SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Ready Campaign (www.ready.gov) is sponsoring the fifth annual National Preparedness Month (NPM) in September with support from more than 2,700 NPM coalition members, the largest amount to date. NPM coalition members, consisting of national, regional, state, and local organizations, will combine efforts throughout the month of September to encourage all Americans to take steps to prepare for emergencies before they happen.

“National Preparedness Month is an important reminder about each American’s civic responsibility to prepare for emergencies,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “Those with the capacity and wherewithal to help themselves must do so in advance, so that in the event of an emergency, responders can first assist those who are unable to tend to themselves. From wildfires and earthquakes in California, to hurricanes and tropical storms along the Gulf Coast, to flooding in the Midwest, recent events remind us more than ever that we must prepare ourselves and our families for a disaster. This is the time, each year, when every American should ask the question, ‘Am I ready?’”

The Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps (www.citizencorps.gov) are encouraging individuals across the nation to take important preparedness steps that will greatly improve their ability to survive and recover from all types of emergencies, whether natural or man-made. These steps include getting an emergency supply kit, making a family emergency plan, becoming informed about the different emergencies that may affect them, and getting involved in community preparedness and response efforts.

NPM coalition members are encouraging Americans to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, schools, and communities by hosting events such as seminars, fairs, community outreach events, workshops, webinars, and trainings. For a complete list of events, please visit www.ready.gov.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joseph I. Lieberman and Ranking Member Susan M. Collins, along with House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson and Ranking Member Peter T. King, will serve as honorary Congressional Co-Chairs of NPM 2008. They will lead the effort to increase public awareness about the importance of emergency preparedness on Capitol Hill and throughout the country.

For more information on the Ready Campaign and NPM, please visit www.ready.gov or www.listo.gov. Individuals can also call 1-800-BE-READY or 1-888-SE-LISTO for more emergency preparedness information.

February 2008 marked the Ready Campaign’s fifth year at the Department of Homeland Security. Launched in 2003 in partnership with The Advertising Council, Ready is designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies, including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks. It has proven to be one of the most successful campaigns in Ad Counci’'s more than 65-year history. Since its launch, the campaign has generated more than $756.5 million in donated media support. Individuals interested in more information about family, business and community preparedness can visit http://www.ready.gov/.

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Should Nannies have sick days?

Nannies and Caregivers Deserve Sick Days, Too
Posted by Jennifer Merritt of the Wall Street Journal

A few weeks back, one of the two women who run my son’s family day care ended up in the emergency room on a Friday afternoon. She’d been working for a week with a bad cold, maybe even the flu. The doctor pumped her with fluids and prescribed three days of rest. That Monday, day care was closed — she needed to take care of herself. We called on my son’s grandparents to pitch in; other parents took the day off or used back-up services.
The following Tuesday, I handed over my weekly check and the woman, who the kids (and parents) affectionately call Nana, told me it was for too much — I should have discounted the day she was unable to open. I refused, as did some other parents. Nana deserved a sick day just as much as any of us. While paid sick time wasn’t in the day care contract we all signed, we weren’t going to dock Nana’s pay because she was sick. Most of the parents get paid sick time from their employers, and besides, Nana probably got sick because of one of our little germ-carrying children.
It got me thinking about how people treat their caregivers. Sure, it makes sense, in theory, to say you’ll stick to the contract, say for a nanny who is promised five sick days or a certain number of vacation days. But I’ve always felt the relationship with your children’s caregiver is more than business and that sometimes, more slack is deserved (not to mention more humane).
I know not everyone agrees. A parent email group I belong to recently had a debate as to whether one mom should pay her nanny while she was on jury duty. The mother, who would have to pay for a back-up sitter, was indignant when the group said she should: Sure, they said, the nanny will get a small $40 or $45 daily stipend, but she’s earning more than double that for a day at work and it’s not her fault she got called. Another dad warned, “Don’t give your nanny any reason to look for work elsewhere or feel less connected to your family.”
I’ve long felt that nannies and family day care workers aren’t just employees or workers. They’re not family, either. They fall somewhere in between — after all, they’re helping raise your child. Readers, what are some of the “rules” you try to follow in the relationship with your caregiver? How do you view the relationship?

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The Importance of a Daily Log Book

Excerpted from Nanny Handbook© Simply Nannies Placement Service, LLC., Ruth F. Riley
and The Nanny Network's Nanny Resources at http://www.nannynetwork.com/

