Frequently Asked Questions:

How long have you been in business? AHH-PNA was established in 2006. Our dedication and determination to provide the most exceptional and personal service to our families and nannies has quickly made us as one of the top nanny placement agencies in business.  Over 80% of our business has come through referrals from our very satisfied families and nannies.  We take great pride in our high standard of excellence.

What sets you apart from other agencies?  Not only is A Helping Hand family owned and operated with Nicole Siekert's mother working as her partner, we at A Helping Hand take a personal approach with every family and nanny we work with and immediately treat them as a part of our happy family.  In our first year alone, we were instantly recognized as one of the "best in the business" with our evident commitment to excellence and our extensive knowledge base of the child care and nanny industry.  We completed our first year with our placement success rate standing strong at 100%! 

A little about our founder and President:  Nicole Siekert began her nanny career in 1992 when she became a nanny for a family with five young children. She immediately recognized the importance of a nanny's responsibilities as well as the need for a nanny's help in the home.  While working as a nanny over the years, Nicole gained a deeper understanding of the needs and expectations of families with nannies.  In 1999, Nicole pursued her dream of continued education at Mount Mary College where she studied Elementary/Middle School Education with a Math minor, while all along working as a nanny for three wonderful families.  In 2006, Nicole made the decision to pursue her next big dream of owning and operating her own exceptional nanny placement agency.  After working with other agencies in the past as a nanny, she knew exactly what changes were needed in the industry, and she was ready and excited to make the commitment. Nicole built a strong foundation for her business through her personal experiences, her continued education, and her commitment to excellency.  From day one, she has stayed true to her goals of offering nothing but the best personal service, expertise, and experience while assisting all families and nannies in their search for in home childcare.  If you ask Nicole how she feels about running her own agency she will tell you, "I have put my heart and soul into this, and I couldn’t be happier.  There is nothing more satisfying than bringing that perfect nanny and family together!  I strive for that connection with every placement I do!  It's a life changing experience for everyone, and it's just wonderful!  I feel so honored when families put their trust in me and my agency to help them with such an important process!" 

How do you find your nannies? Sometimes the nanny will "find us," but most times we are searching for great nanny candidates using the professional resources available and recommended by the International Nanny Association.  We have access to a number of professional nanny databases which allows us to contact the candidates of our choice.  If we do not already have a nanny with the agency that meets a family's specifications, we will do a search for them using our professional resources based on the family's needs and expectations.

How does your referral process work? After making the decision to use the expertise and professional resources of A Helping Hand, you will first be asked to complete a family application (Download Family Application) .  The application is a necessary tool for us to assist you properly with your nanny search as it gives us a clear understanding of your needs, expectations, and your family dynamics.  You will also be asked to read and sign the family agreement (Download Family Agreement) . Once we receive your application, signed agreement, and deposit, we will immediately begin working on your nanny search. For local placements, typically we can have referrals to a family within 3-5 days, given there are no "special circumstances" with the placement.  We have worked many "special case" placements, one of which required us to have nanny referrals to a family the same day they contacted us, as they needed someone within two days of contacting our agency! We gladly accepted the challenge and proudly succeeded! When we find a candidate that meets a family's requirements, we will refer the nanny by e-mailing the family the nanny's profile form, which briefly outlines the nanny's childcare history, qualifications, pay requests, and personal interests/hobbies. The nanny's contact information will also be included in the e-mail.  Upon contacting and/or interviewing a nanny candidate, we ask that you continuously keep us updated with your impressions of the nanny referrals and any offers that are made to the nanny's.

What is the difference between a nanny, a mother's helper, and a babysitter? (The following information is compliments of Homework Solutions - Copyright © 1999-2007 Homework Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)   A nanny will have sole-charge responsibility for the children in her care with the parents absent from the home. A mother's helper will work under the close supervision of a stay-at-home parent, typically the mother. 

