Childcare for older kids?

[Gena]

If your household does not have a stay at home parent, what do you do when your special needs child ages out of afterschool childcare?

We have about a year of a half to get this figured out, but it's something that has been weighing heavily on us for some time. DS is currently in the 4th grade at an elementary school that is K-5. He goes to afterschool care at the elementary school and does well there. In 6th grade he will move to middle school. The middle school has no afterschool care program. The local private childcares will not provide after school care to middle schoolers. It seems that typically developing 6th graders are considered old enough to be home alone after school.

DS definitely will not be able to be home alone after school at that age. Both DH and I need to work to support our family. So we are trying to figure out our options. Having family watch him is not an option - everyone either works or lives far away. Hiring someone may be possible, but the rates we have seen for special needs caregivers are pretty high. The only agency in the area that provides afterschool care to older special needs kids is too far away with no transportation available.

What have other families done in this situation?

[wendibird22]

Not in this situation personally but wonder about hiring a college kid for after care at your home? I work at a college with a BA and MA program in special ed and I know students in those programs are often looking for related work/experience.

[egoldber]

Is there any sort of after school club program at your middle school? Ours does not have "after care" but they have faculty run after school activities every day. This type of program may not meet your DS's needs though.

[Gena]

Not in this situation personally but wonder about hiring a college kid for after care at your home? I work at a college with a BA and MA program in special ed and I know students in those programs are often looking for related work/experience.

Thanks for the idea. I'll have to look into that. The thing that does concern me about hiring a college student is whether I would have to find a new one each term when the class schedule changes.

Is there any sort of after school club program at your middle school? Ours does not have "after care" but they have faculty run after school activities every day. This type of program may not meet your DS's needs though.

There are special interest clubs that meet after school for an hour or so once a week or once every other week. That's not going to work for us. Interestingly, the school does provide an hour of supervision in the morning, before school starts, but nothing in the afternoon. Instead the district recommends that at age 10 or 11, students should take the "Kids Home Alone" class offered by the rec center.

[westwoodmom04]

We've used college students for up to two consecutive years. Grad students are actually the best as they seem to spend less time in classes,but even juniors and seniors have a fair degree of control in their schedules. I would just put language in the ad like "full school year commitment expected".

[Gena]

We've used college students for up to two consecutive years. Grad students are actually the best as they seem to spend less time in classes,but even juniors and seniors have a fair degree of control in their schedules. I would just put language in the ad like "full school year commitment expected".

That's good to know. Do you mind sharing how much you pay per hour?

[StantonHyde]

I could easily see paying $15-20 an hour. I pay $15 an hour for a sitter with lots of experience who used to work in a NAYEC child care center.

In our town, the JCC runs after school programs and picks up kids from schools. City parks and rec runs after school programs as well as boys and girls clubs. Not sure how much of a "special needs" atmosphere your DS needs for aftercare??? I really do sympathize with you. Luckily for me, my kids are in K-8 schools so I will have aftercare till they start HS.

[niccig]

Thanks for the idea. I'll have to look into that. The thing that does concern me about hiring a college student is whether I would have to find a new one each term when the class schedule changes.

I'm in grad school to be a SLP and I have a few friends that babysit children with special needs. Some are ABA trained. Yes, their schedule does change each semester - I have DS in his school aftercare and I have to change the days I need each semester. How much it changes will depend on their program.

I also have a regular sitter that gets DS from aftercare if I can't, she's older mid-20's and finishes her job then gets DS. Her work schedule is very stable, so her availability has never been a problem. Just wondering if someone who's older would be better suited for you as they may be able commit to DS's after school hours. Does one of the nanny/sitter sites like sitter city have option to limit search by experience with children with special needs?

I know you've probably already done this, have you reached out to a local support network with the question? Is there any chance work can be adjusted by 1 of you so you're home in the afternoon - I know that's not always possible, but if one parent can be home 1-2 days a week, then it's less time you need to pay a carer.

[infocrazy]

We have used the equivalent of an after school nanny for nearly 5 years now. They both have been college students at a local college. Our first nanny was with us for two and a half years until she graduated. Our current nanny has been with us for about a year and a half-we've made her promise to stay until graduation too! We got really lucky and my kids miss her when she doesn't come. Both of them have been able to adjust their schedules to accommodate our needs. They also have the option of online classes. Sometimes I need to adjust 10 or 15 minutes but that typically is not a problem. Until now, my MIL took one day by choice. We did need to change this day a few times.

We found the first on sittercity.com and the second on care.com. Another option would be to find two sitters that shared the job and you would also have backup care if one could not make it. We don't have special needs but we do have 4 kids so it takes a special person who is not intimidated by the chaos!

Before we used a sitter, our neighbor watched the older boys. Would a neighbor be an option?

[JustMe]

I am worried about this too, and will probably have to hire someone. In my case, dd's behaviors are not hard to manage its just that she needs that supervision to do well...so we don't have that issue.

You might want to look into something called inclusive childcare and see if you would qualify. I am pretty sure they would cover above age 12. You do need to meet certain income requirements, but they are higher than most gov programs.