Tuesday, February 19, 2008
CCR&R Rate Survey...
Whenever two or more child care providers get together the first topic of conversation is usually to complain about those "troublesome" parents they have as clients. This is a topic of discussion for another day...
The second item that always seems to arise is the comparision of who is charging what for child care. Unfortunately this is a probable violation of the federal antitrust law. Federal antitrust law is designed to encourage competition and discourage competitors from setting prices higher than they would be otherwise. When providers discuss rates at association meetings, this can easily be construed to be a discussion to raise rates. This is true even if there are no direct statements made encouraging providers to raise rates. Associations who operate their own referral service for parents can give parents who call the service rate information, but they cannot share this information with other providers in the association.
While it is true that it is unlikely that a state would ever fine a provider who unknowingly violates this law, it is still illegal.
So how is a provider supposed to figure out if they are charging appropriately for their area? The best solution in Minnesota is through the Child Care Resource and Referral Network rate survey. While this survey won't tell you specific rates for various providers, it will give you the high, low, and average rates for your area.
With this in mind, if you are a provider in Minnesota, you probably already know that it is time to fill out the 2008 rate survey. The 2008 Rate Survey contracted by DHS is available online now. This is important, not only for the final results to be accurate, but also because information from ithis survey is used to determine Child Care Assistance Rates and DHS is asked by legislators and others for this information almost daily!
Please, that some time and complete the survey carefully and completely. The rate survey is a huge undertaking, this year the CCR&R Network will be working with 2425 providers and centers. Please, call or email them if you have any questions and they will be glad to help. Their phone number is 1-888-511-2244
The rate survey is available at www.mnchildcare.org (There is a red box under the picture of the Mother and Children. Just click where it says and you will be directed to the rate survey.)
You can see the 2008 rates at www.midwestchildcare.com in May when they finish with the gathering, entering, and checking of the survey. (Here are the 2007 results.)
Whenever two or more child care providers get together the first topic of conversation is usually to complain about those "troublesome" parents they have as clients. This is a topic of discussion for another day...
The second item that always seems to arise is the comparision of who is charging what for child care. Unfortunately this is a probable violation of the federal antitrust law. Federal antitrust law is designed to encourage competition and discourage competitors from setting prices higher than they would be otherwise. When providers discuss rates at association meetings, this can easily be construed to be a discussion to raise rates. This is true even if there are no direct statements made encouraging providers to raise rates. Associations who operate their own referral service for parents can give parents who call the service rate information, but they cannot share this information with other providers in the association.
While it is true that it is unlikely that a state would ever fine a provider who unknowingly violates this law, it is still illegal.
So how is a provider supposed to figure out if they are charging appropriately for their area? The best solution in Minnesota is through the Child Care Resource and Referral Network rate survey. While this survey won't tell you specific rates for various providers, it will give you the high, low, and average rates for your area.
With this in mind, if you are a provider in Minnesota, you probably already know that it is time to fill out the 2008 rate survey. The 2008 Rate Survey contracted by DHS is available online now. This is important, not only for the final results to be accurate, but also because information from ithis survey is used to determine Child Care Assistance Rates and DHS is asked by legislators and others for this information almost daily!
Please, that some time and complete the survey carefully and completely. The rate survey is a huge undertaking, this year the CCR&R Network will be working with 2425 providers and centers. Please, call or email them if you have any questions and they will be glad to help. Their phone number is 1-888-511-2244
The rate survey is available at www.mnchildcare.org (There is a red box under the picture of the Mother and Children. Just click where it says and you will be directed to the rate survey.)
You can see the 2008 rates at www.midwestchildcare.com in May when they finish with the gathering, entering, and checking of the survey. (Here are the 2007 results.)
// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 3:35 PM 