• What is a Nanny? Primary Functions: The International Nanny Association defines a nanny as one "employed by the family on either a live-in or live-out basis to undertake all tasks related to the care of children. Duties are generally restricted to childcare and the domestic tasks related to childcare. May or may not have had any formal training, though often has a good deal of actual experience. Nanny's work week ranges from 40 to 60 hours per week. Usually works unsupervised." 4nannies.com notes that a nanny is more than a baby-sitter. The nanny job is the best paying childcare career - and for good reason! Nannies are expected to participate in the social, emotional, and intellectual development of their charges, and will work with the child(ren) on such areas a language development, potty training, social manners, homework, and more. Most families request that a nanny make a minimum commitment of one year to the job. This is to make sure that the children have continuity in their childcare. Candidates who do not feel that they can commit to a year might consider other types of childcare work until they are comfortable with the commitment. A nanny may work eight to ten hours per day, generally five days per week. A nanny will generally expect two consecutive days off weekly. A nanny may live in or live out. The nanny should have some previous verifiable child care experience or equivalent training/education. The nanny works under the minimal supervision of the family (adult members) and must be a self-starter, show sound judgment, be committed to the well-being of children, and be able to take initiative.  Many candidates for nanny positions have held previous employment as CDAs (Child Development Associate) or CNAa (Certified Nurse Assistants). The CDA is a credential. It usually involves one year of preparation and assessment. Although the CDA is not a college degree, college courses often assist the applicant preparing for a CDA. The Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition awards the CDA credential. A CNA, Certified Nurse Assistant, provides direct personal care for aged and impaired individuals who require assistance with the activities of daily living under the supervision of a nurse. Credentialing of the CNA varies from state to state and may or may not be regulated.
• What is a Mother's Helper? Primary Functions: Assists the stay at home parent with all aspects of childcare and light house work. A Mother's Helper is a fabulous position for the younger candidate not ready, either educationally, experientially or maturity, for sole-charge child care for long periods of time. A mother's helper provides an extra set of hands, helping the stay at home mom or dad meet their children's demands. Often works with families with multiples, and families who home school. This individual may live in or live out. May be left in sole charge for short periods of time.
• Secondary Functions: May assist with light housekeeping, run errands, light meal preparation, and any domestic chore that assists the parent.
• In the US market, the role of Mother's Helper is generally held by young women, aged 18 - 20, who plan to move into other childcare positions in the future. No special educational background, and often has babysitting experience.

• Nanny vs. Babysitter? Babysitting is a term used for occasional evening and weekend care of newborn babies, infants, toddlers, preschool and school age children, and younger teenagers. Babysitters are people who enjoy spending time with children evenings and weekends, generally to supplement their other income. They come in all shapes and sizes, from older teenagers, to moms and grandparents looking to earn a bit extra, to trained and sometimes highly educated individuals whose work in a regular day job is in child care or education. Babysitting is usually seen as the occasional evening and weekend child care versus a permanent day time child care position filled by a Nanny. A babysitter looks after your children while you are out in the evenings or on weekends so that you can socialize, go out for a meal, visit friends or attend a meeting. Basically, a babysitter helps you keep or rediscover a social life and maybe your sanity too! A Nanny is an experienced, qualified, and sometimes educated permanent or temporary daytime caregiver who cares for different ages of children in the parents' own home. They perform all of the child care duties a parent would be doing: feeding, playing, bathing, cleaning in regard to the children, taking to activities, lessons, preschool etc. Occasionally the duties may include light housekeeping, shopping, laundry and meal preparation. A Nanny is someone who chooses working with children as their primary employment. They care for children during the working weekday. As a permanent or temporary daytime caregiver, a nanny is the more expensive option.

Do you pre-screen and/or background check your nanny applicants? ABSOLUTELY - NO EXCEPTIONS!!!! Every nanny candidate that is referred to a family will have been thoroughly pre-screened and background checked. This process involves the nanny first completing a very detailed application; next a personal interview takes place with the nanny; then all of her personal, previous employment, and specific childcare references are contacted; and finally a thorough background investigation is done through US Information Search. The background check includes a social security trace; driving record, criminal history, sex offender, previous employment, and credit checks. Upon setting up an interview with a prospective nanny, all of this information is available to you upon your request.

What types of services do you offer? We specialize in part time nanny, full time nanny, temporary nanny, long term nanny, mother's helper, and babysitter placements.  Although we typically work with families in Southeastern WI for our nanny placements, we have and will gladly continue to assist families all throughout the USA!

What are your fees?

