On-Site Daycare for Children of Students - Research Paper Example

? On-Site Daycare for Children This is a research proposal for an on-site daycare for children in our school. The proposal begins by examining the background about daycare from various literatures. The problem is then stated to show the need and purpose for the research. The budget for the project is then estimated to show the amount of finance that will be required. Further, the paper analyzes the challenges as well as benefits of the on-site daycare, which proves to be very beneficial to all the stakeholders. Then, a conclusion is made to summarize the proposal for the required research. TO: [Insert Name of School] FROM: [Insert Name] DATE: November 27, 2011 SUBJECT: On-site Daycare for Students Children Background Information According to Chigona and Chetty (2008), the issue of teenage pregnancy is becoming a barrier to the education of young women, especially when the support is insufficient or absent. The authors argue that these girls undergo misunderstanding as well as pressure rather than receiving the support they need. It thus becomes hard for the teenage mothers to go on with their studies. Chigona and Chetty (2008) argue that if support is provided for the students’ mothers, they will continue and complete their final examinations. The issue of students’ mothers is global because the study by Chigona and Chetty was done in South Africa thereby showing that the issue is not only in America but also in other continents. On the other hand, Manson and Goulden (2008) claim that the rate of women drop out from Phd programs is increasing as compared to men. The two authors reveal how difficult it is for a woman to read and succeed in studies while looking after a child. Healy (2011) shows how students can benefit from on-site day cares to go on with their studies and care for their children. Healy (2011) expounds on a daycare center located in the school compound of Morton East High School. The student parents are able to study and look after their children. The center is set up in the first-floor of the classrooms block. According to Healy (2011), the daycare has helped the students complete their studies successfully. Additionally, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (2010) conducted a research to examine the importance of assisting teenage mothers to acquire college education. According to their research, the Corio Bay Senior College (CBSC) is one of the schools, which are encouraging young as well as expecting parents to go on with their education. The college achieves this by offering flexible options that support their schedules. The school has a program for the young parents, which objects to provide intensive case management as well as on-site child care. The thought of coming up with the care program according to the author was because of the complex problems experienced by students’ mothers (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2010). Problem Many teenagers are becoming mothers early and at the same time desire to go to colleges. The issue of taking of a child and attending college is hard thereby calling for support of these mothers’ parents. The students with children have problems commuting to school because they have to organize issues concerning daycare before getting to school, especially those living many kilometers away. The students are stressed even when in class because their kids are under the care of strangers who are far from their reach and so they cannot check on the children often as they ought to. This makes them anxious and cannot concentrate in class and end up underperforming. Similarly, the students waste much money traveling when they have free time to check on the children at home or other far day cares. Further, institutions have been underperforming because of lack of sufficient funds to run their business. With the implementation of the on-site day care project, the learning institutes will have some additional income to handle pressing issues. Proposal and Purpose The proposal is for the establishment of a daycare centre for their children in the school compound i.e. on-site daycare. The center will be beneficial to the school and the students’ parents themselves. The school will benefit since the daycare can be a very profitable business and the startup capital is minimal compared to the returns it will give as it will be shown later on in the discussion. The student will also benefit in the sense that they will have the peace of mind that their children are within range and they can relax and study with no anxieties. Additionally, the students will save on cost and time, which could otherwise been used traveling to check on the children. Budget On embarking on the daycare centre, the budget and the income expected must be reviewed. The cost factor for the daycare centre has been looked into very carefully. The initial costs obviously have to be high since it will be like any other business startup. From the research done in various institutions running the same kind of facilities like in Kids Community College (2011), it was found that the initial costs amounted to $100,000; the maximum, but the income received from the year of startup was $120,000 covering all the costs and making a profit of $20,000. For the daycare centre in our institution, it has been established that the budget may be as follows: ITEM COST $ Rent 11,000 telephone 6,000 Advertising 12,000 Purchase(toys, cribs and blankets) 25,000 Staff expenses 20,000 decorations 4,000 TOTAL 78,000 Adapted from http://bizfinance.about.com/od/businessbudget/a/Successful_Bus_Budget.html The costs given are approximated for the whole year and will be subject to varying since they are estimated on the lower side. The only high costs are the initial purchases, which will be used for a period of several years and thus this will be a cost that can be scrapped off the books for three to four years unless they need to replace broken toys or add new ones. The other high costs is staff, which is attributed to hiring of at least two professionals like a nurse and a qualified nanny to supervise that the running of the centre is done as professionally as possible to boost the confidence of the parents and ensure the safety of the children. The other cost is advertising, which is variable because for the initial