Frequently asked questions

Puffin Services currently asks for advance notice to book, as the caregiver team continues growing — this helps ensure your booking is properly staffed. Same-day booking is coming soon as the team expands.

Puffin Services serves 16 municipalities across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.

Yes — one booking, no membership, no ongoing commitment. Puffin Services was built for exactly this: a wedding, a hospital stay, a sick day you cannot take off. Hourly childcare starts at $32/hr with a three-hour minimum and 24 hours notice, and event nannies are $40/hr. You are not signing up for anything beyond the shift you book.

Hourly care can start 24 hours after you book, which is the minimum notice Puffin Services needs to match and schedule a caregiver. Nanny Placement runs longer by design: your family profile is reviewed within one business day, and matched candidates arrive within 7–10 business days, after sourcing, criminal record checks, and reference verification. Same-day booking is not offered yet.

Puffin Services needs at least 24 hours for hourly bookings online, which is the window the booking form uses to match a caregiver and confirm the schedule. Same-day requests are not handled by the form, but the office can often arrange them by phone — call (604) 283-2829 rather than assuming the answer is no. Nanny Placement is a longer process: your profile is reviewed within one business day and matched candidates arrive within 7–10 business days.

No. Puffin Services charges the same rate on a Saturday, a statutory holiday, and a Tuesday. The only things that change an hourly childcare rate are whether an infant under 12 months is present and whether hours fall in the overnight window between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM. There is no weekend premium and no holiday surcharge.

Puffin Services first works to find you a replacement caregiver as quickly as possible. If we\'re unable to find a suitable replacement in time, you\'ll receive a full refund. Either way, the cost of a caregiver\'s cancellation never falls on you.

Not at the time of booking. Puffin Services authorizes a hold on your card for the booked total when you book, and captures it after the care session is completed. If circumstances change what is owed, we tell you before charging anything beyond the authorized amount.

It is an authorization, not a charge. Puffin Services places a hold on your card for the booked total, computed and verified on our servers from your booking details rather than taken from the browser. The hold is released in full if you cancel 24 hours or more ahead, or if we cannot staff your booking.

It is the shortest shift Puffin Services books, not a minimum you have to use. A two-hour errand is billed as three hours, so standard childcare works out at $96 and infant care at $114. Anything longer is billed by the hour from there.

Each shift is booked individually — Puffin Services has no recurring subscription or standing order. Families who need the same slot every week simply book each one, which keeps you free to change or skip a week without cancelling anything. If you need genuinely permanent weekly coverage, Nanny Placement is usually the better fit.

Cancel and rebook. Puffin Services releases the hold in full for cancellations 24 hours or more before the scheduled start, so changing a time outside that window costs nothing. Inside 24 hours the late-cancellation terms apply, because a caregiver has already reserved that time.

Yes — After-School Pickup & Care is $36/hr, and it is a distinct service rather than an add-on. Puffin Services covers the pickup, the trip home, snack preparation, and homework help, with the same three-hour minimum as other childcare bookings.

Puffin Services covers ages 0 to 12 for in-home childcare. Under 12 months is infant care at $38/hr daytime and $42/hr overnight; 12 months and over is standard care at $32/hr daytime and $36/hr overnight. Event nannies cover the same age range, and Nanny Placement is matched to whatever ages your household needs.

Yes — date-night care is ordinary hourly childcare, booked for the evening you need it. Standard childcare for children 12 months and over is $32/hr with a three-hour minimum, so a 7:00–10:00 PM booking is $96. Hours after 10:00 PM bill at the $36/hr overnight rate, so a 6:00–11:00 PM evening is $164: four hours at $32 plus one at $36.

Yes. A professional development day, a school closure, or a strike day is booked as standard hourly childcare for the hours you need — $32/hr for children 12 months and over, so an 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM day is $256. This is different from After-School Pickup & Care ($36/hr), which covers the school run and the hours after it; a full closure day is a daytime booking from the start. School calendars are published well in advance, which makes PD days one of the easiest bookings to get right.

Call (604) 283-2829. Same-day sick-day care is arranged by phone rather than online: the booking form requires 24 hours notice, but the office can take a same-day request directly and will tell you honestly what is available. Rates are the standard ones — $32/hr for children 12 months and over, $38/hr for infants under 12 months, three-hour minimum. If your child is likely to be off for more than a day, booking tomorrow online at the same time is worth doing while you are on the call.

