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, when it opens, will run longer by design: your family profile will be reviewed within one business day, and matched candidates will 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, which is coming soon, will be a longer process: your profile will be reviewed within one business day and matched candidates will 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.

Through Puffin Services, a babysitter is $32 an hour for children 12 months and over, $38 an hour if a baby under 12 months is home, and $36 an hour for after-school pickup. Hours between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM are $36, or $42 with an infant. There is a 3-hour minimum, so the smallest booking is $96, and the rate does not change with the number of children.

A three-hour evening once a week is $96 a week, about $416 a month. An after-school sitter from 3:00 to 6:00 PM every weekday is $540 a week, about $2,340 a month. Each shift is booked individually, so there is no monthly contract or subscription.

An overnight babysitter from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM is $288 for a child 12 months or older — eight hours at the $36 overnight rate — or $336 with a baby under 12 months, at $42 an hour.

Booked by the hour through Puffin Services, a full-time nanny working 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday to Friday, is $1,280 a week — about $5,547 a month — for a child 12 months or older, or about $6,587 a month with a baby. Three days a week is about $3,328 a month. A nanny you employ directly typically starts at $3,750–$4,333 a month in salary, plus employer costs.

A nanny booked through Puffin Services charges $32 an hour, or $38 with a baby under 12 months, with overtime at 1.5x only on the hours one caregiver works past eight. That rate includes vetting, WorkSafeBC, liability insurance and payroll. A full-time nanny employed directly at a typical starting salary works out to about $21.63–$25.00 an hour, before the employer’s own costs; a part-time nanny paid by the hour, under 30 hours a week, typically starts at $25–$30.

Because a 12-hour booking is staffed differently. One caregiver covers up to eight hours, so an 11-hour booking has three hours of overtime at 1.5x — $400 at the standard $32 childcare rate. At 12 hours Puffin Services assigns two caregivers in sequence, who cover it between them with no overtime, so it is $384. The same step happens at 19 to 20 hours, and every eight hours after that.

One caregiver for a booking of up to 11 hours, two from just over 11 hours to 19, three from just over 19 to 27, and one more for every further eight hours. They work in sequence, one at a time, and your price breakdown shows the number before you pay. The hourly rate is the same however many caregivers cover the booking.

Only when one caregiver would work past eight hours and the booking is not long enough to add another. In practice that is hours 9 to 11 of a booking of up to 11 hours, then hours 17 to 19, 25 to 27, and so on. A booking of eight hours or less never carries overtime, and neither does one of 12 to 16 hours.

1.5x the rate those hours would otherwise be charged at, and overtime is always the last hours of the booking. For childcare that is $48 an hour by day and $54 overnight, or $57 and $63 with a baby under 12 months; for postpartum support $57 and $63; for companion care $57 and $63; and for HCA support and family respite $63 and $69. Overnight is 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM.

No. The caregivers on a long booking work one after another, never at the same time, so a 12-hour booking is 12 hours of care at the ordinary hourly rate whether one caregiver or two covers it. Adding a caregiver is what removes the overtime charge; it does not add a charge of its own.

Tell us, and a Puffin administrator adds the extra time to your booking, charges it to your card on file, and emails you a record of it. It is priced by the same rule: extra time on an eight-hour booking is overtime, because one caregiver has already worked a full shift, while extra time on a 12-hour booking is not, until it passes the 16 hours its two caregivers cover. Please do not pay a caregiver in cash at the door.

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.

Yes. After your first booking, open it in My Bookings and choose “Repeat weekly”. Five days before each visit, Puffin Services books it and places a hold on your card for the same price, and nothing is charged until after the care. We ask the same caregiver first each time, and you can skip a week, stop the series, or cancel any visit free up to 24 hours before. If you need genuinely permanent weekly coverage, Nanny Placement will usually be the better fit once it opens. It is coming soon.

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, when it opens, will be matched to whatever ages your household needs.

No — with Puffin Services they are the same booking. A caregiver comes to your home from three hours, at $32/hr for children 12 months and over, $38/hr if a child under 12 months is present, and $36/hr for after-school pickup or overnight care. Families tend to say "babysitter" for a one-off evening and "nanny" for something regular, but the caregiver, the vulnerable sector check, the insurance and the rate are identical either way. There is no membership and no minimum number of bookings, so it works for a single night as well as a standing weekly slot.

Online, start to finish, at whatever hour suits you. Choose the service, the city, the date and the hours, tell us anything specific about your family, and pay on the site — there is no phone call, no callback and no waiting on a quote before you know the price. Hourly childcare, postpartum support, senior and adult support and event nannies all work this way, and nanny placement will too once it opens. Pediatric support is the exception: SLPA, OTA, behaviour intervention and autism respite are enquiry-only for now, and those pages say so. A phone line is there if you would rather use it — (604) 283-2829 — but nothing requires it.

