About Julianna

Because she had been hired and committed, I finally felt secure enough to resume finishing courses that I am taking toward my master’s degree that I had postponed due to pregnancy, based on the understanding that I now had reliable childcare. After about two weeks, Julianna texted me at 8 a.m. on a Monday morning while I was waking up, attempting to quit on a day when she was scheduled to be at my home by 10 a.m. In that message she told me that her husband had been yelling at her because she is responsible for her 8 and 11 year old children, that her husband works from home, and that she wanted to start taking my son to her home instead of continuing to watch him in my home. None of this, that her husband works from home, that she was responsible for her school aged children during the day, or that she might want to move care to her house, was disclosed when she first accepted the position and promised full flexibility. It was confusing and raised serious concerns for me, including why school aged children would be home during the day and why I was only learning about these constraints after I had already reorganized my life and academic work around her availability. After that first attempt to quit, she stayed on for a short time. Two weeks later, there was a small payroll glitch that delayed her payment by a couple of days. I immediately offered to pay her directly to avoid any delay, and she agreed. Then, just two weeks after that first attempt to quit, again on a Monday morning, she sent another text message saying she was quitting effective immediately, that she could not accept money directly from me (which was incorrect and I clarified that with my program), and that she had to do what was best for her family. She gave me no notice at all. In doing what she said was best for her own family, she left my family in jeopardy and in dire straits, with no childcare, no notice, and no time to find a replacement. As a disabled parent who had clearly explained how much I depended on her, and given that she chose to work under a state program designed to support disabled people in their homes, she had both a legal and a moral obligation to give me adequate notice so I could find someone else. Instead she walked away abruptly and left us without support. Because I had resumed the courses I was trying to finish toward my master’s degree in reliance on her commitment, her sudden decision to quit has now caused me to lose the benefit of that coursework and about 7,000 dollars. By walking away like this from a position specifically meant to support a disabled person, she put the well being of me and my son at risk and jeopardized our safety and stability. I also want to note that the first time Orion was at her home, he came back with a bruise on his ear that had not been there before. I do not know how it happened and I did not accuse her of anything, but it worried me and stayed in the back of my mind. In addition, he often cried when he saw Julianna, which added to my concern over time. On a personal level, I initially liked Julianna and found her pleasant to interact with. However, my overall experience is that she was not dependable, did not follow through on what she promised about being available anytime and any day, was not fully transparent about her own family obligations, and then quit with no notice, leaving me and my son in a very vulnerable position and causing significant financial and emotional stress. If you are considering hiring her, you should be aware that in my experience she was extremely unreliable. I would not feel comfortable recommending Julianna as a nanny.