Childcare Provider Scare

After having my second child I decided to go back to work. I wanted to ensure that I had adequate and reliable childcare. I had always used family members to provide care for my children while I was working. I was unable to find a family member to care for my two children while I was at work. Needless to say I was forced to find childcare elsewhere. I got a list of certified childcare provider from our local Jobs and Family Services agency. I began my search for the right person to watch my children. Before I called any of the providers on the list I called upon all my friends and family members I knew who have used a certified childcare provider. They were able to provide me with names of whom to use and not to use. This really narrowed down my search. Out of the entire list three women were highly recommended.

I contacted all three women to set up a meeting with them so I could introduce myself and my children. After meeting all three women there was one who I really liked. She was a foster parent and a mother of two girls also. She and her foster son were so excited that I had boys, due to the fact it would give her son someone to play with. She had a great personality, beautiful home, and seemed very loving toward children.

After three weeks of her watching my two children I learned some very disturbing news. A friend of mine "Karen" was at a local tanning salon and she realized that my children were sitting in the car. Karen knew the name of my childcare provider and went inside to ask if she was tanning. The worker informed her that she had just gone in to tan and would be about thirty minutes. Karen was shocked and went back outside to the car where my children were. My oldest son who was five at the time unlocked the car door for Karen. Karen got my oldest son out of the car and my three month old baby. She waited outside with them until my childcare provider came out. Karen was very angry with her and told her that she would let me know about the incident.

I returned home from work that day to and got a call from Karen about what had gone on. I contacted Jobs and Family Services and was told to file a police report and they would be sending an investigator to my home to resolve the situation. Karen and I went to the police station and made a report. The investigator came to my home for a meeting. He was outraged by the childcare provider's reckless behavior and told me that you never leave a child unattended in a car. He also thanked Karen for being there to get the children out of the car. It was about 99 degrees that day and leaving children in a car with the windows up can be deadly. Karen kept a close eye on her watch until she came out from the tanning salon. If it weren't for Karen my children would have set in the car for forty minutes.

After all of the information was collected from me, Karen and my childcare provider the issue was resolved. Needless to say she is no longer a certified childcare provider. Her license was suspended permanently. After this whole ordeal I have never used a childcare provider that I don't know on a personal level. When it comes to my children I can never be too safe. It is really a shame that someone could do something so awful to put the lives of children in danger. When you are searching for a childcare provider looks and references can be deceiving. They are not going to provide you with references that will hurt them, so I suggest do a little investigating of your own. It can be hard to find out information and I had to learn the hard way. Just be careful and look for signs of negligence.