lenge in finding a baby sitter she could trust. For one thing, she was new in town and didn’t know many people to ask. The second challenge is that she needed to find someone who could care for kids with special needs. Her son is autistic and her daughter has been diagnosed with ADHD and an anxiety disorder. “I didn’t have any services lined up yet or know anyone that I could ask for a reference, so I finally had the thought to call the high school guidance counselor. Who else knows the best and worst kids in the school?” says Haines. “I knew they had this program that paired neurotypical kids that wanted to work in the special needs field with special needs kids during the day,” she continues. “I thought that surely the guidance counselor would know who was part of that program.” The trick was that the guidance counselor could not release any student’s name or contact information. What she agreed to do, however, was to take Haines’ name and number and she passed it along to students that she thought might fit the bill. Haines only got one call, but it was a winner. The girl was a senior at Roberson High School and has been working for special needs kids for two years and planning to pursue a career in the field. “She and her mother came to the house the first time and we sat outside for about 45 minutes talking and getting to know each other while the kids played,” says Haines. “The next time, I had her come for two hours. I stayed home, but she was in charge of the kids. The third time I left her on her own.” The teen baby-sat Haines’ kids for two years — her senior year and the following year, when she attended a community college. “By the time she left for another school, I had made more contacts and had a wider support base to pull from for other sitters,” says Haines. Adele Penland Boyce put out the call for a baby sitter at her alma mater Converse College for her daughter. She recommends posting ads in the career center or education department at area colleges. “One of the girls I got 16 years ago now holds a Ph.D in education at is a new professor at Converse College. We get to call her Dr. Julie now,” she said.
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