Not for hourly care. Childcare, postpartum, senior support and event nannies are delivered by Puffin employees, so Puffin handles payroll, deductions and remittances and you are never the employer of record. Nanny Placement is the exception: a placed nanny becomes your family’s employee, so payroll becomes yours. That difference is deliberate — a placement is a one-time search and vetting service, not an ongoing employment relationship.

Tell us and we match you with someone else — for hourly care there is no penalty for saying a caregiver was not the right fit, and no obligation to explain beyond what you want to share. For Nanny Placement, the search continues until your family selects a candidate; the placement fee covers the search rather than a specific person.

First-time in-home bookings include photo ID verification for the household, reviewed by an administrator before a caregiver is dispatched. Caregivers go alone into homes they have not visited, and a vetting process that runs in only one direction protects only one party. It takes a few minutes and is not repeated on later bookings.

No. In-home childcare is priced by the hour, not by the child — one child or four, the rate is the same, with no per-child fee and no sibling uplift. Twins aged 12 months and over are $32/hr, not $64. The only thing that changes the rate is age: if any child under 12 months is in the booking, the infant rate of $38/hr applies to the whole booking rather than per baby. Whether one caregiver is enough for your situation is worth discussing when you book rather than assuming either way.

Yes — school holidays are booked as ordinary hourly childcare for whatever hours you need, at $32/hr for children 12 months and over with a three-hour minimum. Most families use a patchwork of camps and in-home care, and because the rate does not change with the number of children, covering two or three siblings at home can work out differently from paying separate camp fees. Bookings need at least 24 hours notice, and summer availability comes down to who is already taken, so earlier is better.

For a nanny placement, two to three months before your return date — your profile is reviewed within one business day and matched candidates typically arrive within 7–10 business days, but you want interviews, a decision and any notice periods inside that window rather than on top of it. If you are waiting on a daycare spot, hourly childcare works well as a bridge. It is also worth booking a few short overlapping sessions before your actual first day back, so a new caregiver is not starting on the same morning you are.

Yes — Puffin Services' hourly caregivers are CRRP-cleared and directly employed by Puffin, not contractors. Pediatric specialists are CRRP-cleared and work under registered clinician supervision. For Nanny Placement, Puffin handles the vetting and placement process, and the nanny becomes your family's employee once placed.

Puffin Services handles it. Background checks are part of how we onboard caregivers, not something a family arranges or is billed for — every caregiver clears a provincial CRRP vulnerable-sector criminal record check before their first shift, alongside reference verification and ongoing certification checks. A family hiring a nanny privately arranges that check themselves and waits out the processing time before care can safely start.

Not for a Puffin Services caregiver. Our caregivers are our employees, we are registered with WorkSafeBC, and we pay the premiums, so a workplace injury during a shift sits with our coverage rather than with the family. A privately hired nanny is a different situation — the family is generally the employer, and WorkSafeBC coverage becomes their responsibility. Confirm your own position with WorkSafeBC before hiring anyone directly.

Yes. Puffin Services carries commercial general liability insurance covering every shift, and because hourly caregivers are our employees we are registered with WorkSafeBC and pay the premiums. Neither is billed separately — both are priced into the hourly rate.

Every Puffin Services caregiver clears a provincial CRRP vulnerable-sector criminal record check before their first shift, with reference verification and ongoing certification checks. Our caregiver application also captures first aid certification, hands-on experience, driver\'s licence and vehicle access, so we can match a caregiver to what your booking actually needs.

Tell us and we will match someone else next time. Puffin Services would rather hear that a fit was wrong than have a family quietly stop booking. For Nanny Placement, where the stakes are higher, every placement includes one complimentary re-match within 30 days.

Yes, if you request it and it is arranged in advance. Puffin Services captures driver\'s licence and vehicle access when caregivers apply, so transport can be matched to bookings that need it — school runs, activities, appointments. Ask when you book rather than on the day, so the right caregiver is assigned.

Tell us in the booking. Puffin Services collects medical needs and care instructions per child as part of every childcare booking, so a caregiver arrives briefed rather than improvising. Dedicated pediatric therapy support — BI, SLPA, and OTA — is in development and not bookable yet; register your interest to be notified at launch.

For pediatric support it is the default — Puffin Services keeps the same specialist with a child rather than rotating them, because continuity is part of the work. For childcare and other hourly services you can ask for a caregiver your family has had before, and we will match them where their availability allows.