Yes — a caregiver travels to the address you give us, and a hotel room, serviced apartment or short-term rental is booked the same way a house is. The rate does not change for it: $32/hr for children 12 months and over, $38/hr if a child under 12 months is present, three-hour minimum, and no travel surcharge anywhere in the city. Two things are worth sorting before you arrive rather than on the night. Online booking needs 24 hours’ notice, and a first-time booking includes photo ID verification for the household, reviewed by an administrator before a caregiver is dispatched — quick, but not something to leave until the evening you are going out. Give us the building and the room or unit number when you book, and mention the front-desk or concierge arrangement if there is one, so the caregiver is not held up in a lobby.

Postpartum support is $38 an hour during the day and $42 an hour overnight, between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM, with a three-hour minimum per shift. There is no package to buy into and no minimum number of visits — families book a single afternoon or several nights a week, and the rate is the same across all 16 municipalities we serve.

Yes — most hourly bookings are part-time. A part-time nanny through Puffin Services is simply a repeated hourly booking: the same caregiver, the hours you choose, from three hours at a time, with no minimum number of weeks and nothing to cancel if your needs change. Families who need genuinely full-time permanent coverage will usually be better served by Nanny Placement once it opens (it is coming soon), where the nanny will become your own employee.

Two different things, and it is worth knowing which you need. Hourly nanny services — booked by the hour, from three hours, with the caregiver employed by Puffin Services — cover childcare from newborn to 12 years, day or overnight, including after-school pickup. Nanny Placement, coming soon, is the other: a one-time search and vetting service that will find you a nanny who then becomes your own employee. Alongside those we provide postpartum support, senior and companion care, and event nannies.

Yes — overnight postpartum support is what most families mean by a night nanny. A support worker is in your home between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM at $42 an hour, handling night feeds, settling and nappy changes so you can sleep. There is a three-hour minimum per shift, and it can be booked for a single night or for several nights a week.

It is the same idea, but the title matters. Puffin Services provides trained postpartum support workers and doulas, not registered nurses — so "night nanny" or "overnight postpartum support" describes it accurately and "night nurse" does not, even though families often use the terms interchangeably. If your situation needs clinical nursing care, we will say so rather than take the booking.

Often, yes. Online booking needs 24 hours' notice so a caregiver can be matched and scheduled, but same-day and emergency childcare can frequently be arranged by phone — call (604) 283-2829 and we will tell you honestly what is possible for that day. First-time in-home bookings also need photo ID verification reviewed by an administrator, which is quick but is worth not leaving to the morning you need care.

Puffin Services does not run a drop-in centre — a caregiver comes to your home rather than you bringing your child somewhere. What families usually mean by drop-in babysitting is covered: occasional, one-off bookings with no ongoing commitment, from three hours, at $32 an hour for children 12 months and over. Book as often or as rarely as you like; there is no membership and no minimum number of bookings.

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, which is coming soon, will be the exception: a placed nanny will become your family’s employee, so payroll will be yours. That difference is deliberate — a placement will be 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, once it opens, the search will continue until your family selects a candidate; the fee will cover 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, which is coming soon, plan on two to three months before your return date once it opens: your profile will be reviewed within one business day and matched candidates will 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.

Care arranged through one provider across a family’s life stages — after a baby arrives, through childhood, and later for an ageing parent — rather than a new search each time the need changes. It is a broad industry term, not one Puffin coined. At Puffin it means employed caregivers working from one published price list, from postpartum support and childcare for ages 0–12 to Health Care Assistant and companion care; in-home respite for autistic children is arranged directly, and pediatric therapy is in development. The lifecycle care page explains each part.

Yes — Puffin Services' hourly caregivers each have a clear police vulnerable sector check before their first shift and are directly employed by Puffin, not contractors. Pediatric specialists, once that service opens, will hold the same check and work under registered clinician supervision. Nanny Placement, which is coming soon, will work differently: Puffin will handle the vetting and placement, and the nanny will become your family's employee once placed.

No. Background checks are part of how we onboard caregivers, not something a family arranges or is billed for — every caregiver has a clear police vulnerable sector 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 has a clear police vulnerable sector 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. Nanny Placement, which is coming soon, will include one complimentary re-match within 30 days, because the stakes are higher.

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 will be the default — Puffin Services will keep 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.

