Home care for sick children
Is your child suddenly ill and do you have to go to work? No worries, CM, together with Ferm, will provide a solution and organize childcare for sick children up to and including 12 years old at your home. This is up to 21 years for children with a disability or long-term illness.
You pay 5 euros per hour for the first nine hours of babysitting per babysitting day (1.75 euros per hour if you are entitled to an increased allowance ).
Do you need more than nine hours of babysitting per day? Then the above rate does not apply and you pay 20 euros per started babysitting hour (10 euros per started babysitting hour if you are entitled to an increased allowance).
The babysitting is provided by a qualified Ferm employee and is possible:
- every working day (Monday to Saturday) from 7am to 8pm;
- for a minimum of four hours and a maximum of eleven hours per day;
- for a maximum of five working days per child per illness.
Submit your application
Make your request on weekdays before 13:00 for babysitting the following working day (no guarantee during peak periods). If you request after 13:00 or on Saturday, babysitting is possible from the second following working day.
You can request a babysitter via this form or by telephone on 078 05 01 09 (standard telephone rate).
CM confirms your request
Sometimes the demand for babysitters exceeds our supply, so we cannot guarantee a babysitter for every demand .
Your application will only be processed after confirmation by CM (by telephone or email).
Fill out an information sheet
To make the babysitting run as smoothly as possible, you fill out an information sheet about your child's habits, medication and diet at the start. The babysitter will bring this with them. You can also download the sheet and fill it out before the babysitting starts. Go over this document with the babysitter to make sure everything is clear.
Additional information
The home care for sick children is eligible for a tax reduction . The deductible amount for income year 2023 (assessment year 2024) is a maximum of 15.70 euros per day of care per child. The tax certificate is automatically uploaded to your tax file on My Minfin.
Tasks and profile of the babysitter
The home sitter:
- is qualified and has basic competencies in childcare;
- provides care and shelter for the sick child;
- may not perform household or nursing duties;
- can, in consultation with the parents, heat up food and/or provide assistance with eating;
- has a clean extract from the criminal record in application of Article 596.2;
- has been vaccinated according to the recommendations of Child and Family;
- has a well-groomed appearance;
- respects the privacy and religious beliefs of the applicant;
- refrains from alcohol, tobacco or prohibited substances before and during the assignment;
- speaks fluent Dutch.
What if you cancel or change the babysitter?
- If you notify the babysitter of a change or cancellation by telephone before 12 noon on the working day prior to the babysitting, you will not pay any contribution for the cancelled day(s) or hours.
- In case of cancellation after 12 noon or on the day of the scheduled babysitting , you pay for the requested hours. If you cancel on time, we can still use the babysitter elsewhere and you give a chance to other parents with sick children who are on the waiting list.
What are the conditions?
- The sick child is a CM member .
- As a parent or guardian, you are unable to look after your acutely ill child yourself due to professional obligations or personal medical reasons .
- The acute illness is substantiated by a medical certificate (not a quarantine certificate) from the attending physician. You must give this to the babysitter no later than the last day of the babysitting period. If a medical certificate is missing for a previous period, no new applications for babysitting can be granted.
- The babysitting lasts a minimum of four hours and a maximum of eleven hours per day.
- Children with a disability or long-term illness, older than 12 years of age, have been recognised by the Flemish Agency for Persons with Disabilities or are entitled to a supplement to the child benefit due to disability.
- All previous babysitting sessions have been paid for .
