Here are three articles from previous FCCANYS "Caring Connection"
Newsletters. Receiving quarterly issues of the newsletter is just one of the benefits of being a FCCANYS member.
Please see the membership page for more information.
2008 Friend of Family Child Care Award
As a long standing advocate of family child care, it was appropriate that
this year’s recipient, Meg Meehan, be recognized at the FCCANYS’
annual conference at The Sagamore. After all, it was Meg, the current
Director of Professional Development Programs at SUNY, who first
introduced the FCCANYS to The Sagamore back in 1994.
Back in the early 90’s, Meg was instrumental in the development of
training modules for Family Child Care Providers. In order to better
understand where family child care providers “were coming from” Meg became
involved in the Family Child Care Association as a board member and then
later served on the advisory board. As coordinator of the annual
conference for many years, Meg was able to work directly with providers
and get a true sense of the skill it takes to manage a family child care
home on a day to day basis. As FCCANYS advisor Lynda Weismantel said in
her remarks before presenting Meg with this year’s award, “There isn’t
anyone more deserving of this recognition for her years of support to the
family child care profession than Meg Meehan.”
2007 Friend of Family Child Care Award
For the first time, the Family Child Care Association of New York State
awarded the Friend of Family Child Care Award at its annual conference.
The Board of Directors felt strongly that Suzanne Zafonte Sennett should
be the award's first recipient.
During her years as Director of the
Bureau of Early Childhood Services, Suzanne always made it a practice to
make sure family child care was "at the table". As a representative of the
family child care community, FCCANYS, participated in many statewide
meetings over the years, whether it be concerning the market rate,
liability insurance, the revision of the fcc/gfcc application packet or
medication administration. In addition to making it a priority to include
provider representatives in meetings, Suzanne also faithfully attended
every annual conference while Director of BECS.
One of most anticipated sessions at each conference was the OCFS Q&A
session, where Suzanne would banter with providers over regulatory
requirements. On several occasions, she would attend FCCANYS board
meetings on her own time, to hear what providers from around the state
were concerned about.
Over the years Suzanne was known for placing inspirational quotes in
her weekly notes to the licensing & registration staff. In light of
her continual effort to support both providers and NYS families; this
quote she shared last spring seems appropriate.
"Many people believe that support is something that you give to someone
you feels sorry for, or that it means propping up someone who would fail
unless you were there to give him a boost But that's not the way I see it.
Support is the boost you can give someone who can help himself but who
needs a partner to open a window or push aside a roadblock."
- Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's.
Some may feel that Suzanne, as a representative of OCFS, put roadblocks
in our way, but never was there a time she did it without thinking that it
was what was best for the children of New York State.
How the FCCANYS Sponsored Business Liability Insurance Program Stack Up!
submitted by Harry Bucciferro, CPCU, ARM, Marshall & Sterling
I recently had the pleasure of spending a few days in Denver at the National Association for Family Child Care conference. I had the chance to meet with Tom Copeland, who I have known for a few years, and who had asked me last year to “proof” his new book “Family Child Care Legal & Insurance Issues.” Tom also conducted a number of workshops at the conference and I was pleased when attendees showed up at our exhibit indicating that Tom had spoken highly of our insurance program in his workshop.
The FCCANYS offers a Group Purchasing Program for its members to help them secure affordable, comprehensive insurance coverage. The cost for this protection averages somewhere around $1 per child per week! Its worth it just for the peace of mind and better night’s sleep. The FCCANYS sponsored program is underwritten by Markel Insurance (Bests rated A Excellent) and provides comprehensive General and Professional Liability, Sexual Misconduct Liability and Accident and Health Insurance in a Group Policy at affordable group rates. This policy includes all the checklist items indicated in Tom Copeland’s article “How to Pick a Business Liability Insurance Policy” on page 4.
The only choice providers have to make is whether they want basic Limits of Liability, i.e. $100,000 per occurrence/ $300,000 aggregate or the preferable $1,000,000 per occurrence/$3,000,000 aggregate limits. The “per occurrence” limit is the most the policy will pay for any single claim; the “aggregate” limit is the most it will pay for all claims during the policy year. Please note that even though the FCCANYS program is a Group Policy; each provider receives its own individual limits of liability (i.e. limits are not shared by group members).
If you have questions or concerns about the FCCANYS program please feel free to contact me at 800-981-7475 or hbucciferro @marshallsterling.com or Diana Cassimore, the Program Underwriter at 800-724-0695 or dcassimore@marshallsterling.com.
Please note that we can also provide Homeowners and Tenants Insurance for FCC providers, as well as Automobile, Workers Compensation and Disability Insurance.
How to Pick a Business Liability Insurance Policy
Submitted by Tom Copeland, Redleaf National Institute
Not all family child care business liability insurance policies are the same. To evaluate your choices among policies, here is a checklist to use:
- General liability coverage for accidents and lawsuits against your business: Your policy will have limits on occurrence coverage (the amount the policy will pay per accident) and aggregate coverage (the amount the policy will pay over the life of the policy--usually one year). Ideally, you want the policy limits to be at least $1 million occurrence and $2 million aggregate.
- Professional liability coverage to protect yourself in case you failed to adequately supervise the children in your care
- Legal defense in which the limits of this coverage are in excess of the general liability limits: In other words, you don't want legal fees to reduce your policy limits.
- Sexual abuse coverage with separate liability limits that cover you, your family, & your employees.
- Medical ("no fault") coverage to cover expenses when children are injured: You don't want your parents to have to look for coverage from their insurance first.
- Coverage for accidents when you are away from your home with the children
- Renters want the ability to list their landlord as an "additional insured."
- The policy should be an "occurrence form," not a "claims made," policy. An occurrence form covers you as long as the injury occurred while you were insured, even if you are sued many years later. A claims made policy only covers you if you are sued when you are insured.
- The policy should cover you for all the hours that children are present in your home (including evenings and weekends).
- The policy should cover food illnesses and dispensing of medicines.
- The company should have at least an "A" rating from the Best Company.
You may not be able to get a policy that has all the features identified in this checklist. Try to choose a policy that offers the most coverage. Purchase as much insurance as you can afford. The cost of business liability insurance is 100% deductible.
For further information about reducing the risks of your business, see the Family Child Care Legal and Insurance Guide (from Redleaf Press) and the online class I have written on Legal and Insurance Issues visit www.rcclearningcenter.org.