The concept of the Child Shuttle program originated with the family of a licensed day care provider in Orange County. Like most in-home child card providers, this single operator was unable to address the transportation needs of children going to and from school grounds to her facility. Various school schedules were complicated by the care needs of children ranging in age from six months to twelve years. In response, she opted to employ her sons to shuttle children to and from schools, and made fliers to advertise this service to other in-home providers in the area. The response was overwhelming. In two short weeks, calls flooded Dianne’s Child Care
Clients from all over the general Los Angeles area requested the service, not only to get their children to and from school, but to extra-curricular activities, such as music lessons and recreation programs. Child care organizations picked up on the availability of the program, and the calls increased. The service that began as a way to support a single day care has now exceeded the family’s abilities to provide.
The demand for the service has far exceeded Child Shuttle’s present abilities to provide. Founders of the company have then received an estimated two hundred calls in the past months. As a result, the organization would like to expand services to other cities in the near future. Eventually, Child Shuttle plans to extend their services to throughout the greater Los Angeles area.
Child Shuttle will initially operate in an area approximating over 700 square mile in Orange County. The service areas are continually stretching past the Orange County borders. Our current hours of operation are 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, 5 days a week (Charter services vary). We offer service to children of all ages and adults as well. Parental contracts will be executed and verified prior to transportation, and all children will be identified by photo ID cards either worn or carried as appropriate.
Routes will be arranged via computer on the day preceding the services. In the event of emergency additions, route schedules will be adjusted as appropriated without compromising the existing schedules. Child Shuttle is distinguished from any other transportation program in several ways. First, all staff will be screened to the standards required of State of California licensed child care providers; so that in effect each staff person could be approved as a child care provider or assistant.
Using the Live-Scan program . each individual employed by Child Shuttle will submit fingerprints to screen for prior criminal history. No applicant will be approved with any offense greater than a misdemeanor crime, and/or any criminal history within the last five years. Additionally, drivers will be subject to drug screens for pre-employment, cause (as determined by a policy manual) and upon any vehicle accident. All drivers will be required to pass additional Department of Motor Vehicles tests to ensure safety, including, but not limited to, the provision of current DMV records, will be submitted for update at least every ninety days. Secondly, Child Shuttle will execute cooperative arrangements with child care providers to accommodate overflow. If an adult guardian is not available at the drop off point for any reason, Child Shuttle will bring the child to a designated day care facility until the parent (s) can be notified. For the purposes of this plan in the Orange County area, the overflow providers will be Dianne’s Day Care and Kathy’s Day Care in Anaheim, California. All overflow care and payment issues will be pursuant to terms outlined in the contract.
Finally, Child Shuttle will work through the network of day care providers and child service agencies to establish services for children affected by Welfare-to-Work initiatives. Child Shuttle will work with local, state and federal agencies to ensure adequate resources are directed to state-funded clients, and funds be requested through grant programs , private donations and other initiative to help support those clients who cannot afford to pay regular rates. In this way, families with limited resources can attend vocational training or become gainfully employed without schedule interruption, and be assured that their children will safely arrive at their designated care facility. At the time of this writing, the State of California will accept monthly mileage reimbursement logs for transportation services at a rate of thirty-one cents per mile, less than 20% of Child Shuttle’s operating costs. In effect, Child Shuttle will act as a mobile guardian service for children in their care. Because it originated as an addition to day care service, it will operate using regimented paperwork to ensure children’s safety, privacy and security. In the event that no adult is present at a child’s destination site, Child Shuttle operators will have established relationships
with existing providers to ensure adequate care rendered until such time
as a parent can assume responsibility for the child(ren).
The purpose of the Child Shuttle programs is to offer safe, reliable transportation to children of all
ages and adults in the Orange County Area.