Many of Puffin Services' caregivers hold Early Childhood Educator (ECE) certification, though it is not a requirement for every role and not every caregiver has it. What every caregiver has, without exception, is a clear police vulnerable sector check, and infant-specific first aid and safe-sleep training where the booking involves a child under 12 months. If ECE certification matters to your family, say so when you book and we will match accordingly.

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, once placement opens, 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.

A police vulnerable sector check — the check designed for work with children and vulnerable adults, not a general criminal record check. Every caregiver has a clear one before their first shift: requested for Puffin at their local police or RCMP detachment, or one they already hold from a previous role working with children. A family is never billed for it.

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 (a police vulnerable sector check or a general criminal record check), whether references were actually contacted, who the employer of record is, and who carries workers’ compensation coverage. Those four 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.

Nanny Placement is coming soon. We are not taking placements or deposits yet, so this describes how it will work. 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.

A full-time, long-term nanny employed directly in BC typically starts at $45,000–$52,000 a year — $3,750–$4,333 a month, $865–$1,000 a week, or $21.63–$25.00 an hour at 40 hours a week — rising with experience. That is the salary the family pays as the employer; the employer share of CPP and EI, vacation pay and statutory holiday pay sit on top of it.

Nanny Placement is coming soon. We are not taking placements or deposits yet, so this describes how it will work. 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 charged 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.

Nanny Placement is coming soon. We are not taking placements or deposits yet, so this describes how it will work. 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, confirming each candidate's vulnerable sector check, and reference verification before anyone is presented to you.

Nanny Placement is coming soon. We are not taking placements or deposits yet, so this describes how it will work. 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.

Puffin Services’ Nanny Placement is coming soon, and will charge a one-time placement fee: $500 for placements under three months and $1,000 for three months or longer. We are not taking placements or deposits yet. There will be no ongoing agency commission and no percentage of the nanny's salary — the nanny's wages are paid by the family as their employer. If you need care now, hourly nanny care is $32/hr and does not make you an employer.

Nanny Placement is coming soon. We are not taking placements or deposits yet, so this describes how it will work. Both, and the tier you choose reflects it. A short-term placement covers arrangements under three months — a temporary nanny for a contract, a parental leave, or a summer — and is a $500 one-time fee. A long-term or permanent placement of three months or more is $1,000 and adds an extended candidate pool, skills assessment and personality matching. Either way the search, the vulnerable sector checks and the reference verification are the same, and the nanny becomes your family's employee once placed.

No — once a nanny is placed they become your family's employee, which means nanny payroll, CRA remittances, employment standards and the WorkSafeBC question are yours. Plenty of families manage it themselves and plenty use a payroll service; either is fine. Our nanny taxes and payroll guide sets out what is actually involved. If you would rather not be an employer at all, hourly childcare is the alternative: those caregivers are employed by Puffin Services, so none of it lands on you.

Nanny Placement is coming soon. We are not taking placements or deposits yet, so this describes how it will work. 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. The $200 deposit is charged by card at the end of the placement form, with the amount on screen before you enter anything, and it begins the candidate search; the balance is charged to that same saved card when we place your nanny, and you receive an emailed record of the charge. 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.

Yes. Puffin Services' Health Care Assistants are certified for personal care and trained in behaviour pacing for neurodegenerative conditions, including dementia and Alzheimer's. In practice that means help with bathing, dressing and moving safely, medication reminders on the schedule already in place, familiar meals, and the steadiness of the same routine each visit. It is $42/hr with a three-hour minimum, in the person's own home. What it is not is nursing care or a diagnosis — if what your family needs is clinical nursing, we will tell you so rather than take the booking.

Wherever scheduling allows, yes, and for dementia care we treat it as close to essential — a new person in the house every visit undoes much of the benefit for someone with memory loss. Puffin Services employs its caregivers rather than introducing contractors, which is what makes continuity possible to plan for. Where the regular caregiver is unwell or unavailable, finding the replacement is our problem rather than your family's.

Personal care and daily routine: safe transfers and mobility, bathing, dressing and toileting, medication reminders and symptom logging, and meal preparation adapted to a condition — low-sodium, diabetic-conscious, or mechanically soft. HCAs also provide cognitive support for neurodegenerative conditions. They do not perform nursing procedures, wound care or anything requiring a registered nurse.

Most families arrive at one of two moments: the person they care for has started needing help with things they managed alone a year ago, or the family carer has run out of road. Both are ordinary, and neither means a facility is the next step. Starting with a few hours a week — companion care at $38/hr, or HCA personal care at $42/hr where hands-on help is needed — is usually easier for everyone than starting when there is no choice left.

