Policies

If your child is going to be absent we would appreciate notification the day before, or the morning of the absence by 9:00 a.m.

Fees are based on enrollment, not attendance. Payment is still required if your child is absent.

The goal of discipline is to help children develop safe and appropriate ways of interacting with others and with the environment. Guidance and discipline techniques to be used with children include:

• Setting clear and enforceable limits
• Modeling acceptable behavior
• Recognizing each child’s individual needs
• Structuring the environment and schedule to maximize good behavior
• Recognizing children’s efforts
• Anticipating and eliminating potential problems
• Redirection
• Good timing of teacher intervention
• Planning the daily schedule to allow children a successful mixture of choice and teacher directed activities
• Use of natural and logical consequences and encouraging problem solving

Children may be removed from the environment with a staff member for “A Break” to assist them in regaining self-control. They are invited to rejoin the group when they feel ready. Any separation from the group will always be with a staff member and they will help aid your child in regaining self-control.

In the event that the techniques that the center implements to guide and discipline children are ineffective, a meeting between the child’s parent and center staff will be conducted to develop strategies to assist the child in developing self-control.

All children will be evaluated daily for signs of illness, injury or abuse. This is required by the NYS Office of Children & Family Services. Classroom staff will conduct daily health checks. Children may attend if they are well and able to keep up with a typical daily routine. The daily health check log will be reviewed periodically by the Director to observe for any unusual pattern that might indicate a potential health or safety issue for any child. 

Honey Bee Child Care staff members are mandated reporters for child abuse and maltreatment. We are required to report suspected child abuse or maltreatment when presented with reasonable cause.  If you suspect that your child is being abused you should call the child abuse hotline at 1-800-342-3720.

Honeybee Child Care typically follows a corporate calendar. 

We are closed on:

• New Year’s Eve:  1:00 p.m. dismissal
• New Year’s Day
• Good Friday
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• First Monday in August (Staff Development)
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day & Friday After Thanksgiving
• Christmas Eve:  1:00 p.m. dismissal
• Christmas Day

Full payment is required for holidays and early closures listed above. 

Our child care center locations are open year round, Monday through Friday (except for holiday closures noted above).  

• Poughkeepsie, NY Location – Boardman Road:  7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Wappingers Falls, NY Location – Mill Street:  6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

Our before and after school locations follow the school district calendar.  Services are available as indicated below:

• Hagan Elementary School, Poughkeepsie, NY 
  • 7:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Nassau Elementary School, Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 7:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Orville A. Todd Middle School, Poughkeepsie, NY
  • 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Zion Episcopal Church, Wappingers Falls
  • 6:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Should your child develop an illness while at child care, a parent or authorized person will be contacted to pick the child up from the center. The child shall be isolated from other children, but with adult supervision, until a parent or authorized person arrives to pick them up.

In the event that a child is diagnosed with a communicable disease, the center will send out a notice about the exposure. Parents will be supplied with information about the symptoms and signs of illness, and any additional medical treatment required. Children will be readmitted to the center when they are no longer contagious.

Exclusion from Child Care: Honey Bee Child Care will use the following criteria in determining whether a child will be excluded from the child care center due to illness.

• The illness, or reaction to it, requires more care than staff can provide or compromises the health and safety of others.
• Significant fever, as defined below:
• Infants six months and younger should be excluded and referred to health professional whenever fever is accompanied by behavior change, stiff neck, a rash, unusual irritability, poor feeding, vomiting or excessive crying.
• Fever means: Oral temperature above 101 degrees Fahrenheit; Rectal temperature above 101 degrees Fahrenheit or Axillary (arm pit) above 100 degrees Fahrenheit
• Signs & symptoms of possible illness, such as unusual lethargy, uncontrollable coughing, Irritability, persistent crying, difficulty breathing or wheezing, persistent abdominal pain or anything else unusual
• Persistent diarrhea- three or more loose stools in 24hr. period
• Conjunctivitis (pink eye) until 24hr after medication
• Impetigo until 24hrs after medication
• Strep throat until 24hrs after medication
• Chicken pox until six days after onset and sore have dried and crusted
• Untreated infestations such as scabies or lice
• Mouth sore with drooling
• Any illness that would impair a child’s ability to keep up with their daily routine
• Vomiting (excluded from child care until your child has not vomited within a 24 hour period.)

