Direct At-Home Staffing Options: Fall 2020
We are committed to your child’s continued growth and development! Whether we’re serving a single household or several household students as a group, our Mentors are prepared and ready to support your child through any part of their day. Below, you’ll find some brief descriptions of each of our staffing options to assist you in finding the best fit for your family’s needs.
Partial Day - Mornings
After your child is out of bed and has eaten breakfast, our Mentor will arrive to help get their day started! Mentors can assist your child(ren) with signing on to classroom distance learning or with preparing for the day’s activities! We’ll also help gather any supplies your they need for the day, and be there to support them with any school work they may have.
Partial Day - Midday
Our Mentor will arrive to help your child(ren) continue on with their day, assisting with lunch, distance-learning, or any school work that needs to be completed. We’ll help guide each child’s transition from morning classes and activities into the afternoon of learning and fun ahead.
Partial Day - Afternoons
When it is time to wrap up the school day and shift gears, our Mentor will help your child(ren) finish up the day’s school work and get them started on their independent study time or some fun games and activities to stretch their legs after the long day!
Full Day
From just after your child gets out of bed to the very end of their busy day, our Mentor will be there to support them every step of the way. We’ll help sign on to distance-learning with teachers at school, gather the necessary supplies and organize a space for your child(ren) to focus and learn, and help them understand the concepts and problems in their school work. If there is no school work to be done, then let’s fill the day with fun activities that foster their interests, according to your guidance and permission!
Click Here to Apply for Direct At-Home Staffing:
Frequently Asked Questions
Why partner with Developing Outdoors for your child care needs?
With Developing Outdoors, you’re receiving more than just childcare – your family is getting an intentionally crafted support system through which our Mentors will help your child develop 21st century abilities and exhibit real growth in their learning and interpersonal skills. Our care comes from Mentors who have been carefully selected to be the best fit for our program and for your family’s specific needs. Not only are Mentors background checked and drug-tested, but through our two-tiered interview process, intentional training program and our continued support of Mentor development, we are able to match the right Mentor to your family’s specific needs.
We’ve built a warm, progressive, and engaging care experience that brings back Mentors and families alike, year after year, and we never stop working to do even better! If we are ever not living up to your expectations, our Administrators are always on call to address any questions or concerns you may have.
What is the cost of Direct At-Home Staffing?
Our pricing is all inclusive: we take care of paying the Mentor, payroll taxes & deductions, workers compensation, and insurance!
For the costs associated with the care option that best fits your family’s needs, please take a look at our Weekly Pricing Chart, below!
Why do we call our staff "Mentors?"
Our meticulous hiring process is important for this very reason – we work hard to hire and train our staff to act as mentors to children as they develop 21st century skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving. We want your child to experience real growth during their time with us, and it is our hope that Developing Outdoors staff can play a pivotal role in helping children learn these vital social skills!
What sets Developing Outdoors Mentors apart?
Through our extensive hiring process and continued staff training and oversight, we ensure that your child is receiving the best of the best in care and engagement. We hire our Mentors following a vigorous two-tiered interview process. First, prospective Mentors participate in a group interview alongside other applicants, through which we gauge their abilities to engage in group discussions, instruct activities, and how they receive feedback and instruction themselves. Following the Group Interview, we then invite the strongest of those prospective Mentors to an Individual one-on-one interview with one of our Directors, Sam, Ryan, or Lissa, so that we can finally dig deeper and get to know them better to determine if they are a good fit to join our Mentor staff. If we think they might be a good fit, we call and speak to 3 references regarding the applicants character, professionalism, and personality. Once hired, each staff person goes through our multi-day staff training, clears a background check, and a pre-employment drug test before beginning work.
What are the credentials of the Mentors?
Each Mentor has a different set of qualifications. Our staff are mostly individuals who have an interest in working with children, many of whom are still in college earning their degrees (though some are past their student years), or are still figuring out their career paths and enjoy helping children to grow and learn. Often, Mentors assist on school campuses or in the classroom, but due to their closure are looking for a different avenue to working with children. Our hiring processes include selecting our Mentors from a group interview, an individual interview, speaking with 3 references, staff development, pre-employment drug tests, and also ongoing support during their time working with us. If you are interested in finding a Mentor with specific skills or experience – let us know and we can work to provide that information to you!
Can I interview or speak to the Mentor(s), or does Developing Outdoors simply assign someone?
That is up to you! If you’d like to speak with a few of our Mentors before making a decision, we can certainly arrange that. Or, if you’d like us to use our judgement when pairing a Mentor, we can do that too. Our goal is to make the process as easy as possible to pair you with a qualified individual to assist you with the care of your child(ren).
How are the parents involved in the selection process of choosing Mentor candidates?
We will send you a short profile of a Mentor or Mentor(s) that we think will be a good match for the hours you have selected and the specifics of your household’s needs. Some families want us to pick the Mentor for them as they have enough other things on their plate, while others would like to be more involved in the process. If you’d prefer, we welcome you to interview a couple of Mentors ahead of time and let us know which one you would like to work with. When registering with us, there is a short questionnaire to complete that helps us to know what you are looking for. In any case, it is always important to us to know how our Mentor is working out for your family’s needs, and we aim to be in communication with you to see how things are going!
If our Mentor gets ill or sick, does your service take care of finding a replacement? What if the Mentor decides to move on?
If the Mentor gets sick or ill, we will reach out to you as soon as possible to discuss sending a substitute to you, as some families will be differently comfortable with this. In any situation, we will make every possible attempt to provide you with a substitute or replacement Mentor, assuming that you are comfortable with it.
Are there any liability issues we need to be aware of? For example, if the Mentor gets injured on the job?
While Developing Outdoors is fully insured and the Mentors would be covered under Workers Compensation, the family is responsible for providing a safe work space for the Mentor and children to conduct their program in. Additionally, we would send you a list of things you agree to (providing access to drinking water for the Mentor, a place to wash hands/use the bathroom, that masks will be worn, etc.).
What steps will Developing Outdoors take to ensure my family's safety from exposure to Covid-19?
Developing Outdoors Mentors will adhere to all public-health guidelines and recommendations from both the Center for Disease Control and from local county and city health boards. Mentors and children will both be required to wear a face mask or appropriate face covering for the entire duration of their time together. Mentors will also maintain a safe physical distance of 6 feet or more from family members whenever it is possible to do so.
Mentors will participate in and encourage frequent handwashing, the use of hand-sanitizer, and wiping down of surfaces with sanitizing cleaning solutions you have at home.
Developing Outdoors is committed to our communication with clients and Mentors alike to ensure the safest possible experience for everyone! Please let us know if at any point you have concerns about your child’s, your family’s, or our Mentors’ health!