didn't want to give only two weeks if she really needed the full month's fees but I was also not going to continue care to the end of the month without some definite strategies in place to help my son cope. Anyway, when I arrived that afternoon to pick my son up, she informed me that she was no longer going to provide care. She literally stuffed his belongings in my arm and said that she no longer wanted him in her home (this was in front of my son). Stunned, I asked if she was required to provide notice, she replied yes but that she was not going to. I took my son and left. Here is the problem. The dayhome agency is now billing me for two weeks care in lieu of notice. My provider's take is that she didn't want my son and that by not disagreeing with her/offering no argument, I was in agreement - I'm sorry but how do you disagree with someone who doesn't want to watch your child anymore? What was I to do, drop him off at her door anyway for two weeks? What makes it worse is that my contract/provider manual only discusses parental notice; it says nothing about my responsibilities when the provider decides to terminate. Within days of my son leaving, I contacted the agency asking if I still needed to give written notice but after several calls and emails, have heard nothing. Is this normal and am I required to pay?

Thank you