Yes, we have child care. Our meeting starts at 7pm and the sitter shows up at 6: 50 and stays until 8: 15. She gets paid $ 15 and usually has 3 to 6 kids. If we are having a meeting that will have a larger turn out we will bring in a second girl.
We get our sitter from the Girl SCOUT troop She has Red Cross certification for their babysitting program we which includes CPR and First Aid. So checking with The Girl Scouts or your local Red Cross for references.
We found having the child care really increases attenance.
We don't have babysitting per se but we do say children are welcome. We haven't had anyone with a toddler or baby ask about babysitting yet. Good idea to plan ahead though so I will definitely put this on the agenda for the fall.
Yes, we do offer free babysitting and yes, it's tough to get High schoolers to commit. We actually get our 6th graders to babysit. We don't pay them in money but they get "special treatment" at our events, like free admission, vouchers for free snacks, etc.