OCF Child Care Crew’s Leave of Absence Policy:

Any permanent crew member can take a leave of absence (LOA) from Child Care Crew for a year or two without any worry about keeping their spot. Your name will remain on the crew list and we’ll reach out to you the following December.

Fill-in volunteers are not guaranteed a spot after missing a year, but we'll keep their information on file and will call them back if we have spaces available.

If a crew member takes a third LOA in a 5-year period, they will be added to the top of the fill-in crew list. When they do come back, we'll do our best to find them a spot if possible. They'll move back to the permanent crew list when a permanent spot becomes available. This keeps with our commitment to our fill-in volunteers to find permanent spots within a reasonable timeframe when possible.

You must let us know that you intend to miss the year no later than March 1. If you respond to the linked questionnaire with a "Yes Yes Yes", Child Care and the Fair expect you to show up in July! You'll notice that we've built in some wiggle room - this first annual info form is due on January 1st but the absolute last day to claim a non-emergency LOA is March 1st. That gives everyone two months to figure out how to make it happen. if you can't make it, just let us know before March 1st.

After March 1st, only Emergency LOAs are allowed based on real and serious emergencies (accidents, loss of employment, illness, etc.). We understand that life has a way of going sideways from time to time. Bailing out anytime after March 1st for any reason is stressful and time-consuming for us and it costs the Crew and the Fair time and money. That said, we know that it's bound to happen from time to time and we'll do what we can to accommodate requests on a case-by-case basis.

If you are unsure that you can come, please respond with the "Maybe" option on the form. We'll temporarily fill your spot but we'll keep your name on a separate list and reach out when/if spots open up later in the season. You'll get first dibs on before and new applicants. After January 1st we can't guarantee that anything will open up. We'll do our best for you, of course, but if the crew is full, the crew is full. Any "Maybe" folks will be considered to be on a one-year leave of absence if they end up not coming either due to their schedule or our inability to find a late-season spot. Note that "Maybe" folks are offered late-season positions based on the order in which we receive their response before the January 1st deadline.