Tell us what is going on when you book. Puffin Services collects medical needs and care instructions for each child as part of every childcare booking, so a caregiver arrives briefed rather than improvising, and transport can be arranged in advance if an appointment is likely. Caregivers are not medical staff and do not provide nursing care — for a child who needs clinical attention, that is a health service rather than a childcare booking.

WorkSafeBC administers workers’ compensation in British Columbia — wage replacement and medical costs for a worker injured doing their job. It is separate from your home insurance and from liability insurance, and having one does not give you the others. For Puffin’s hourly care the caregiver is a Puffin employee, so this sits with Puffin rather than with your household. Whether coverage is required for a nanny you employ directly depends on the arrangement, and WorkSafeBC is the authority — worth asking them before you hire rather than after.

For an hourly Puffin booking, the caregiver is Puffin’s employee, so reporting, wage replacement and medical costs run through Puffin as the employer of record rather than through your household. Finding a replacement is also Puffin’s responsibility. Where a family employs a nanny directly — including a nanny placed through Puffin, who becomes your employee once placed — those obligations belong to the family, which is worth settling before a placement rather than after.

The provincial Criminal Record Review Program (CRRP) vulnerable-sector check — the screening designed for work with children and vulnerable adults, not a general commercial check. Puffin pays for it, roughly $80–90 per caregiver all-in, including caregivers who complete the process and never take a booking. Paying centrally is what makes it universal: when the worker or the family pays, screening becomes optional in practice.

Because employment status decides who carries the risk. Puffin’s hourly caregivers are employees, so Puffin runs payroll, carries the insurance and is the employer of record. In a contractor or marketplace arrangement those obligations usually land on the family, whether or not anyone said so at the time — and status is determined by how the work is actually structured, not by what the arrangement is called.

Ask for the specifics and compare them against any other provider: which check (provincial vulnerable-sector or a general commercial one), who paid for it, whether references were actually contacted, who the employer of record is, and who carries workers’ compensation coverage. Those five answers are more informative than any adjective, and a provider who cannot answer them quickly has told you something.

Tell us about your child when you book. Medical needs and care instructions are collected per child on every childcare booking, so a caregiver arrives briefed rather than improvising, medication can be administered on a schedule set in advance, and requests for the same caregiver each time are ordinary. Caregivers are not medical staff and do not provide nursing care, and a childcare booking is not therapy — Puffin’s pediatric therapy support is a separate service, in development and not bookable yet.

Per hour, yes — a privately hired nanny almost always quotes less than an agency rate. Puffin Services charges more because the criminal record check, WorkSafeBC registration, commercial liability insurance, payroll, and remittances are already done and already paid for. Hiring directly does not remove those costs; it moves them, along with the employer obligations, onto the family.

It decides who carries the employment obligations. Puffin Services caregivers are employees, so we handle wages, payroll remittances, WorkSafeBC registration and premiums, and liability insurance, and the family is never the employer of record. An independent contractor arrangement puts those obligations on whoever engages the nanny, and misclassifying an employee as a contractor is a real risk families take on unknowingly.

Daycare is usually cheaper per month and follows a fixed schedule; a nanny costs more and bends to yours. Puffin Services is worth considering when the schedule is the problem — shift work, evenings, a child too young for a daycare spot, more than one child at once, or a waitlist that is measured in years. Because our rate does not change with the number of children, families with two or three often find the gap narrower than expected.

Both, through Nanny Placement. Puffin Services asks during the placement process whether your home has a nanny suite or spare room, and matches accordingly — live-in with room and board provided, live-out daily, full-time, or part-time. Hourly bookings are live-out by nature, since the caregiver comes to you for a scheduled shift.

It depends on whether we have presented candidates yet. You pay a $200 deposit to start, so that is what is at stake at this stage — the balance is not invoiced until we place your nanny. Puffin Services refunds the deposit in full if we cannot present any suitable candidates within 30 days of your paid inquiry. Once candidates have been presented, the deposit is non-refundable, because the search, screening, and matching it pays for has been carried out. Every placement also includes one complimentary re-match within 30 days if the first match does not work out.

Puffin Services reviews your family profile within one business day, and matched candidates arrive within 7 to 10 business days. That covers sourcing across our BC registry, CRRP screening, and reference verification before anyone is presented to you.