A good family-nanny relationship is a lot like a good marriage: both require good communication in order to work.
This analogy may surprise you. After all, you are only accepting a job position - you have had other supervisors before and you certainly wouldn't characterize those relationships as being like a good marriage. Why is this employer/employee relationship all that different?
The biggest difference is that with other positions, chances are you did not live with your employers or coworkers. Even if you will be going home at night, you will be spending on average, 8-12 hours, five days per week in their home.
In short, the family/nanny relationship, by definition, is not an ordinary employer/employee relationship. With this in mind, we make the following suggestions:
Plan regular discussion times from the beginning of the relationship.Don't wait for the need to arise. These meetings work much better when they are treated as preventative medicine and not as a cure. Ideally, these meetings will create a regular opportunity for each party to raise any concerns they have - primarily childcare related, but also personal issues as the need arises. Plan on having these meetings with the children are not within hearing distance and are preferably otherwise occupied, perhaps with friends, etc.
These meetings should be held often enough (weekly for the first month and if everything is running smoothly, then perhaps biweekly, with the understanding that you both are available to discuss something which comes up between meetings on an as necessary basis) that they become a relaxed method of communication which occurs in a receptive environment. Scheduling one more thing after a hectic day with the children may seem overwhelming, but the results can be worth the effort.
Be Receptive to FeedbackIt is common to feel nervous whenever reviewing your work performance. This anxiety is often heightened by the fact that your relationship with your employers will most likely be more intimate than with other employers in the past. It is easy to take things more personally than one normally would. Keeping an open mind to what is being said is essential to a good relationship. It is oftentimes very difficult for the parents to point out an area of concern, being afraid that the nanny might get angry and either take out the anger on the children or decide to terminate the relationship. As with any profession you should expect to be reviewed by your employer and try to take the feedback and use it to become a better childcare professional.
The Nanny LogThe nanny log is nothing more that a summary of a day's events. It requires no special equipment, a composition book works fine. The purpose of the log is to record information of importance to the child's welfare, as well as provide the parents with some narrative information about the day and its activities. The log should not be used to communicate bad news - i.e.,"You need to get home more promptly" or issues of that sort. These are always best handled face to face.
Each log entry should be dated. At a minimum it should contain the following:
Medication information, including what medication given, the time(s), and dosage
Information on meals and nap times
Activities engaged in during the day
Child's overall mood
Any problems/challenges faced and how resolved
For infants, the log will be more structured, and will include:
Diaper changes (times) and bowel movements
Feeding times and amounts consumed
Milestones, such as rolling over
Temperament (fussy, tired, pulling at ear, alert and engaged, etc.)
A nanny log entry may look like the following:
"Monday June 5Susie woke at 8:25, had Cheerios for breakfast with half a banana. We practiced colors and shapes with the laundry - she matched 3 pairs of socks by herself!
Teletubbies from 10-11 and then we went to the park. Susie met up with Mark and they played nicely on the tot lot for about an hour. Mark's mom would like to talk to you about setting up some play dates.
Half a grilled cheese sandwich and mug of Chicken Stars soup for lunch. Susie napped from 1 - 2:30. She woke up real slow, we worked on puzzles for a while and looked through that catalog you got in the mail for ideas for a flower garden. Peanut butter crackers and apple juice for snack. She helped me make her bed and scrub the carrots and potatoes for dinner, then flopped on the couch for Sesame Street at 5. She dozed off in the middle.
Grandma Anna called, said she would get you tonight.
We had a great day."
Why keep this log you may be asking? Primarily the log is a communication tool, an important documentation of the child's health, development and activities, to help the parents stay connected with the daily routines. It is the responsibility of the nanny to keep the parents informed of the child's activities, development, and health concerns. If the child becomes ill during the night, the parents may refer to the day's log for clues (teething, ear infection, food allergy). Many parents begin the day's log with a comment of their own before they leave for work. You too would want to know that the child slept poorly (so that's why he is grumpy today) or ate a huge breakfast (not interested in that morning snack).
In addition to the above uses, many families also use the log as a payroll record for the live out (come and go) nanny ... what day's she worked, when started and when relieved. Nannies can put the log to double duty as an expense tracker ... when you picked up the loaf of bread or carton of milk, or paid for the preschool field trip you can note on the log for reimbursement by the employer.
Editors Note: NannyNetwork.com would argue additionally that a log is an outward sign of the seriousness with which you take your responsibilities as well as a tool to prevent serious parent/nanny misunderstandings. A parent who knows that the child had a picnic in the park today with her best friend will not get concerned by a laundry hamper that didn't get attended to.
DOWNLOAD SAMPLE NANNY LOG (PDF)

ALL ABOUT NANNY CARE'S LORA BRAWLEY also provides FREE Nanny/Household Forms on her website for you to print. Go To: http://www.allaboutnannycare.citymax.com/page/page/4831379.htm

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Nannies are NOT independent Contractors! Congress wants to make that clear.

Posted June '08 on 4everythingnanny.com's blog. (Originally from Bob King of Legally Nanny)

As part of Legally Nanny’s continuing Legal Alert series, I wanted to let you know about H.R. 5804, the Taxpayer Responsibility, Accountability and Consistency Act of 2008. This bill, recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, could directly affect you as a household employer.
H.R. 5804 would significantly increase penalties for employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors instead of correctly classifying them as employees. Additionally, the bill places the burden of proof on the taxpayer to demonstrate that the worker was properly classified. Finally, in addition to increasing the penalties for failing to properly pay employees and provide correct payroll information such as W-2 forms, the legislation also imposes increased penalties for intentionally disregarding the worker’s proper classification.
What does this bill mean to you? Nothing, if you’re doing everything correctly and treating your nanny as your employee. However, some clients insist on mischaracterizing nannies and other domestic workers as independent contractors – or just paying their nanny under the table – in an effort to avoid paying household employment taxes. H.R. 5804 could make this an even more expensive mistake.
Under both federal and state law, nannies and other household staff are almost always employees; they are not independent contractors. H.R. 5804 would heighten the already stiff penalties to families mischaracterizing such workers.
Robert E. King, Esq. is the Founder of Legally Nanny, the leading law firm representing household employers and domestic employment agencies. Legally Nanny assists clients in hiring, employing, and paying nannies, elder care providers, and other household employees legally. For more information, feel free to contact the firm at (714) 336-8864 or at info@legallynanny.com for a free initial consultation.
© Copyright 2008 Legally Nanny. All rights reserved. This article is for informational purposes only; it is not legal advice. This material is not intended to seek employment in any jurisdiction in which Legally Nanny is not allowed to provide professional services.

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