A while ago I posted about an investigation in Canada about employers and agencies abusing foreign nannies.  The government and legitimate agencies have really stepped up and made some  significant changes.  But I love the newest one proposed (see excerpt below).  You can view the whole article here.  So when are we going to start being a bit more proactive?

“Under the rules proposed by Ottawa, any employer shown to have violated the Temporary Foreign Workers Program and the Live-In Caregivers Program will have their names and addresses posted on a government website so foreign workers will know these employers are ineligible to hire them.”

My note – This is an amazing book and Jill is truly an advocate for children everywhere.  Our industry is lucky to have her.  

NEW YORK, NY–(September 1, 2009) – Safety Star Media announced today the nationwide release of My Body Belongs to Me, a story about a child who is inappropriately touched by an uncle’s friend. Using her decade of experience as a New York City prosecutor of child abuse and sex crimes, Author Jill Starishevsky triumphantly fills a void to help parents and teachers educate children about a sensitive subject in a perfectly natural way. With a rhyming verse and beautiful illustrations by Sara Muller, My Body Belongs to Me offers a compelling and uplifting message without shame.

A mother of two young children, Ms. Starishevsky crafted a book that speaks to children from ages three to eight, making them aware there are boundaries when it comes to their own bodies. My Body Belongs to Me encourages them to tell a parent or teacher if someone touches their “private parts.” Starishevsky was inspired to write the book after working on a case involving a young victim who endured years of abuse and then bravely sought help after watching an episode of Oprah about sexual abuse.

The clear message of My Body Belongs to Me is that if someone inappropriately touches you, tell. Studies show that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be molested. Without educating children as to the importance of disclosing, the abuse can continue and escalate. “Just as we carefully teach youngsters what to do in case of fire, we must teach them what to do if someone touches them,” urged
Starishevsky. “Through my work as a prosecutor, I realized there was a great need for a way for parents and teachers to facilitate this dialogue in a straightforward yet sensitive manner. Unfortunately, out of fear of embarrassing their children, parents often avoid this conversation until it is too late. By saying nothing to our children, we are sending them out there defenseless.”

Parents and educators need to start taking measures to protect children before something happens, and this book helps make that task so much easier. Pattie Fitzgerald, founder of Safely Ever After, a safety program for parents and kids, noted, “I have been teaching child safety classes for nearly ten years, and this is the first children’s book I’ve seen that really addresses the issues in a way that kids can understand and that doesn’t seem scary or heavy-handed.”  As licensed family and child therapist Kimberley Clayton Blaine noted, “Prevention is key when it comes to children’s personal safety. Kudos to Ms. Starishevsky for taking on this project.”

Jill Starishevsky has dedicated her career to seeking justice for victims of child abuse and sex crimes. Outside the courtroom, her fondness for writing led her to create www.thepoemlady.com, where she pens customized poems for special celebrations. She is also the founder of HowsMyNanny.com, a service that enables parents to purchase a license plate for their child’s stroller so the public can report positive or negative nanny observations. Starishevsky has appeared on Good Morning America, CNN International, Today in New York, Donny Deutsch’s The Big Idea and Fox News National among other news programs. By utilizing the same platform and by visiting schools, Ms. Starishevsky hopes to globally spread awareness about child sexual abuse prevention to ultimately stop the silence.

My Body Belongs to Me is available for online purchase through
www.MyBodyBelongstoMe.com (Hardcover 32 pages, $14.95 U.S., ISBN 9780982121603).

Christine White, her former nanny, is suing her for not paying her overtime.  Lisa Marie says she paid the nanny $650 a day and gave her use of a cottage on the property.  I’m guessing she did.  But no matter how much you’re paying, you can’t simply pay a straight fee per day.  if she’d spent a whopping $50 for an A to Z Nanny Contract she would have quickly found out how to outline the working agreement to LEGALLY define $650 a day.  I don’t usually shamelessly promote my products but really, how many times do employers have to be sued before they figure out one simple step can protect themselves?

