Daycare Comes to Mad Dog Valley Vil

Daycare Comes to Mad Dog Valley Village

The Village of Mad Dog Valley, a large city in the Northeastern part Thailand, has experienced a significant change in the composition of its municipal work force of 500 employees. Approximately 35 percent of the city employees are now female. In a recent survey of city employees, over 40 percent have said that "affordable day care for children" was important to them. Meanwhile, Director of the Office of Personnel Management Tok Tak has become increasingly convinced that the lack of affordable day care is one of the main reasons for absenteeism and lateness among city employees. Mayor Nong, some of the members of the city council, and the leader of the major city employees' union, Ma Ha, all agree that something should be done. The question they are trying to answer is, what should it be?

Mayor Nong is in favor of doing something, in principle, but she is not in favor of incurring a major new expense. He has told Ma Ha, who is negotiating the day care program on behalf of the city employees, "We’ll give you space and utilities for a year at no cost. It is up to you to come up with a suitable day care center that conforms to the central government law." Several regulatory mandates and non-discrimination laws fall into this category. The only requirements specific to day care centers are that:
(1) They be licensed and inspected once a year,
(2) All new day care workers take part in a three day government-certified
training program, and
(3) The child/day care giver ratio be no greater than 8 to 1.
The annual inspection fee is $500. The total cost of the three-day training program is estimated to be $200 per employee.

Tok Tak is responsible for planning the details of the day care program for the children of city employees. With Ma Ha’s consent, Tukky has negotiated an arrangement with Khon Kaen University’s Nursing School. Dr. Pumpy, dean of the Nursing School, is enthusiastic about the prospects of a new center specifically for city employees. While discussing the proposed arrangements with Tok Tak, Dr. Pumpy said, "We will not need any additional administrative staff, since Mr. DukDick, my administrative secretary, and I could certainly handle the additional administrative work." Mr. DukDick earns 25,000 Baht a month. Dr. Pumpy's salary is 32,000 Baht a month. The Nursing School at KKU also must pay 5 percent of their salaries in the form of a social security contribution; 6 percent of salaries go to a pension fund. These fringe benefits apply to all employees of the KKU Nursing School.
The additional details of the contract are as follows: the day care center will be open 20 days every month. Parents pay a monthly fee based on an 8-hour day (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Fees do not vary if less than a full day or less than a month of day care is used by the parents. Based on projected demand, it is expected that the day care center will open in January with 120 children. Dr. Pumpy has been successful in negotiating a ratio of 6 children to 1 day care worker for the first year of operation.
Day care workers earn 100 Baht per hour. They work from 9 to 5 and get paid for eight hours. Children get a snack and lunch. The food cost is 50 Baht per child per day. The cost of supplies is 75 Baht per child per day. The Village of Mad Dog Valley has purchased certain equipment (such as cots and desks) for the first 120 children. However, these costs are estimated to increase by 75 Baht per child as the enrollment at the day care center goes up. It is expected that the number of children will grow by 10 percent monthly for the first four months, beginning in February. Beginning in June, the monthly growth is expected to be 5 percent.
Parents pay 1,500 Baht per month per child. In the first year, The Village of Mad Dog Valley is "donating" space and utilities. Tok Tak says that this city contribution is worth 40,000 Baht a month. Mr. Ma Ha says that the union will contribute to the cost of the city's new day care center by providing 100 Baht per child per day for the children of union members. It is estimated that 70 percent of the children will be children of union members. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security has a subsidized day care start-up grant for the first year of operation. This grant is 100,000 Baht a year.