Daycare waiting list scam in the City of Alexandria?

[Anonymous]

It is not like any of these daycares are really churning out the profits. Most run on very small margins. So, the wording of the thread title seems very extreme to me.

I think you can complain about the waitlist fee being too high ($100 seems steep to me - $50 or $75 seems more the norm) or about not getting enough information (you are 3 months out from the date you wanted, but there are 5 people ahead of you wanting the same time frame with the same age child). But, I think that is a far cry from a scam that you need to contact the authorities about.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you should investigate this and lodge some complaints. $100 to "service" the waitlist is way to much when they:

1. Don't give you any information about where you are on the waitlist.

2. Never call most the people on the waitlist.

It doesn't sound like they have a full time staff member to manage the list, if they did they would be able to provide more transparency about what is going on with the lists.

I think a lot of these places just has an admin assistant run interference with the parents with a blanket policy of not providing any information. I doubt this is a full fledged scam, but it is a sketchy business practice and I do think there needs to be some regulation.

[Anonymous]

I was on a board of a daycare. I think I can answer some of the inquiries. First, if you put too much regulation and rules in terms of maintaining a waitlist, the obvious solution for many daycares is simply no longer maintaining a list. There is just no reason to expose the center to additional liability or administrative burdens. If a spot opens, they could solicit current parents or just take the next person that happens to call. If you think that method is preferrable, I'd think you are nuts.

The reason why we charged $35 is simply to get parents to have some skin in the game. We want people on our waitlist to actually want to have a space, rather have us be backup option #10. The fee is also supposed to encourage parents to visit the daycare and make the determination in advanced if offered a spot, whether they would take it. Our daycare has proposed us to raise the waitlist fee to $100 or $150 because quite simply, we still get too many backup situations or people who think spending $35 is no big deal and not worth their time to checkout the daycare center in advance.

When you have too many iffy folks on your waitlist, it drags out the process to replace a child to be weeks or a month or more time. So if a spot opens a year later, the director starts calling the parents on the waitlist. She would calling family no. 1, get a voicemail, and leave a message that they need to respond in 1 or 2 days. It is not uncommon for the daycare to go through 10 to 20 names before they find someone interested and it taking weeks if the families don't respond immediately (they often don't). The reason is that many people are no longer interested is that they have found alternate arrangements in the meantime and did not consider switching to the center necessary. Also, when someone is interested, they often won't commit because they demand a visit. There might be difficulties in arranging a visit right away, due to scheduling issues with the parents. Or they might seek a delay because they want to find out their chances at a preferrable daycare before they commit. So basically, with a waitlist, it can end up a long and dried out process to get a family to commit and pay a deposit. Many times it causes the daycare to lose fees if the spot is open too long and causes just too many headaches for the director.

With a higher waitlist fee, the board thought that the quality of the waitlist would be greater and we would significantly shorten the time and effort to replace a child. Ultimately we rejected this, as we thought it would discourage middle and lower income families from applying and we didn't want the daycare (a GSA sponsored one) to be mostly for higher income families and possibly causing it to be signficantly less diverse. The daycare was a nonprofit, so obviously a for profit center probably would not necessarily have the same concerns.

[Anonymous]

So OP, to answer your question, daycares are totally faultless and this is all parents' fault. Seems to be a common theme with daycare providers.

[Anonymous]

I have to sympathize with your feelings on this OP. I was shocked when I discovered this process here. I compared it to my little brother's college application fees - except at least he has at least one school he's pretty much guaranteed to get in to - I can't say the same for our DS and daycare!

[Anonymous]

Well the demand higher than supply must only apply to centers, because I know a LOT of providers, myself included, who have space in their home for children and arent getting any. THe county has told me it is forcing a LOT of in home providers to shut down their doors. I see ads on craigslist for providers selling off all their supplies and toys, etc because they are closing down. Sad. Especially when there are so many out there willing and ready to spread their love and attention on kids and we are losing out to the centers and nannies

[Anonymous]

I got on 3 wait lists in Alexandria, and when I called to check, they all told me where I was on the list, so I didn't feel scammed. We went with one in the beginning, and when we got to the top of the wait list at another, we switched.

OP, I do like your suggestion of a partially refundable deposit. I see why they need a deposit, but I also see the benefits of being able to withdraw your name and get some $ back (and keep the list shorter).

[Anonymous]

While I live in a different area, I work in the child care field after being an attorney for a couple of years. Complaints regarding child care are best directed to your state department of social and human services. Also, an administrative fee is bogus. Every facility that is of any quality ought to know when they are likely to have an opening by keeping good communication with their parents. Keeping a name on file costs nothing. While infant spots are limited, due to state regulation, and waiting lists are needed no fee is necessary unless the provider is keeping a space open/reserved just for you. Our child care is operated out of our home and perhaps that is a distinguishing factor between a center and home care. In-home child care is more family oriented and personal not to mention there is no worker turn-over rate so who your child bonds with will always be there for them as they grow. Also, I would pit our child care over any facility any day. We work extensively with our infants and preschoolers doing baby sign, teaching the kids to read and write, geography, dance, yoga, Spanish, English and cultural diversity topics. We do all this in a way that gets our kids excited to learn. I would suggest you go to your state agency and find a list of licensed in-home day cares where you can find a more personal level of care. Also, contractually speaking, whenever you do not agree to a term in a contract, cross out that term, initial and date where you crossed out. That way at least you may reserve an argument in court (small claims) to your refund. While it is no guarantee to get your money back at least you will have some sort of standing in court.

[Anonymous]

Ha ha ha ha thanks for the mid day giggle I am a small home daycare with quite a few years under my belt and I just have to say, any crossing out and initialing on MY contracts and my door would hit you in the behind on the way out. Ridiculous. If you don't agree find another daycare where you get to make the rules......good luck with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha ha ha ha thanks for the mid day giggle I am a small home daycare with quite a few years under my belt and I just have to say, any crossing out and initialing on MY contracts and my door would hit you in the behind on the way out. Ridiculous. If you don't agree find another daycare where you get to make the rules......good luck with that.

While I wouldnt be as harsh to say letting my door hit you in the behind, I too find this ridiculous to think a parent would even remotely think to walk in and start defacing my contract simply because they didnt agree with a clause. IF you dont agree, you find somewhere else to go. Period. There is a reason why I have the rules and clauses in my contract and I am not about to bend on my rules. This is why this is my business, so I can make the rules, and parents must abide by them.

[Anonymous]

People need to be accountable to what they sign. A bunch of people were all mad about that maria theresa lady because they paid a deposit, she didn't open as scheduled, and they found alternate care. They were mad because they wanted their money back, but not a single one did anything about it in court because they had signed the contract. if you don't like it, don't sign it in the first place. Go somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Does it say FEE or DEPOSIT ?????
If it says fee then you lost 100.00 .........If it says deposit then that 100.00,if your child is selected,shall be added to your monthly costs usually last month of year....If not selected then it has to be refunded.....Every state has its own laws but this is pretty much nationwide........
Keep all letters and document all people involved....Small Claims Court is the best route for this issue