work. Having worked many years in Family Day Care before working in Long Day Care, I considered it a wonderful luxury to be able to go home at the end of a shift rather than wait for the last parents to come. Carers working alone for a family under private arrangements are at risk of harassment and exploitation with little recourse except to resign. The work is lonely and demanding and the children are placed at risk if the carer is not coping with the physical and emotional demands of the work with no one except the children as witnesses. Alternative model of care The potential of Family Day Care as the ultimate flexible solution has been lost in the rigid structure which has evolved since its inception. If the three basic elements - carer, location, and transportation - were separated, it would open possibilities to suit diverse situations. There are people who have areas in their homes, suitable for family day care, who do not want to be care providers and there are qualified carers who do not have suitable premises to work from. A family with a suitable home for family day care, could be paid an amount for providing the premises. The location would not necessarily have to be a home. An educational program could be run by carers in suitable premises (such as a hall) in a rural or other setting where there might not be sufficient numbers for a full scale service. Two carers, working together, with the usual carer/child ratios, should be the preferred option for safety reasons. The carers would come to work at the location and be paid the same as they would if they were working in a centre. There could be provision for their shifts to be slightly staggered to cover low numbers morning or evening depending upon the needs of the individual families. Parents on shift work could arrange to combine their children at one convenient location with carers who would also be shift workers rather than a carer working overtime. Someone able to provide transport would not need full childcare qualifications but would be able to pick up a child from school and take them to the carer, avoiding the situation where a younger, sleeping child has to be put in the car for the “school run”. A transportation person could also pick up a child from school and take them to after
work. Having worked many years in Family Day Care before working in Long Day Care, I considered it a wonderful luxury to be able to go home at the end of a shift rather than wait for the last parents to come. Carers working alone for a family under private arrangements are at risk of harassment and exploitation with little recourse except to resign. The work is lonely and demanding and the children are placed at risk if the carer is not coping with the physical and emotional demands of the work with no one except the children as witnesses. Alternative model of care The potential of Family Day Care as the ultimate flexible solution has been lost in the rigid structure which has evolved since its inception. If the three basic elements - carer, location, and transportation - were separated, it would open possibilities to suit diverse situations. There are people who have areas in their homes, suitable for family day care, who do not want to be care providers and there are qualified carers who do not have suitable premises to work from. A family with a suitable home for family day care, could be paid an amount for providing the premises. The location would not necessarily have to be a home. An educational program could be run by carers in suitable premises (such as a hall) in a rural or other setting where there might not be sufficient numbers for a full scale service. Two carers, working together, with the usual carer/child ratios, should be the preferred option for safety reasons. The carers would come to work at the location and be paid the same as they would if they were working in a centre. There could be provision for their shifts to be slightly staggered to cover low numbers morning or evening depending upon the needs of the individual families. Parents on shift work could arrange to combine their children at one convenient location with carers who would also be shift workers rather than a carer working overtime. Someone able to provide transport would not need full childcare qualifications but would be able to pick up a child from school and take them to the carer, avoiding the situation where a younger, sleeping child has to be put in the car for the “school run”. A transportation person could also pick up a child from school and take them to after