The Babysitter's Club 3000 Rules and Procedures
Introduction
That's the name of our babysitting co-op, which was formed in 2002 by a small group of parents in Western Queens. The name is based on a popular kids' book. Originally, we were based on the book The Smart Moms' Guide to Babysitting Co-ops, but we have evolved a lot since then. Our numbers have fluctuated through the years from as low as 3 families to as many as 10. We trade in points - you sit for someone's kids, you receive points, and if someone sits for your children, you "pay" points to the sitter.
We keep request sits, schedule sits, and keep track of points on our own private blog, so members need to have some basic web-savviness. We meet every two months to discuss our co-op's status and make sure everyone's happy. We do require members to participate at least once a month, and to occasionally assume some co-op responsibilities.
It is worth noting that this is a co-operative, and as such power and responsibility are shared, and the nature of the group is derived from its members. The rules are fungible and in perpetual evolution, but collective wisdom, common sense and pragmatism seem to work best.
Roles and Responsibilities
Secretary
- Facilitate sits: Responsible for monitoring sit-requests and reports, encouraging people who haven’t replied to do so, requesting that unfilled sit reports be updated, and assigning sits.
- Verify sit report accuracy: Must ensure that the calendar's events match up with the sit report. Must be comfortable with looking at a spreadsheet (no need to know how to use it) and operating a sit report form.
- Each member awards the secretary 2 pts per term. Every term is 2 months (Jan-Feb, Mar-Apr, etc.) Points are awarded mid-term.
Blogmeister
Six months (if possible)
- Maintains the co-op blog and makes updates when necessary.
- Assists members with set up and/or any difficulties using the blog/calendar feature.
- Calculates and posts monthly totals.
- Must be comfortable with Google Docs, Calendar, Labs, Blogger, and spreadsheet logic.
- Each member awards the blogmeister 6 pts every six months. Points are awarded at the end of the term. Term runs from Jan-June.
Leader
Six months
If a person leaves the group or is unable to fulfill their job duties, they should resign from the position for pro-rated points and the group should come up with a new rotation.
- Oversees general policy and recruitment
- Coordinates occasional playdates/get togethers
- Leads the co-op meetings, keeps minutes, and helps provide/update content for the co-op blog
- Updates the co-op membership information, including medical authorization forms, to pass along to the blogmeister
- Each member awards the leader 2 pts every six months. Points are awarded at the end of the term. Term runs from Jan-June.
The schedule of rotation is maintained in our 30boxes calendar system.
Sit Procedures and Accounting
The sit requester sends a sit request to the secretary, or requests a sit through our online calendaring system, 30boxes. The secretary or requester solicits responses from the team and assigns the sit. Typically, the sit is assigned to the available member with the most negative balance. The secretary "assigns" the sit by alerting the relevant parties via email and noting who was assigned the sit in the calendar entry on 30 boxes. Then the sit happens. The sitter and the sittee discuss who should file the Sit Report (note that the sitter has a vested interest in filing) which goes into an online Google Spreadsheet linked to the blog called the Sit Log. The secretary follows up and ensures that the sit was recorded properly. At the end of the month, the secretary reviews all the sit requests and verifies them against the Sit Log. The Secretary also notes who didn't use the co-op that month (vis a vis the monthly Non-Use Form) and who used the "manual override" (more on these below.) Once the Secretary gives the ok, the Blogmeister calculates everyone's monthly totals and posts them to the blog.
The "charges" for sits and related events are as follows:
- 1st child for 1 hour = 4 points
- Subsequent additional children are 2 points per hour
- Night sits entail a 2-point bonus for the sitter. Night sits are defined as those which start after the child's bedtime. Note that multiple sleeping children only count as one child.
- Last-minute sit cancellations (those that occur within 24 hours of a scheduled and assigned sit) cost the canceller 2 points.
- Members are required to use the co-op by either having at least one sit a month, or at least request a sit twice. The cost for non-use is 2 points (every member gets a grace month once a year.)
- Occasionally it may not work for a sitter or sittee for the "most negative" member to do the sit and the sittee may request a different positive responder. In that case, the member can invoke the "Manual Override" use up to 3 times a year without penalty. After that, Manual Overrides are 2 points each.
- The group maintains a "bank" of "extra points" that sometimes accumulate (for example, if a member leaves the co-op with a surfeit of points that cannot be evenly divided amongst remaining members - the remainder would go to the bank.)
- Cat-sitting requests and assignations can be made on an ad-hoc basis. Other occaisonal discretionary point transfers come up from time to time, and these should be handled through the secretary and the Optional Point Transfers section of the Sit Report. For example, the co-op as a group can also decide to award extra points from the bank for service beyond the ordinary.
- There is no limit on the number of negative points that a member can amass, but at -30 mark, the secretary and/or the leader should work the debtor to come up with a plan.
- All new members start with a zero balance.
Membership
- New members must be unanimously agreed upon by existing members.
- There is no fixed upper or lower limit on membership, but experience and precedent have guided us to the belief that the co-op really needs 5 families to function well. Occasional "recruitment drives" should be determined on an ad-hoc basis. The leader should organize the group's efforts on this behalf. There are previous recruitment materials available on the blog, under the tag "recruitment."
- There is no established geographical area that the co-op "covers," but rather is based on what is a "reasonable" travel time for a member.
- Members are required to attend bi-monthly meetings which are held on the third Monday of the month at 8:30 pm. The leader should take notes at the meetings and either post them to the blog or forward them to the blogmeister. While it is understood that occasional conflicts will arise, regular non-attendance should be penalized. The leader has the authority to dock a non-attending member 2 points.
- All new members should be included in the Participant Directory, which should include the names of children, insurance companies, etc and so should be maintained in a private manner yet to be designed (lb to fix.) Included with this should be medical authorization forms and safety checklists (also currently private pdfs.) The leader should ensure that new members have filled out this information via the Member Info Form and work with the blogmeister to keep it accessible but protected.
- If for any reason the group feels that a member is not working out, I dunno. I guess they should have a gladiator match. Good luck with that, we have no experience in kicking people out!