Tuition fees are based upon our annual operating costs. No adjustment will be made if your child is out sick, on vacation, holiday closings, bad weather or other circumstances beyond our control.

It is our policy to remain open during bad weather so that our parents can still maintain their work schedule. Local “State of Emergency” and long-term power outages will require us to close. On some occasions, in the interests of safety for your children and our staff, we may choose to close early or for the entire day. Full day closing will be announced through our email chain. For early closing, we will contact you by phone and give you a minimum of three hours notice.

Full payment is required for closures that are due to circumstances beyond the control of the center.

The center closes promptly at 6:00 p.m. each day. The following late charges will be charged to your tuition account for arriving after 6:00 p.m.: $1.00 per minute after 6:05 p.m.  Although fees aren’t charged until five after, your door code is inactive at 6:00 p.m. and habitual pick up after that time will be addressed.   If we have not been able to contact a parent by 6:45 p.m., we reserve the right to contact the appropriate authorities.

The center provides snacks for toddlers and preschool age programs. Menus for snack are supervised by a qualified Dietitian and prepared on site. A copy of the monthly menu will be posted. Parents are responsible for providing lunch or participating in pizza Fridays.  Please see the permission forms in the lobby area. Honey Bee Child Care is a nut free center, all foods that are brought into the center need to be nut free and nut oil free. If your child is celebrating a birthday or a special occasion please make sure that the food that is brought into the center is nut free.

All children attending the center are required to have a medical health statement on file, which includes an up-to-date immunization record. This record must be received prior to the child starting day care. Health information, including additional immunizations received, will be updated on a regular basis but not less than yearly. Families with children under the age of six years will be asked to supply evidence of lead screening or document that the screening was not required. All children must have on file authorization for staff to sign for medical treatment (Blue Card). This card also contains information regarding contacting parents, emergency persons and child’s physician. Parents will be asked to update this information on a yearly basis.

We are certified to administer medication.  All medication must be in its original container and labeled with the child’s name, required dosage, and frequency. 

The NYS office of Children and Family Service require programs that choose to administer medication have staff that are trained and certified. Several of our staff members are certified to administer medication. Medication will be administered to children in the center provided that an authorized and trained staff person is available. In the event that authorized staff is not available, parents will be notified to make alternate arrangements for the administration of medication to their child. We will notify you by phone and in person.

Prescription Medication: Will be administered by the center only with written authorization from a physician and parent. The administration of medication will be documented in a medication log.

Over-the-Counter Medication: Medication will be administered following the instructions provided with the OTC medication. Except for infants, verbal consent/authorization to give medication may be given for a one-day period. Parents of infants may give verbal authorization for a one-day use of topical ointments only. Parents will be asked to provide written instructions to continue the administration of the verbal instructions. Documentation of the administration of the OTC medication will be logged.

In the event that there is any interruption in medication, (i.e. delay, refusal) a parent will be notified. All actions taken will be documented in the child’s medication log. In the event that medication is given in error, the parent, child’s physician and our licensing office will be notified.

Children with Special Health Needs: An individual health care plan will be developed for children in the program having long term or chronic health care or other special health care needs. Such a plan will be developed with information from the child’s physician, parents and health care consultant. Classroom staff will be made aware of the plan to the extent that it impacts the child’s daily classroom schedule and any special accommodations that need to be made within the classroom environment.