Family respite relief is $42/hr with a three-hour minimum, the same rate as Health Care Assistant support, because it is the same certified caregiver doing the same work — the difference is that the point of the booking is time off for you rather than a task list for them. A regular weekly block is the arrangement most families settle into.

Who the booking is for. Companion care at $38/hr is arranged around the person receiving it — company, conversation, a walk, someone in the house. Family respite relief at $42/hr is arranged around the family carer: the point is that you can leave. That is why respite is staffed by a Health Care Assistant rather than a companion, since whoever takes over has to be able to handle everything you normally would, including personal care and mobility, without you there to fill the gaps.

Either. A standing weekly block is the most common arrangement — the same afternoon each week, with the same caregiver where scheduling allows, so your family member gets used to them and you get a break you can actually plan around. One-off bookings work too, for an appointment, a trip, or a week where it has simply become too much. Both carry the same $42/hr rate and three-hour minimum, and there is no travel surcharge anywhere in the 16 municipalities Puffin Services is licensed for.

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.

No. Event Nannies have their own rule: $40 an hour per nanny, and every hour past eight in a single day at $60 an hour per nanny, with no second-caregiver tier. A twelve-hour event day with one nanny is $560. The multi-caregiver rule applies to childcare, postpartum support, and senior and adult support.

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.

A wedding nanny is $40 an hour per nanny, with a four-hour minimum on the day, and $60 an hour for any hours past eight. A five-hour reception with one nanny is $200; a ten-hour wedding day with one is $440. The number of nannies is worked out from the ages of the children attending rather than the headcount, and a rehearsal dinner the night before is priced as its own day.

Usually three stretches rather than the whole day: the ceremony, the photographs immediately afterwards, and the reception from the speeches to the end of the night. Most couples book from about an hour before the ceremony through to the end of the reception, which lands at nine or ten hours. The part worth settling first is not the nanny count but the room — a side space children can go to at 8:00 PM is what keeps families at the wedding rather than leaving early.

Cancel 24 hours or more before the start and the card hold is released in full, at no charge. Inside 24 hours, up to 100% of the booked total may be charged, because the caregivers have reserved the date and turned down other work for it. If Puffin Services cannot staff the booking, you owe nothing and the hold is released. On a multi-day event each day is a separate booking, so the window is measured against each day’s own start time.

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 available now by email or phone, though 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.

Speech-Language Pathology Assistant and Occupational Therapy Assistant support are $80 per 50–60 minute session. Behaviour intervention is $50 per hour, and a programme typically runs one to three hours. Some families can put BC autism funding toward therapy support depending on the child's age band and plan. The three therapy services are in development and not yet bookable online — register your interest and we will be in touch as they open. In-home respite for autistic children is $42 an hour and available now, arranged by email or phone rather than booked online.

Not quite, and the difference is worth knowing. A Speech-Language Pathologist is the clinician who assesses your child and writes the plan; a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant delivers that plan session by session, under the SLP's supervision. What families call speech therapy is usually this combination. Puffin Services’ SLPA support is in development: it will be in-home at $80 per session, supervised by an SLP registered with the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC and listed on the Registry of Autism Service Providers. If your child has not been assessed yet, an SLP assessment comes first.

Yes — they are names for the same service. "Behaviour intervention" is the clinical term and the one BC autism funding uses; "behaviour therapy", the American spelling "behavior therapy", "ABA therapy" and "applied behaviour analysis" all refer to the same work. Puffin Services is building it as in-home support, at $50 per hour, delivered by interventionists with police vulnerable sector checks working to a plan supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) on BC's Registry of Autism Service Providers.

Not yet — it is in development and not bookable. When it opens, at-home behaviour therapy will be offered across all 16 municipalities Puffin Services covers in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, including Abbotsford and Surrey, at the same rate everywhere with no travel surcharge, and sessions will happen in your home rather than at a clinic. Register your interest and we will be in touch as it opens in your area.

It looks like ordinary life, worked on deliberately. When Puffin’s service opens, a behaviour interventionist will come to your home for a session of one to three hours and work on goals set by the supervising Board Certified Behavior Analyst — communication, social interaction, and everyday skills — in the rooms where those things actually happen: at the table during a meal, in the hallway during a coat-and-shoes routine, at bedtime. Data will be recorded through the session and reviewed by the supervisor, who adjusts the plan. Working at home rather than in a clinic means a skill does not then have to transfer from a therapy room into a house. The service is in development and not yet bookable.

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 will work 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 interventionists with police vulnerable sector checks 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 will deliver 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 will 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 will write and own the plan; the SLPA will deliver it and report 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 will assess and write the plan; the OTA will deliver the sessions and report 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.