Louise Dunham is the CEO of Placement Solutions, a Melbourne-based niche recruitment firm specialising in the placement of nannies and household organisers. Louise established this business in 1988.
Louise served on the National Steering Committee that wrote the Interim In-Home Care Standards that are used to set quality guidelines within the in-home childcare sector. She is a passionate advocate for the need for nannies to be developed and recognised as childcare professionals and to be legally paid and supported as having a valuable role to play within the greater childcare sector.
In 2012, Louise attained a board position with the USA-based International Nanny Association (INA), the first non-American to take such a position in its then 31-year history. She served as chair of the INA's Ethics Committee from 2012 until 2017 and also served as the association's vice president.
Louise has also been a vice president on the board of the Australian Home Childcare Association (AHCA), the peak body for the in-home childcare sector in Australia, overseeing the marketing and public relations functions.
In addition to establishing Placement Solutions, Louise has also set up Just Family Nanny Payroll Services (catering for both her regular clients and other clients who self-employ a nanny but choose to outsource their payroll and other legal administrative responsibilities) and Nurture Training College an RTO (providing formal qualifications in the nationally accredited Diploma and Certificate 3 in Early Childhood Education and Care and nanny specific short courses and electives).
Louise is a former high school english and history teacher. She spends her spare time delving into family history, writing, gardening and being a granny nanny to her grandson.

Foreword

Introduction

1. It starts with fair wages & conditions

Tattered remnants

A cautionary tale

An uneven playing field, with plenty of risk all around

And about time too

2. The nannying industry: heading in the right direction?

The more things change …

Increasing professionalism

Wot's in a name,' she sez?

The importance of ethical and moral leadership

Remembering the 'care' in child care

3. Trends in child care

Getting back to 'good enough' parenting

Loosen up and build resilience

The power of learning a musical instrument

A simple truth: they want time with you

The role of the modern grandparent

It's not all black and white: welcome progress in perinatal depression

4. The role of today's nanny

The many faces of the nanny

Putting the child first

Child protection

Continuing self-improvement

The 10 habits of great nannies

5. The role of the parent

What to remember when hiring a nanny

Choosing an agency

How to keep your great nanny

Managing live-in and long-term nannies

Jealousy and the nanny

Dealing with the nanny moving on

6. Reflections on our agency

Why we insist on face-to-face interviews with all our applicants

The question of fees

Finding other ways to care

Recognising achievement

Taking the lead on issues that matter

Continued growth

The final word

About the author

Everyone knows what a nanny is, yet the role of the modern nanny is still widely misunderstood. State of the Nanny provides a clear-eyed assessment of today's nannying industry and its potential for improvement. Essential reading for nannies and those who employ them.

"Louise Dunham is THE expert on putting the CARE into childcare. State of the Nanny is a wonderful resource for families considering employing a nanny, and for nannies themselves. A thoroughly engaging book that eloquently discusses the political and personal whilst keeping the most important people - the children - as a highest value." -- Pinky McKay, lactation consultant and parenting advisor, and best selling author of Sleeping Like a Baby, Toddler Tactics, and other titles.

"A timely call for recognition of nannies everywhere, but also for a return to an older set of values that enveloped our local societies and enabled working women for centuries to conduct their economic work outside of the home..." -- Jacalyn S Burke, author The Nanny Time Bomb - Navigating the crisis in child care

From the Introduction:

I've been working in the nanny industry for just under 30 years, a period in which organised child care both inside and outside the home have been through many ups and downs, and changed enormously. Much has changed for the better, but there is still plenty of room for improvement and it is very important that we continue to seek that improvement. That requires people who have informed opinions to speak out, and anyone who knows me knows that as well as my long experience in the industry, I'm rarely short of an opinion. This book is one way of expressing my opinions, which is why I've written it.

When I reflect on the last 30 years, we are not as far along as I would have hoped. Progress is slow in a number of areas. With each change of federal or state government we get incremental change, but rarely anything bold. Sometimes there is a step back rather than forward. In some cases governments will create or clarify the laws - such as the requirement that nannies cannot operate as independent contractors - but then do little or nothing to implement those laws in practice.

We have made some good ground in building the 'professional' status of nannies, though there is still an awful long road to travel on that issue. There is still not the necessary level of respect, support and understanding for the challenges that nannies face, the level of responsibility they take on and the fact that they earn their money and should be paid accordingly. The 'anyone can mind a child' mindset is still widespread and needs to be removed. Parents need to understand that to use untrained carers (usually in order to save money) is to compromise on their children's care, which is ultimately demeaning to the children themselves by tacitly saying that they are not important enough to be professionally cared for.

This book is a call to arms on these and a number of other issues. My hope is that it will be read, discussed and debated by nannies, nanny agency operators and those who hire nannies. As the ancient Greek proverb says 'A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in'.