It makes a certain amount of theoretical sense, and, yes, you’re off-base on this. First, parents (or other guardians) have a joint full responsibility for the child. If they agree on a 50-50 split, and one of them (for any reason) does only 25 percent of the work at a given time, the other one can’t just stand back and say, “I’m doing my 50 percent.” The _work_ may be split 50-50, but the _responsibility_ is split 100-100. I just don’t see it making sense, socially, legally, or in any other real-world way, for an employer to be in a position to say, “Yes, your child has a high fever, but we think your spouse should take a sick day instead, so the kid’s just going to have to sit home alone and uncared for.”
That brings me to the second part, which is the extraordinarily offensive notion that employers should be able to micromanage their employees’ lives for maximum business convenience. Would you have to keep a log of child care activities to prove that you and your spouse shared the work equally? Bring it up to some kind of corporate hearing board in case of disputes? Sick leave and other forms of time off are specifically designated for illness of self or other family members. For employers to pass judgment on which family members should be allowed to take time off for bona fide illness at the very best invites a counterproductive bureaucratic mess. Thinking in such narrow, ompartmentalized terms is, btw, traditionally considered a male, “rational” activity. Determine what the childcare jobs portion is. Even if the employee IS divorced, suppose part of the responsibility of the non-custodial spouse involves helping out the custodial one if the kid is sick, so that one person doesn’t have to miss work all the time.
I agree that it would not help the workers much because the cost of living goes up even if they get no raise. So it goes up but they are now paying more, by the time the minimum wage is increased in 2007 they will be paying double at gas tanks, for rent, for CDs, and whatnot. To really make an impact they would have to earn at least $15.00 per hour for normal full time jobs. The salary for childcare jobs also increases.
America’s workers are paying continuously rising costs for goods and services, yet those who earn very low wages have gone seven years with no action by Congress to raise the minimum wage and help them meet those costs. For too many working families a full-time job does not provide enough money to support a family. Raising the minimum wage would increase families’ ability to pay for child care, housing, food and medicine.
I’m not sure if the original question was whether the child care (daycare) expenses could get deducted or whether the childcare exemption could be claimed. If the latter, unless the CP has authorized the NCP to claim the child in writing (I believe it has to be a special IRS form), then the CP is the only one who can claim the exemption. However, if you were discussing deduction of daycare expenses, I would be interested in any info about the NCP being able to take any deductions. This is the first I’ve heard of the NCP being given any tax credits on childcare jobs/support expenses
Anyone applying for paid or volunteer work with children in NSW will have their lives scrutinized under new employment screening rules. About 100,000 people will be subject to the rules, which are believed to be a world first. They will apply not only to teachers and child-care workers, but also to school bus drivers, football coaches and school gardeners who have unsupervised contact with children. Under the two-tier system, no-one convicted of a sexual assault or child abuse crime carrying a penalty of 12 months or more will be allowed to work with children, whether paid or as a volunteer.
I am a private***registered*** FAMILY child care provider (NOT corporate)and have been for 18 years. I have been fingerprinted…. screened…..had a state and federal background check (every 5 years), spent many hours and LOTS of dollars on childcare courses, gone through the child abuse registry and still continue my education in workshops. My daycare parents recommend me highly to other clients and I am referred by Family and Children Services. I do family child care because I want to be able to offer the kind of care for children as I would want for my own. Family child care is VERY different from providers in corporate centers where I have worked where children have been herded like cattle…..
Many states and centers require a four-year degree in education for childcare jobs, or if not in that field, plenty of non-credit coursework and experience in addition. The government requires a Bachelor of Arts degree in ECE, sometimes a Master’s degree, but they’ll accept other degrees as long as you’ve got equivalent training and experience. All places, I think, should require at least two years of experience in a licensed facility, if not more in a supervisory /management role, before an individual is qualified to lead a center as a director.