It depends on the stage. If Puffin Services cannot present any suitable candidates within 30 days of your paid inquiry, your $200 deposit is refunded in full and no balance is payable. Once candidates have been presented the deposit is non-refundable, since the search and screening it pays for has been carried out — but every placement includes one complimentary re-match within 30 days if the person you choose does not work out. You are never asked for the balance unless a placement is made.

In two parts. Nanny Placement is a one-time fee of $500 for placements under three months or $1,000 for three months or longer. A $200 deposit is invoiced when your inquiry is confirmed and begins the candidate search; the balance is invoiced when we place your nanny. The deposit counts toward the fee rather than being additional to it, so a short-term placement is $200 then $300. The $200 deposit is refundable in full if we do not present suitable candidates within 30 days.

Puffin Services charges $42/hr for Health Care Assistant support, $42/hr for family respite relief care, and $38/hr for companion care. All three carry a three-hour minimum per visit, and the rate is the same in every municipality we serve.

Companion care is social and practical; HCA support is hands-on physical care. Puffin Services provides companion care at $38/hr for independent seniors who benefit from conversation, light home help, and getting out into the community. Health Care Assistant support is $42/hr and is delivered by certified HCAs for seniors who need help with mobility, personal care, and daily routines. If your parent needs help getting out of a chair, that is HCA. If they are managing fine but are alone too much, that is companion care.

Yes — Family Respite Relief Care, at $42/hr with a three-hour minimum. Puffin Services designed it for people already providing care themselves: our respite caregivers step into the routine you have established so you can work, rest, or travel. It is booked the same way as any other hourly service, for a single afternoon or on a regular schedule.

Puffin Services charges $40/hr per nanny for events, with a four-hour minimum per day. Hours beyond eight in a single day are billed at $60/hr. Multi-day events are priced day by day, so the overtime threshold resets each morning rather than accumulating across a weekend.

Puffin Services works it out from the ages of the children, not just the headcount. Each infant under 12 months counts as 2, each toddler from 12 to 35 months counts as 1.5, and each child 3 and over counts as 1 — one nanny covers up to 4 of those points. So eight school-age children need two nannies, while four infants also need two. The booking form calculates it as you add each child.

Puffin Services bills $60/hr after eight hours in a day, up from the standard $40/hr, and it applies per nanny. A ten-hour wedding with two nannies is therefore eight hours at $40 plus two at $60 for each of them. The threshold is daily, so a two-day event starts fresh on the second day.

Yes. Puffin Services calculates a recommended number from the ages of the children attending — an infant under 12 months counts 2 points, a toddler 12–35 months counts 1.5, a child 3 and over counts 1, and one nanny covers every 4 points — and you can then select any number from 1 to 10. The price follows the number you choose, not the recommendation.

No. Event Nannies are $40/hr per nanny on any day of the week, with no weekend, evening, or holiday premium. The only rate change is overtime: hours past eight in a single day bill at $60/hr per nanny, and that threshold resets each morning.

Each day is booked and priced separately, with its own four-hour minimum and its own eight-hour overtime threshold. Because the threshold resets each morning, a rehearsal dinner and a wedding day cost less than one very long day containing the same total hours.

A space that is separate from the main event — a side room, a quiet corner, or a suite — and confirmation of how late that space is available. Puffin caregivers bring age-appropriate activities; they do not bring furniture, sleep equipment, or a room. It is worth asking your venue about children in the space at contract stage rather than in the final week.

The online minimum is 24 hours, but that number is not a useful guide for an event. Dates get taken and caregivers are matched to the booking rather than assigned from whoever is free, so book once your child numbers are firm. First-time in-home bookings also need photo ID verification reviewed by an administrator, which is quick but should not be left to the event week.

No — your card is held, not charged. Booking places an authorisation for the estimated amount, which confirms the card and reserves the funds; the booking is finalised with you before any payment is actually taken.

Yes, and it is booked as a single day rather than two. A reception entered as 5:00 PM to 1:00 AM is one eight-hour booking — $640 for two nannies — with no late-night surcharge and no second four-hour minimum for the hours after twelve. The $40/hr rate is identical at 11:00 PM and 11:00 AM; the only thing that changes it is the eight-hour overtime threshold.

At home. Puffin Services has no clinic at all, so there is nowhere to travel to and no centre appointment to schedule around — in-home is the only way the upcoming pediatric support is designed to be delivered. Register your interest to be notified at launch.

Puffin Services will offer all three: SLPA supports speech and language goals, OTA supports occupational therapy goals, and BI (behaviour intervention) supports behavioural and developmental goals — each working under a supervising therapist’s plan.

