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BlessedMommy723
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Question about MDO
BlessedMommy723
member
Do you take your kids to a church or an actual preschool for MDO? Also... can you tell me the time... ie: is it set up so you can go from 8-12 or 12-4 or can you take them all day? Finally, how much does it cost?
I am trying to start a MDO program at the church I work at. I know the price varies depending on the area, but I am just looking for a general idea of what the average is 
Thank you!
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Re: Question about MDO
I used to work at one at my church that ran 9am- 12pm. I can't remember the cost.
Now DD goes twice a week to MDO at a church and it's $85 per month, but next year they will be charging 105/month for two days a week. It's 9:30-1:30 and I send lunch.
I'm looking into a different MDO, also at a church, and it charges $14/day. It runs 9-1 and you have to pay for the days you're signed up for, even if your kid is sick and doesn't go.
MDO in our area works like these too. your child can go either 2 x wk or 3 x wk. they have set days and times - usually a 4 hour block. prices range from $80ish - $100 mo.
Both MDOs that DD has gone to were at churches, but they are also licensed daycares, so I'm not sure I understand the difference.
The hours at both were 9am-2pm, which is very normal around here.
One was $175/mo, the other $325/mo - quite
Both MDOs that DD has gone to were at churches, but they are also licensed daycares, so I'm not sure I understand the difference.
The hours at both were 9am-2pm, which is very normal around here. Some are 8:30-1:30, or 9:30-2:30, or some small variation, but none I've seen are morning/afternoon like you describe. The benefit of 9-2 is that the toddlers can get their nap in from 12-2 and be refreshed for mom, which is WONDERFUL.
For 3 days a week, one was $175/mo, the other $325/mo - quite a differece but the first closed for financial reasons after 25+ years and everywhere else I called was around $300-350/mo for 3 days.
Both programs offered extended care on an ad hoc basis - if there's space avail you can just ask at any time for DC to stay a few hours longer for $7-10/ hour. I refused to check out any program that didn't offer this!
The second MDO program, the one DD goes to now, actually offers everything from 1 day a week MDO to 5 day a week MDO to part time and full time daycare to after-school care for elementary students.
The Parent's Day Out program we use is in a church (as are all of the others in our area, I think). It is a "full" day: 9:30 - 3:30, so 6 hours. Half days are not an option until preschool age. Cost varies by age, since the ratio of adults to kids has to be higher for the little ones. Children have to be at least 12 months to attend. the 1- to 2-year old class is $100/month for one day per week, the 2- to 3-year old class is $90/month. Drop in care is $22 per day, I believe, and is offered on a first-come, first served basis, preferrably with at least a day's notice. The tuition is monthly, regardless of how many of your days fall during that month. For instance, if your child attends on Wednesdays, and one month has four and the next has five, it's still $100 regardless. But if you have a holiday and they are closed on one of your days, there's not refund--it's still the same monthly rate. That seemed a little unfair to me at first, but I know they probably do it for ease of bookkeeping, so I understand. It would be a pain to calculate an individual invoice for each family, based on how many times their child attended that month.
The facility we use requires you to send a lunch with your child--they don't do any refrigeration or microwaving. If a facility does that, they have to deal with lots more health code issues.
I don't know all the differences, either, but it is definitely something to look into if you're starting a program. We are starting a PDO program at our church (already have a preschool), and there are specific building codes that you have to abide if you are a licensed daycare, like every room has to have an exterior door and sprinkler system. For some reason the same rules do not apply for a PDO program. That may just be our state, but you would probably want to look into that.