advertising, the student fraternity will be made aware of the facility and thus the advertising will be through the customers themselves. The returns for the same will be estimating that there are 35 student parents who will be bring their children to school with them. The charge ought to be $5 per hour and looking at the campus schedule, the least hours one can be in the institution is four hours. This will mean that each parent will part with $20 dollars giving an income of $84,000 for the year. This will mean the first year the centre will give an income of $6,000 and the preceding year’s income of close to $45,000. Challenges Looking at the above estimates of the income to be generated from the daycare centre there exist challenges. First is financing; the first initiative has to be looking for fund to set up this establishment. The first one is borrowing from the school kitty upon where an agreement has to be drawn up that the initial proceeds from the centre repay off the loan. The other is for the students to organize a fundraising where they will sell shirts and have raffle tickets to ensure all the money required is acquired. These two options whichever will be agreed by the school board will certainly give the expected results. Second is staffing; the issue of staffing will need to be examined critically. To begin with, the facility will need at least two professionals who will ensure that the children are taken care of in the correct manner plus other two professionals who will deal with the collection and administration of the funds from the facility. The sourcing of these staff will not be hard since they are professionals but rigorous interviews have to be carried out and the help of the school will be required to ensure correct people are enlisted for the job. For the baby sitter who will be required, they can be sourced from the student fraternity who will be happy to earn an extra dollar but will also be learning and interacting with the children. The sourcing can be done by advertising the number of sitters required in the school website and proper vetting done by the nurse and the professional nanny who will also be on standby to check on how the kids are being taken care of. Addressing the two issue will ensure the start up of the facility will be smooth sailing and thus it will come to the advantages of the facility to the institution and the student parents as discussed below. Advantages Evidently, from the budget analysis, the institution will benefit from income; as clearly seen the school will certainly have an alternative income source. The money from the facility will help boost the financial status of the school and can help in projects that have been sidelined due to lack of funds. The income will be in two bits; the first from the facility and the second from the rent since the day care centre will use one of the vast rooms in the school compound. Better focused students; the institution will pride itself in having made it possible for all students to concentrate in class since none will be thinking of a sitter. The school will also encourage dropouts to go back to school since most drop out to take care of their children thus also helping to grow the economy. According to Allen (2011), the students’ parents will benefit greatly from the proposed daycare. Allen (2011) claims that an on-site daycare facility would save the students some money because the care is cheaper than outside daycares hence cost-cutting. Similarly, the students’ mothers will be leaving their children in the care of a nurse and a nanny; personnel who are qualified in matters pertaining to child care. According to Healy (2010), the students’ parents can check on the children as often as they can since the daycare is at their proximity. Flexible timetables; the facility situation in school will make the management look at the schedules to accommodate the student parents as also revealed in Healy (2008) research on Morton East Daycare. This will ensure they don’t miss classes and they visit their children any time of the day without having to miss a whole period or waste fare. The drop rates will also be reduced because the mothers’ students will be supported as revealed by the Morton case (Healy, 2008) Conclusion The fact that one has a child does not mean they cannot go back to school and pursue their intended career paths. The daycare centre when established will fulfill the dreams of many students who will come back and pursue their education with the worry of their children taken care of. The centre will not only bring income to the institution and the students, but it will also provide employment and also promote education in students. The economic sense of the centre goes beyond the institution but will spill over to the whole economy since the facility will give chance to young people who are at home taking care of their babies a chance to build their careers and join the task force of this great nation to strengthen its economy. Thus, the proposal for an on-site daycare should be given a research and an implementation chance. References Allen, R. (2011). What are the benefits of having child care centers at Universities? Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_7909206_benefits-child-care-centers-universities.html Chigona, A., & Chetty, R. (2008). Teen mothers and schooling: lacunae and challenges. South African Journal of Education, 28: 261-281. Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2010). Helping teenage mums return to school. Retrieved from http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/publ/research/publ/researcharticle_helping_teenage_mums_return_to_school.pdf Healy, O. V. (2011). State budget shortfall hits Morton East daycare center for students’ kids. Retrieved from http://www.actforchildren.org/site/DocServer/02.27.11_ChicagoTribune_Shortfall_hits_day_care_center_f.pdf?docID=663 Kids Community College. (2011). Child Day Care Services Business Plan. Retrieved from http://www.bplans.com/child_day_care_services_business_plan/company_summary_fc.php Luong, M. (2008). Life after teenage motherhood. Retrieved from http://thesurvey.womenshealthdata.ca/pdf_files/10577-en.pdf Mason, M.A., & Goulden, M. (2004). Do babies matter (Part II)? Closing the baby gap. Academe, 1-10. Retrieved from http://ucfamilyedge.berkeley.edu/babies%20matterII.pdf Read More