Small Family Child Care Providers: Contracts With Parents

This article covers what a small family child care provider must include in a contract with parents under the Maryland regulations known as Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) Title 13A, Subtitle 15.

This article covers what a small family child care provider must include in a contract with parents under the Maryland State Board of Education regulations.

NOTE: This article does not cover “large” family child care homes, commercial child care homes, or general contract law requirements.

What is a Small Family Child Care?

A small family child care is one:

that is operated out of the provider’s primary residence;
where the provider cares for 1-8 children;
where the provider is not related to all children in care; and,
where the provider provides care on a regular basis of 20 or more hours per month.

Read the Regulations: Code of Md. Regulations, 13A.15.04.03; 13A.15.02.01

Contract Requirements

Maryland law requires that you must include the following matters in your written agreement:

fee schedule,
child discipline policy,
presence of any pet animals,
use of volunteers (if applicable), and
sleeping arrangements (if overnight care is provided).

Read the Regulation: Code of Md. Regulations, 13A.15.03.03

Fee Schedule

The fee schedule includes how much time the child will be in the provider's care and how much the parent will pay. Note that prior approval must be obtained from the state before you can provide care regularly for more than 14 hours in any 24-hour period.

Read the Regulation: Code of Md. Regulations, 13A.15.04.01

Child Discipline Policy

The child discipline policy describes how the provider will discipline the children. Your policy must be appropriate to the age, maturity, and physical condition of the child.

Read the Regulation: Code of Md. Regulations, 13A.15.07.04

A provider may NOT:

subject a child to abuse, neglect, mental injury, or injurious treatment;
force a child to eat or drink;
punish a child for refusing to eat or drink;
withhold food or beverages as punishment;
deliberately inflict physical pain, including spanking, hitting, shaking, or any other means of physical discipline;
enforce acts which result in physical pain;
fail to attend to a child’s physical needs;
subject a child to verbal abuse intended to cause mental distress, such as shouting, cursing, shaming, or ridiculing;
use other inappropriate methods that create undue discomfort, such as, but not limited to:
- washing a child’s mouth with soap;
- putting pepper or other spicy or distasteful items in a child’s mouth;
- requiring a child to stand on one foot; or,
- tying a child to another object.

Read the Regulation: Code of Md. Regulations, 13A.15.01.02(B)(20)

Presence of any Pet Animals

Many child care providers who care for children in their homes have pets. If a provider keeps pets in the home, or uses animals as part of an educational program, state regulations require that disclosure of the presence of the animals in the child care agreement. Disclosure ensures that parents are aware of the presence of pets and animals in the family child care.

Use of volunteers

The disclosure of the presence of any volunteers must be in your written agreement. A volunteer is any person 13 years or older, who is not enrolled as a child in care at the family child care home, and who works in the child care home without compensation. Volunteer does not mean an additional adult or a substitute.

Read the Regulation: Code of Md. Regulations, 13A.15.01.02(B)(36)

Sleeping Arrangements

For children under 5, furnishings must be provided for naps. Children younger than 12 months must have a crib available. Children between 1-5 years old must have a bed or cot provided.

If overnight care is to be provided to the child, the sleeping arrangements must be detailed in the agreement and approved by the child's parents. Each child in overnight care must:

Sleep in a separate bed or crib that is appropriate to the child's age, size, and needs; and
Have separate clean linens and toiletries.

Each room used for sleeping must have an emergency escape route floor plan posted obviously.

Read the Regulation: Code of Md. Regulations, 13A.15.05.06; 13A.15.10.01

Other Matters

The following matters are not required for the agreement, but including them in the agreement may provide benefits to the provider and the parents.

Use of substitutes

Maryland law requires the provider to notify the parents when a substitute provider will care for the children. Note that the substitute may not present a risk to the health, safety, or welfare of the children. Disclosure of the name and qualifications of potential substitutes in the agreement can help reduce concerns from parents.

Read the Regulations: Code of Md. Regulations, 13A.15.03.05; 13A.15.06

Emergency plan

Maryland law requires you to:

complete emergency and disaster planning training;
alert any substitute to emergency evacuation procedures;
prepare and maintain a written emergency and disaster plan.

Read the Regulations: Code of Md. Regulations, 13A.15.06.02 13A.15.10.01

Including this in the agreement may help parents feel more comfortable leaving their child(ren) in the provider's care, and more confident in an emergency.

Disclosure

Maryland law requires that provider's document, on or before the date of a child’s admission to care, that the child’s parent was given, or advised how to obtain, information concerning:

consumer education on child care; and
how to file a complaint with the State against a child care provider.

Read the Regulations: Code of Md. Regulations, 13A.15.03.03

Source

Original article by Adam Cornelius, Rule 16 Student Attorney (Fall 2013), Community Development Clinic, University of Baltimore. Edited by PLL. Updated by Regina Strait, Esq.