Puffin Services delivers in your home, so you watch the session instead of getting a summary at the door, and skills are practised in the room where your child actually uses them. A centre has equipment a house does not — sensory and gross-motor kit especially — so the honest answer is that they suit different goals rather than one being better. Puffin’s pediatric support is in development and not bookable yet.

No. Puffin Services’ upcoming in-home sessions are being designed to work in the space you already have — the reason for coming to you is that your child’s own kitchen, bedroom and routine are the setting those skills are for. Register your interest to be notified at launch.

That is the intention. Puffin Services’ upcoming BI, SLPA and OTA support is being designed to work alongside the team your child already has rather than replace it, so adding sessions at home should not mean giving up something that is working. Register your interest to be notified at launch.

That is much of why Puffin Services is building this as a home-based service. Unfamiliar buildings, waiting rooms and corridors are a well-documented difficulty for autistic children, and at home that cost is never incurred — a new person still is, which is why the plan is continuity: the same specialist stays with your child rather than rotating. Pediatric support is in development and not bookable yet.

Respite is care for your child so that you get a break — someone competent taking over for a few hours so you can rest, work, or spend time with a sibling. It is not therapy and it does not depend on your child working toward anything; it follows their existing routine rather than bringing a programme along. Puffin Services’ respite for autistic children is in development and not bookable online yet.

$42 per hour. Puffin Services’ respite for autistic children is not bookable online yet — if you need it before online booking opens, email hello@puffinservices.com or call (604) 283-2829 and we will tell you honestly what we can arrange.

Contact Puffin Services directly and a person will answer: hello@puffinservices.com or (604) 283-2829. Online booking for pediatric respite is not live yet, so anything we arrange now is done by hand — if we can help we will say so, and if we cannot help yet we will tell you that rather than leaving you waiting on a list.

A Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) is a regulated professional registered with the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC — they assess your child, diagnose, and write the treatment plan. A Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) delivers the sessions that plan calls for and reports back, but does not assess, diagnose, or change the plan. Puffin’s upcoming support is SLPA support, so it works to a registered SLP’s plan and does not replace an assessment.

It is in development and not bookable yet. Puffin’s behaviour intervention is being built as in-home support delivered by CRRP-cleared interventionists working to the plan of a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) listed on the Registry of Autism Service Providers. Sessions typically run one to three hours depending on the programme, at $50 per hour. Register your interest to be notified at launch.

An assessment, yes — a referral, usually not. Puffin’s upcoming SLPA, OTA and behaviour intervention support delivers a plan written by a registered clinician, so there needs to be a plan to deliver. Puffin does not assess and does not diagnose. If your child has not been assessed, that is the first step and it happens through an SLP, OT or behaviour consultant, publicly or privately.

Puffin’s pediatric support is being designed for children and youth, with the specific range depending on the service and the supervising clinician’s plan. It is a separate service from hourly childcare, which covers ages 0 to 12. Pediatric support is in development and not bookable yet — register your interest and we will confirm the details for your child at launch.

That is the intention. Puffin’s upcoming SLPA, OTA and behaviour intervention support is being designed to work alongside the team your child already has rather than replace it — delivering their plan and reporting back to them, so you do not have to leave a clinician who is working in order to change where sessions happen. Register your interest to be notified at launch.

That is what the service is being designed for, but whether your funding applies depends on your child’s eligibility, their age band, and the funding rules in force. Under the current program, funding for children under six can be spent on RASP-listed professionals and on behaviour interventionists supervised by one — and Puffin’s specialists work under RASP-registered supervision. The program is also changing: it is scheduled to end April 1, 2027 and be replaced. Confirm with the Autism Funding Unit (1-877-777-3530) rather than assuming either way.

A Speech-Language Pathologist registered with the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC and listed on the Registry of Autism Service Providers (RASP). The SLP writes and owns the plan; the SLPA delivers it and reports back. Pediatric support is in development and not bookable yet.

An Occupational Therapist registered with the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC and listed on the Registry of Autism Service Providers (RASP). The OT assesses and writes the plan; the OTA delivers the sessions and reports back. Pediatric support is in development and not bookable yet.

That is the intention. Puffin’s upcoming behaviour intervention is being designed to deliver your existing consultant’s programme and report data back to them, rather than requiring you to move to a different clinician. Continuity with a consultant who knows your child is worth more than consolidating providers. Behaviour intervention is in development and not bookable yet.