A Single Mother's Plea for Quality Child Care...

"I wrote this story in about 10 minutes but it was enough to send me to Washington to speak on Capitol Hill."

 

 

As a single parent with a 3 year old son that was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, finding child care for my son has been an unforgettable experience. I have to be extra careful with who I trust with my son and also have to make sure I can afford the child care provider I hire to care for him. My son has been switched from 5 different daycare centers since he was born. I have tried to use in-home care for him, but at the age of 4 months he contracted a staph infection (MRSA) and had to be hospitalized to treat him. I quickly removed him from that home. I then transferred him to a daycare center near my home in Roswell at the time and found that the daycare center was not up to standards with the State codes. He was there for several months but I could not stand him being there in the conditions I found. So, I moved him to a different daycare in Roswell but the price to have him there 5 days a week while I worked was over $800.00 for an infant. I tried as long as I could to keep him in the daycare because I felt the center was a good location and they were NAEYC accredited. I soon learned along with having that accreditation I would have to pay a lot more for those standards.During the time my son attended this daycare, there was a change in staff that started to bother me because once my son would get used to someone they would leave. Eventually that coupled with the cost of the daycare I had to remove him and put him in a more affordable center.

I tried to use a daycare that was more affordable and also was used by a good friend of mine. This daycare center was in a shopping plaza that did not sit well with me but the center was operated by a pastor and his wife so I thought it would be okay. I was wrong. The staff was very informative on things that were going on in the center that were not up to code with the state. I mean if you have the staff telling you this is not a good place for your child that is a huge red flag. I could afford the price but I was not happy with the service. I took my son out of that daycare and found a great daycare near my job in Johns Creek. The price was a little higher but I felt it was worth the struggle to make the payment because the daycare was so well organized.If I had a problem they would address my concern and make the change immediately. The teachers were great and the directors and owners were very nice to work with. Unfortunately, my son had to leave the center because he moved from the Babies Can't Wait program and was brought into the Fulton County Special Needs program.

I had to again go through the process of finding a new daycare center that could provide the same quality care I was used to receiving from his previous daycare center and also find somewhere I could afford. I have been fortunate to find both of those qualifications in an in-home daycare center very close to my home. I hope this daycare does not disappoint me like so many have done in the past. In closing, I would like to say child care is such an important necessity in order for a parent to work and maintain a life  for their family. But it seems to be such a hard task finding good quality childcare that is also affordable. Your either going to suffer in your pockets or your going to suffer with the quality you receive from the center. I think it is so important to find that balance for a parent like myself who chooses not to sit at home but who must make tough choices when placing my son in an affordable, quality child care center. I have been in the child care system for the past 3 years and have only found in the last year the type of quality one would expect for my son.

Thank you,
Chisa Rawlings

Posted by urbanpeephole at 11/18/2010 11:40 PM
Categories: Community
Tags: children care mother mrsa cerebral palsy
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