The lawyer quoted in my last post commented.  (See below.)  I emailed him back directly but also posted my response below.  So how important is it for those talking to the press, writing blogs and press releases to covey accurate information?

From Mr. Digesti

The article was not comprehensive nor meant to introduce the particulars of the legislative initiative. It was meant to put the word out about the benefit.

But, for your edification: The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child and Family Services, is currently charged, under state law, for licensing, monitoring, and providing assistance to child care facilities caring for five or more children that are not licensed by local entities. These facilities require licensing for individuals who can be described as nannies that care for five or more children at any given time.

It is our purpose, and mission, to petition the state legislature to pass a law expanding the licensing requirement to nannies earning income by caring for a single child outside that child’s home. The licensing will ensure two goals: (1) only those qualified to care for children outside a home can do so; and (2) a parent can obtain background information about the nanny to help in making the hiring decision.

My sincere apologies for being unclear in the article. It was not meant to roll out the initiative and as such, was very general in nature. Thank you.

My response to Mr. Digesti,

Dear Mr. Digesti,

Thank you for your response. I admire your efforts to raise awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome and the need for comprehensive background screening for childcare providers. However, I need to point out that the most basic definition of a nanny is a caregiver that cares for a child in the child’s home. Family care provider’s provide care in a private home outside the child’s home. So your assertion that “These facilities require licensing for individuals who can be described as nannies that care for five or more children at any given time. “ and “nannies earning income by caring for a single child outside that child’s home” is simply wrong. I understand that your article was general in nature but I believe it’s important to accurately represent the core difference between a nanny and other providers. The biggest problem we face as an industry, unqualified caregivers abusing or neglecting children, can only be addressed by debunking the misconceptions and misinformation surrounding our industry and setting objective, across-the-board standards for all in-home providers.

OK, I’m not up on every state’s laws but I’m pretty sure that I would have heard about a state requiring nannies to be licensed.  (I would love to wrong on this one!)  But according to a recent article highlighting a fund raiser for shaken baby syndrome (featuring a child abused by a former nanny) “ Hailer’s attorney, Matthew Digesti, said nannies are required to be licensed in Nevada, but that he is in the process of proposing a state law that would allow parents to obtain free background information on nannies.”

Hum, I think I need to contact him directly.

This story is scary on so many levels.  But the thing I want to address is the idea that this nanny was hired through enannysource.com and that search method somehow let a pedophile slip through the net.  Bottomline – that’s in no way true. 

When using any online job site, it’s the parents’ responsibility to fully screen the potential nanny.  And that doesn’t mean just an interview and a standard background check.  Screening a nanny is like putting a puzzle together.  You have to gather all the pieces together to see the complete picture – interview, personal and professional references, employment history, education verification, Social Security verification, DMV check, criminal background check, sex registry check, the works.  The fact that this guy was also approved as a substitute teacher after passing a background check proves that cross referencing information is essential. 

I’m not implying the family in VT didn’t do their job as parents.  I have no idea what they did or didn’t do to screen this guy.  What I’m saying is that using an online job site can be a safe and effective way to find a nanny.  And enannysource.com is one of our industry’s best.  I personally know a lot of nannies and parents that have used it successfully.  And Steve Lambert, the owner of enannysource.com, has always been committed to providing caregivers and parents a quality search site.

So let’s file this in the “proof better screening is needed” category.   

Well, this is a sad, new twist on a old story.  This employer hired the nanny in 2007 and then used her Social Security number to open credit cards in her name and racked up over $60,000 in debt.  Plus she stole personal items totaling $42,000.  Creepy. 

Read the full story.

Should nannies give interviews about the families they’ve worked for?

My disclaimer – I’ve never watched Jon and Kate plus 8 although I have a few friends who are fans.  From what I gather from standing in the grocery store check-out line, Jon and Kate are going through a very tough time and the press is looking for details on their private life to splash all over the tabloid headlines.  Enter the nanny. 

