I am Bonnie Schneider from New Prague, MN a day care provider of 38 years. I have seen many changes in the past years but so many more in the past 3-5. I am so happy to be at the point in my life where I will not have to do daycare for very many years yet. I loved and still love what I do and enjoy watching all these children grow up to be fine adults. But my concerns with child care is very concerning. 

In our New Prague, MN area there has only been one new provider in the past 2 years going into this career. Why? Due to all the regulations. We are so tied right now to what can we do and what can't we do, including the food programs many of us are on. So many have quit both child care and the food program due to all the regulations. 

When I go on the DHS website and see all the revoked and suspended licenses it makes me sad to see some of the reasons why. And yes there are those that definitely need to be closed for what has happened in their daycare. We sit on pins and needles every day waiting for our licensor to come out to relicense us and then to wonder for 2-3 hours what she is going to find wrong in our home. We need this committee to help change these regulations for day care providers or there will not be providers out there to take care of children so the parent's can work outside of the home. We have to now have 16 hours of training, which for some of us is same old same old due to the number of years we have been doing this job. 

My daughter who is an RN only needs 12 hours of training a year, she said mom what is wrong with this picture? We just don't get this. So many of the same trainings year after year it does get old like I said for the ones who have been doing this for so long. 

It is very stressful doing this job trying to protect the kids we take care of and it is all due to licensing regulations and also the food program. If you don't write your meals down before midnight you will loose the days pay from those meals if the food rep comes out in the morning and you have not recorded your meals yet. 

I am for the Bills being heard right now for day care providers. We need some changes in this career and we need them now to be able to help out the younger generation who may be wanting to stay at home with their young children and be able to do what I have done all these years not only raising my children and being able to stay at home with them but also helping in raising other children so their parent's could be out in the working world like they wanted to be or had to be due to the fact that they knew they did not or could not due day care due to needing insurance for their family. 

Thank you for your time and we DO need to see changes in this Day care profession. 

Bonnie
Schneider Day Care.
New Prague, MN