NANNY SERVICE FEES:

AGENCY REFERRAL FEE  

• $325.00 - Upon accepting the resources and assistance of AHH-PNA to aid in the nanny / child care provider search, a non-refundable agency referral fee of $325.00 will be due before any referrals and or interviews with prospective nanny / child care providers can take place.  The agency referral fee is valid for two years / 730 days from the date listed on the original family agreement.  After two years from the initial signing date, a new agency referral fee will be charged for any further nanny / child care placement services requested of AHH-PNA. 

AGENCY PLACEMENT FEES

• $875.00 for assistance in hiring a full time (30 or more hours per week) or part time (less than 30 hours per week) permanent placement nanny / child care provider (service needed exceeds 3 months)
• $300.00 for assistance with hiring a temporary placement nanny / child care provider (service needed is for more than 6 weeks but less than 12 weeks / 3 months)
• $100.00 for assistance with hiring a mother’s helper for a time period of 6 weeks or less.
• placement fees are due no later than 5 days prior to the nanny's first day of employment

If the hiring family decides in good faith to terminate the employment relationship with the nanny / child care provider for any reason what so ever, or if the nanny quits, AHH-PNA agrees to credit the following amounts specified during the following time periods – THE CREDIT MAY ONLY BE USED TOWARDS A NEW AGENCY PLACEMENT FEE CHARGED BY AHH-PNA:

• 1 – 60 days – 100% of agency placement fee
• 61 – 90 days – 50% of agency placement fee
• 91 – 180 days  – 25% of agency placement fee                  
• after 181 days no further credits will be given

BABYSITTING SERVICE FEES:

* Please Note:  Babysitting service refers to occasional care for 1 - 5 days and/or nights per month on an as needed basis - anything beyond that falls into the nanny placement category and will be charged accordingly. 

BABYSITTING REFERRAL FEE - VALID FOR 5 YEARS

• $250.00 - Upon accepting the resources and assistance of AHH-PNA to refer pre-screened nannies/ child care providers / babysitters, a non-refundable agency referral fee of $250.00 will be due before any referrals and or interviews with prospective nannies / child care providers / babysitters can take place.  The babysitting referral fee is valid for five years from the date listed on the original family agreement.  After five years from the initial signing date, a new babysitting referral fee will be charged for any further nanny / child care / babysitting referral services requested of AHH-PNA.

BABYSITTING PLACEMENT FEE

• $25.00 / New babysitter referral and placement
• A placement fee will be charged when a family requests the referral services of A Helping Hand that results in the placement of a babysitter.  The family may choose to use that babysitter on an ongoing as needed basis at anytime with no additional fees charge by A Helping Hand.  If within 365 days of placing the babysitter the placement changes from periodic babysitting to a part time or full time mother's helper and/or nanny position, the applicable difference in placement fees will be charged to the family.

Who are your babysitters?  All babysitters placed through A Helping Hand are thoroughly pre-screened and background checked childcare providers either working for a family through A Helping Hand or actively seeking a position through A Helping Hand.

What is your replacement policy? Do you offer refunds?  AHH does not offer refunds at anytime; however, if the placement does not workout, if the nanny quits, or if the hiring family decides to terminate the employment relationship with the nanny / child care provider for any reason what so ever, AHH-PNA will credit the following amounts specified during the following time periods – THE CREDIT MAY ONLY BE USED TOWARDS A NEW AGENCY PLACEMENT FEE CHARGED BY AHH-PNA:

• 30 – 60 days – 100% of agency placement fee
• 61 – 90 days – 50% of agency placement fee
• 91 – 180 days  – 25% of agency placement fee                  
• after 181 days no further credits will be given

Can you please explain your emergency back up assistance program?   This service is offered exclusively to families who have previously hired a nanny through A Helping Hand.  In the event that your nanny is suddenly in need of the day or days off, we will put forth our best efforts to provide you with emergency back up care through one of our available nannies currently seeking placement opportunities.  There is no agency fee charged for this service.  The minimum required nanny pay rate for emergency back up care is as follows (families may offer a higher pay rate at any time!):

• $10.00 / hour for one child
• $12.00 / hour for 2-3 children
• $15.00 / hour for 4 or more children

AHH-PNA contact information:

Mailing Address: W274N1583 Riverland Court - Pewaukee, WI 53072

Office: (262) 366-7955

Fax: (262) 691-4788

Questions regarding nanny placement and policies - Attention Nicole - nicole@helpinghandnannies.com

Website support and general questions - support@helpinghandnannies.com

Website URL: http://www.helpinghandnannies.com