How to Enforce Your Contract and Policies
Do you find it difficult to enforce your contract and policies? You are not alone.
When a family child care provider starts to feel frustration and anger towards a parent, some providers prefer not to deal with the conflict at all and simply hope that it will go away. That’s obviously not a solution.
Since you created your contract and policies, it is up to you to enforce them. Otherwise, they won’t mean anything. You should look closely at each section of your contract and policies. If you aren’t willing to terminate a parent who refuses to follow one of your rules, take it out. It’s not a rule; it’s a guideline that you won’t enforce.
You must start by taking your contract and policies seriously. Tell parents that you will expect them to follow your rules. It’s recommended that you get into the habit of bringing up all violations of your rules to show parents that you mean business.
You can listen sympathetically to a parent’s concerns, but you should also make it clear what they can expect if they don’t follow your rules.
To enforce the rules of your program, there must be a consequence to the parent who doesn’t follow them.
The most common consequence is to charge the parent more, and the ultimate consequence is to end your contract with the parent. It’s as simple as that. So, if a parent is late to pick up their child, you can charge a late pick-up fee. After warning the parent and giving them several chances to change their behavior, you can terminate your agreement.
You can have different consequences for different parents. If your contract says parents must pay $1 a minute for late pick up, and one parent is regularly late, you can double her fee to $2 a minute.
To give yourself maximum flexibility in enforcing your contract, write in your contract, "Provider may terminate at will." This allows you to end your agreement immediately, if necessary to protect your business.
Providers sometimes worry that if they enforce their contract, the parent will leave their program. This can happen. But, it’s extremely rare. If you are doing a good job of communicating with parents and offer a high-quality program, you need not worry about what will happen when you enforce your rules.
Providers who consistently enforce their rules are less likely to have to deal with parents who will try to violate them. You don’t have to raise your voice or shame a parent to enforce your rules. Simply refer to your contract and policies to make your point.
If you need help enforcing your rules, ask another provider for advice. Put what you want to say to a parent in writing. You can do it!
Tom Copeland - www.tomcopelandblog.com
Image credit:https://pixabay.com/photos/argument-conflict-controversy-238529/
For more information, see my book Family Child Care Contracts and Policies.
