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Baby Sitters On Board
Mary Poppins couldn't do it any better. These professional baby sitters show up on the doorstep, carrying a bag filled with craft and fun art projects. So it's no surprise that Cheri Ress, a mom and former nanny who lives in Madison and has worked in the child care industry for 10 years, calls her baby-sitting referral service While You're Out. She started the business two years ago with a handful of families on board and three or four experienced sitters. "There's an obvious need for child care because I'm now matching up more than 75 families with qualified baby sitters from a list of 25 that has grown to include stay-at-home moms, nannies, schoolteachers, college students and retirees," Ress says. Families pay an annual registration fee of $25 to use the referral service, along with a $10 referral fee for each sitter request. Discount packages are available. "My main goal is to make sure that the process of finding a reliable sitter is as effortless as possible for families," Ress says. "They make one call to me, and a competent sitter arrives on time when needed." It's suggested that sitters -- who are independent contractors and not employees of the referral service -- get paid $9 an hour for one or two children. Sitters go through a screening process that includes a personal interview and verification of references and previous work experience. "This all has to come back glowing, otherwise I don't refer them out," Ress says. She also does a criminal background check and Department of Motor Vehicles record checks. Sometimes, sitters are asked to pick up children from preschool, so a valid driver's license and vehicle insurance are necessary, too. Besides that, Ress requires all sitters to be certified in infant and child CPR. It's this training that attracted Miwa Grajkowski-Blas of Verona to the baby-sitting referral service last year. "Good child care is important to anyone, but my oldest daughter has severe food allergies, and if she has an allergic reaction and goes into anaphylactic shock, I have the added concern of making sure a sitter is comfortable using a needle to administer medicine and calling 911," Grajkowski-Blas says. She and her husband, Andrew Blas -- who is serving in Kuwait with the Army National Guard -- have three children: Megan, 5, and 23-month-old twins, Maia and Avery. "The fact that Cheri's referral service has sitters who are CPR-certified definitely is reassuring, and I use them frequently because I teach piano in my home and need reliable child care during my lessons," Grajkowski-Blas says. The time-saving factor of using the baby-sitting referral service also appeals to Kari Fisher of Verona. "Cheri does all the legwork for me now," she says. "I no longer spend time on the phone trying to track down sitters and waiting to get calls back." Fisher and her husband, Bryant, have two daughters: Allie, 7, and Jenna, 4. "I used to have different college girls as sitters, but they eventually graduate and move on," Fisher says. "The sitters that Cheri sends out are top-notch. They've all been fantastic!" Besides that, the day after a new sitter has been in the home, Fisher gets a phone call from Ress, who wants to know how things went. "Cheri really cares," Fisher says. "She relates to all of us because of her own experiences as a nanny and as a mom." Ress and her husband, Chris, have a son, Jacob, 11 months. B efore starting her own business, Ress earned an associate degree in human services from Madison Area Technical College and was a case manager for people with developmental disabilities at Work Opportunities in Rural Communities. She also took some childhood education courses through the UW-Extension. "Cheri is very dedicated to her business and to all of her families and sitters," Chris Ress says. "Her entrepreneurial skills may be somewhat of a surprise to me, but not her caring nature. I already knew about that -- it's why I married her!" If a last-minute baby-sitting request is unable to be filled, Ress often takes the baby-sitting job herself, and sometimes she brings Jacob along to play with the other children. "I love doing some of the baby-sitting myself," Ress says, "that's the best part of this job -- playing and interacting with kids and keeping them safe and cared for, so parents don't have to worry when they go out the door." Ress also meets with new families so she can get to know the children, compile an information sheet for baby sitters and know that the environment will be safe for sitters. "I like getting to know everyone," she says. "This is really like having a huge family." P art of that family is Melissa Newman of Oregon. She's a full-time nanny who picks up baby-sitting jobs on nights and weekends. "The referral service gives me the opportunity to meet other families in the area," Newman says, "and I like the flexibility of choosing which job to take." Newman, 25, has worked with children of all ages, and she has a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in psychology with an emphasis in child development. "I plan to get a master's in psychology, and I hope to always be able to work with children," Newman says. "When I have kids of my own someday, I'll use the baby-sitting referral service, too, because it's a great idea!" |
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