Naps and rest periods are scheduled daily for our early childhood programs. Infants will rest in cribs and be placed on their backs when placed in a crib for sleeping. Infants may only use a cot upon receiving written permission from parent. Toddlers and preschool children will rest on individual cots assigned to them. Parents are asked to supply a lightweight blanket, crib sheet which will be sent home weekly to be washed. Nap times are usually two hours. Children must rest for at least 30 minutes before they are allowed to rise and use quiet activities. Restful music and soothing as needed are utilized to create a relaxing environment for rest.

Each child in our program will have a cubbie space to store their personal belongings. Please send in a clear plastic container the size of a shoe box labeled with child’s first name and last name. Younger children should have a change of clothing available in case of accidents. This shoe box will remain at the center but please take home all sheets, blankets, and paper items at the end of the week. Every item of clothing needs to be labeled with first and last name.  Please do not send in ANY plastic grocery bags, even in the backpack.

Labeling : As per New York State Office of Children and Family Services, all personal items must be labeled with first and last names.  Some items that you will need to label include : bags, lunch boxes, containers inside the lunch box (tops & bottoms), clothing items to be left for spare, sheets, cups, bottles, utensils, hats, coats, etc.  To help in this, we recommend keeping electrical tape, sharpie markers, and /or Mabel’s Labels handy.  You can order labels by finding the Honey Bee school at  www.mabelslabels.com. These labels stay on all surfaces, even through the dishwasher and provide a fundraising opportunity for our program with every purchase you make.  

All children must be signed in and out each day by a parent or authorized adult designated on your child’s information sheet. No child will be released to someone not designated. Any release changes must be in writing or by verbal permission from a parent or guardian. We do require picture ID from persons not recognized by our staff.

Parents are responsible for supplying diapers, wipes and training pants. Staff will change diapers as frequently as necessary to insure the health and comfort of children. The center request that parents use disposable diapers and wipes. In the event that a parent chooses to use cloth diapers, soiled diapers will be placed in a separate container that the parent will empty daily. Classroom staff will keep parents informed of diaper supply needs.   When you are ready to start toilet training your child, please refer to the Honeybee policy contract and speak with the classroom teacher.  Keep in mind that being toilet trained at home is very different than at a program. 

Termination of Services: If you are withdrawing from our program, we require one-month written notice. The center reserves the right to terminate services on the basis of the following reasons:

• Habitual late pick-up
• Nonpayment of tuition
• Severe behavior problems
• Continual violation of center policies

Honey Bee Child Care charges tuition weekly.  Weekly tuition must be paid on Monday of the current week.  We accept cash and checks. Checks should be made out to Honey Bee Child Care.

Deposit: A one-week deposit is required when your child begins care in our center. Your security deposit must always be equal to your child’s current tuition. This deposit will be applied to your child’s last week of care at the center, providing that you give us one month written notice that you are withdrawing from the program. If one-month notice is not given, the deposit will be forfeited.

Activity Fee: There is a yearly Enrichment Activity Fee due in September.  This fee must be paid in cash or check payable to cash.  It is used for any extra activities added to the program such as music program with Miss Amy, field trip contributions, special event contributions.

Late Payment Fee: Payment of tuition after its scheduled due date will result in a late fee of $5.00 per day up to 5 days. Families that have unpaid balances that are a week overdue will be notified that their services will be terminated if payment is not made immediately. Re- admittance will be possible only after all past due balance and an additional one week deposit are paid. In cases of extreme hardship, arrangements can be made with the Director to work out an appropriate payment plan.

Registration Fee:  Every child must re-register each year for our program. Our year runs from September 1^st to June 30^th. Registration fees are charged yearly for each child and are not refundable. Our summer program runs from July 1^st through August 31st.

Returned Check Fee: A fee of $30.00 is charges for all returned checks.

Tuition fees are based upon our annual operating costs. No adjustment will be made if your child is out sick, on vacation, holiday closings, bad weather or other circumstances beyond our control.