One of Jon and Kate’s ex-nannies recently spoke to Us Weekly.  She didn’t reveal any state secrets.  She didn’t even reveal any big juicy secrets about the family from what the story says.  But the details aren’t the point.  The point is she broke an implied confidence.  I doubt she signed a legally binding confidentiality agreement.  But by simply taking the job, didn’t she – don’t we all – make a commitment to protect the family’s privacy? 

I believe the answer is yes.  Families, as crazy as they might be, have the right to privacy in their own home unless they are putting their children at risk.  Yes, even the ones that open up their entire lives to a reality show.  We don’t get to decide what should and should not be shared about them to the public.  They do.  Imagine the outcry that would echo through the nanny world if employers gave interviews to People and Us Weekly and talked about their nannies.  Reporting how much or little they ate at lunch, their inability to do certain parts of their jobs well, the crazy relationships they have with their boyfriends, their lack of manners or the personal struggles they’re facing. 

When all else is unclear, the golden rule always applies.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 

Of course nannies need a place to vent.  To talk about and find support for the tough issues they face in their jobs.  Especially those nannies that work in the pressure cooker environment that so often comes with a high profile position.  But a gossip column is not that place. 

The National Association for Nanny Care, an umbrella organization serving all those working in the nanny care industry, will present the teleworkshop Welcome to Camp Nanny on Sunday, May 31^st from 8 to 9 PM EST. This workshop is free and open to the public. Welcome to Camp Nanny is designed to help caregivers plan fun, educational, and inexpensive summer activities for their charges.

“In today’s economy, parents everywhere are looking for ways to save money. And with summer right around the corner, many families are cutting their childcare costs by cutting out day camps and other outside activities.” said Sue Downey, Vice-President of NANC. “But they still want their kids to have a fun and learning-filled summer vacation. That’s where a year-long or summer nanny can really help. A nanny can design a summer full of fun and interesting activities, field trips, and creative projects around the individual learning style and interests of a child. And she can do it for surprisingly little money. This workshop will help new nannies get started on a summer fun plan and provide experienced nannies with fresh ideas and new resources.”

NANC provides the national nanny community with a wide variety of training opportunities throughout the year. “Studies show a direct, positive coloration between the amount of training a caregiver receives and her ability to provide consistent, quality care.” said Lora Brawley, President of NANC. “So our focus continues to be on providing nannies with high quality ‘learn today, use tomorrow’ workshops through our annual conference, our Business Promoting Education Initiative and now our teleworkshop series. It’s exciting to see how a small investment in education can produce big results in the caregiving environment.”

To register for this workshop, join the NANC mailing list at www.NannyCredential.org or send an email to info@NannyCredential.org. Click here to see a full workshop description. 

Welcome to Camp Nanny is the first in a series to be offered by NANC. The remaining workshops will be offered free of charge to NANC members only. Caregivers can join NANC for a $15 annual fee.

The National Association for Nanny Care is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to promoting excellence in nanny care. We are an umbrella organization that welcomes all those that share our mission. To learn more, please visit www.NannyCredential.org.

Domestic Workers United marched on Albany working towards passage of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.  This is major piece of proposed legislation that really requires more than a simple blog post to digest.  So I’ll be talking about the nuts and bolts of this piece over the next week or so.

First, I want to congratulation Domestic Workers United for getting this as far as they have.  Regardless of what you feel about the contents of the bill, you have to give them HUGE credit for their ability to organize, get the attention of the law makers and push the legislation to a vote.  Bottomline is they’re kicking the organizational butt of NANC, INA, APNA and all of the support groups combined.   We (the leadership and membership) could leave some very valuable lessons from DWU.  And as a leader, I’m still trying to figure out what those lesson are. 

The first question that come to mind when writing this post is about language.   “Domestic” is a word that hits a nerve with many nannies.  They see it as demeaning.   They believe that nannies are not on equal footing as housekeepers, a major portion of Domestic Workers United.  I think this language, and the beliefs it represents, is a major stumbling block in truly uniting the whole in-home industry. 

So where do you stand?  Do you believe you are a domestic?  Do you feel this group and this legislation represent you?  Why or why not?