Day_Care_Comes_to_Northville

Daycare Comes To Northville The Midwestern town of Northville is experiencing complications’ drawn from a shifting change in the makeup of the medium-sized city’s workforce growing to over 1800 employees, with a breakdown where 35 percent of women hold a position of employment, with the men included in this assessment-the total percentage of workers needed assistance with child care duties rises to well over forty percent. This rising culture of a more integrated workforce of women and men, thereby render a need for a county daycare program to accommodate the changing face of the county’s labor force. The symptoms surfacing due to this most urgent need have reared its head in the areas of tardiness and high absenteeism among Northville city workers. Because of these evidential problems, Mayor Petula Spark, several of the members of the city council, and the union leader of the major city employees', Denardo Legato, agree that something must be done to alleviate the symptomatic issues that threaten the activity and productivity of the city and its worker (Cascade Center for Public Service Public Service Curriculum Exchange, 2000). Budget issues are paramount with the city funds in high demand and insufficient funds to cover all the required expenses and dealing with the challenge of supporting the workers with an adequate daycare facility. The city agrees to provided the space and pay the utilities, while the daily operations of the facility will need to be hammered out. The remaining budget responsibilities consist of the $500 cost of yearly inspection fee for the facility, training fee of $200 per person for all new daycare workers, while administrative staff of Tiny Tot’s will take on the additional paper, as Ms. Perfekt is already engaged in maintenance of records. Additional expenses include a total year of all salaries including contributions and fringe benefits to all employees’ totaling around $370,584 annually. Generated income from childcare of 120 tots with the additional 10 and 5 percent increase totaling 210 children the first year, along with union contributions, and facility savings, add up to approximately $563,280 dollars per year (Cascade Center for Public Service Public Service Curriculum Exchange, 2000). The expenses output for the year includes food supply cost at $3 dollars per child, school supply cost at $1.50 dollars a day per child, cost of cots and desk for the additional increase of new attendees for cots and desk at $50 dollars per child, training of staff totals and inspections fees, bringing all of this year’s miscellaneous expenses, outside of salaries for a total of $21,480 dollars annually. Total expenses including salary and fringe benefits plus operating, budgeting for yearly facility cost, and deductive allowances for the one time grant bringing the yearly operation budget to cover all expenses would be $516,564 dollars realistically. This leaves a surplus of $46,716 dollars, giving a narrow margin of profits for unexpected supplies and cost adjustments, along with drop-outs from the program due to relocation, loss of job, etc(Cascade Center for Public Service Public Service Curriculum Exchange, 2000). While dealing with the issues at hand, the “Public Administrator” should determine what feasible options are available to solve the budgeting dilemma, like recommendations to altering an existing law, regulation, process, or program; creating a new law or program, by mandating, regulating, subsidizing, creating incentives, taxing, provide information, or privatization of the daycare program. Next, are there other programs (public or private) or laws (state or federal) that have addressed this problem and what was the outcome of solving the budget problems' In addition, what are the criteria’s for addressing and evaluation of the daycare’s budget constraints (California Department of Finance, 2002)' The “Public Administrator has a duty to ensure that the corrective measures taken will be efficient, equitable, effective, feasible, recognizing and making known the uncertainty and risk, and establish the priority for funding given the current state of fiscal constraints and the administrative policies that should adhere and maintain consistency with the goals and policies and expectations of the governing Administration. Finally, measure each alternative against the criteria and weigh the trade-offs (e.g., better service vs. higher cost; lower cost vs. higher risk) defining and analyzing the issue/problem, be prepared to solidify and recommend a viable solution-this is the role of a competent “Public Administrator” in facilitating corrective measure to strengthen the budget shortfalls (California Department of Finance, 2002). Analyzing in conclusion that recommended budget adjustments and changes should be made to increase the monthly fees for enrollment in Tiny Tots. As a replacement for paying the $200 dollars a month fee for daycare, the “Public Administrator” would increase the fee to $325 dollars a month. This would be advantageous in generating more revenue, while offering a higher and more superior quality of service to be offered. Additionally, workers would receive a reasonable and competitive pay increase, this would allow a level playing field when competition for qualified workers and retention of those workers (Team Caseforest, 2011). The raise would increase worker morale and help the worker keep up with the “to the cost of living adjustments” due in part to the rising, economy changes, while being an instrumental tool in retaining qualified day care workers. Raising the worker per child ratio from 6:1 to 8:1would decrease the massive impact that employing 20 extra workers would place on the budget. Of course, negative impacts are always possible when changes are mad to a project causing disadvantages to surface. This is the possible negative that would affect the increasing enrollment fees and could cause enrollment to declining due in part to fees changing, the request by parents or guardians expected more services then are offered, and will be expecting extended hours of business (Team Caseforest, 2011). This would only add to the expenses and create an even greater budget discrepancy. This would afford the city to accommodate its workers in childcare needs without straining the city’s overextended funds for operating the city’s municipal workforce. This will minimize the tardiness and absenteeism that has plagued the department due to the increase of female workers’ needing daycare accommodations, since 40% percent of the workers the survey stated that a workplace related center would eliminate the childcare factor (Team Caseforest, 2011). References: California Department of Finance. (2002, September). Analysis: principles and practices for dof analysts. Retrieved from http://www.dof.ca.gov/fisa/bag/the%20analysis%20of%20budget%20issues.htm. Cascade Center for Public Service Public Service Curriculum Exchange. (2000). Daycare comes to northville. The Electronic Hallway Journal, 96(23), Retrieved from http://www.rpts.tamu.edu/Courses/403/BudgetCS.pdf. Team Caseforest. (2011, April 17). Caseforest.com. Retrieved from http://www.caseforest.com/case-study-Northville-Daycare.aspx.