This publication was developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist in the

planning and development of Neighborhood Networks centers.

The guides in this series offer “how to” information on starting up a center, creating programs and identifying

center partners; center and program profiles and a wealth of resources.

Neighborhood Networks is a community-based initiative established by the U.S. Department of Housing and

Urban Development (HUD) in 1995. Since then, hundreds of centers have opened throughout the United States.

These centers provide residents of HUD-assisted and/or -insured properties with programs, activities and

training promoting economic self-sufficiency. These guides contain examples of successful center initiatives and

how you can replicate them.

To receive copies of this publication or any others in the series, contact:

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Neighborhood Networks

9300 Lee Highway

Fairfax, VA 22031-1207

Neighborhood Networks Information Center

Toll-free (888) 312-2743

TTY: (703) 934-3230

All publications are available from the Neighborhood Networks website at:

www.neighborhoodnetworks.org
THE CHILD CARE CHALLENGE:

MODELS FOR CHILD CARE SERVICES

JUNE 1999
The Child Care Challenge: Page i

Models for Child Care Services June 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

The Child Care Challenge: Models for Child Care Services........................................................................1

Project Opportunity .....................................................................................................................................................1

Summary of the Program.......................................................................................................................................1

Program Strategies and Elements.........................................................................................................................2

Achieving Program Results....................................................................................................................................4

The Need for Child Care -- Seeking a Solution ....................................................................................................4

Barriers to Overcome .............................................................................................................................................5

Getting Started .............................................................................................................................................................6

Steps for Setting up a Training Program for Home-Based Child Care Providers...............................................6

Additional Steps Suggested for Individual Residents Starting a Child Care Business.......................................6

Resources for Developing Home-Based Child Care ..............................................................................................7

Information and Technical Assistance...................................................................................................................7

Financial Resources...............................................................................................................................................8

Other Promising Child Care Models .........................................................................................................................8

Neighborhood Networks Centers in Action.............................................................................................................9

Endnotes ...........................................................................................................................................................11
The Child Care Challenge: Page 1

Models for Child Care Services June 1999

The Child Care Challenge:

Models for Child Care Services

Welfare reform has drastically altered financial

assistance for low-income families, requiring these

families to seek employment as a condition of

continued government assistance and eventually

phasing out basic financial assistance. Child care—

specifically affordable, quality child care—is critical if

employment is to enable families to become

economically self-sufficient. Yet the lack of affordable,

quality child care is a well-documented barrier to

parents seeking to enter or re-enter the workforce and

remain steadily employed. Finding employment does

not guarantee that a family will move out of poverty.

A large percentage of families moving off welfare will

join the ranks of the working poor, with limited means

to acquire many of life’s necessities, including care for

their children.

The unmet demand for child care services is

significant. More than one-half of all families with

children under 13 years of age require some form of

non-parental care for their children.1 Affordability is a

major issue. In families with preschoolers and annual

incomes of less than $14,400, child care consumes

approximately 25 percent of the family income.2

Concern over cost often leads to compromises on the

quality of child care. Additionally, child care is often

not conveniently located for low-income families.

And, one-fourth of low-income working mothers work

in the evenings or on weekends, and many find child

care services are simply not available during these

hours.

These gaps in child care resources provide an

opportunity for families leaving welfare, including

single parent families, with viable employment

opportunities as home-based child care providers.

Although salaries for employees in child care centers

generally offer less than a living wage, there are

numerous examples that demonstrate home-based

child care providers can earn sufficient income to lift

themselves out of poverty.

The Child Care Challenge provides Neighborhood

Networks centers information on successful models.

Centers can then use these models to develop child

care services for resident families and expand the

employment and business opportunities of residents.

The bulletin highlights “Project Opportunity,” a

replicable model for developing quality child care

services that provide viable employment

opportunities. Information is provided on program

design, outcomes achieved by the program and

barriers to starting child care services. The Child

Care Challenge also provides tips to community

groups interested in starting family child care,

including information on resources and examples of

other successful child care delivery systems. The

concluding section describes child care services

already being provided to residents at Neighborhood

Network centers.

Project Opportunity

Summary of the Program

Project Opportunity is a model child care program

developed by the Children’s Foundation, a national

nonprofit child care advocacy and training

organization. The objective of Project Opportunity is

to provide individuals receiving public assistance with

limited skills with the means to generate enough

income to become economically self-sufficient. The

“By the year 2000, millions of families currently receiving welfare will need to spend more

and more time in the workforce while at the same time, seeing to the day-to-day needs of

one or more children. Yet, if history is our guide, child care may be unaffordable,

inaccessible, unreliable or of unacceptable quality.”

The Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Child Care Challenge: Page 2

Models for Child Care Services June 1999

project offers job training and living-wage job

opportunities in the field of child care and results in

affordable child care services for residents. The

program trains mothers currently receiving public

assistance and prepares them for ownership and

operation of child care businesses in their homes.

The Children’s Foundation implemented a pilot

program in Alexandria, Virginia. It demonstrated that

mothers with limited job skills and experience could

successfully develop and operate their own homebased child care services. A year after completing

the pilot program, 75 percent of program graduates

own and operate home-based child care programs.

State welfare reform programs, like Virginia’s, have

created a demand for expanded child care services

from parents trying to meet new welfare

requirements. Virginia’s welfare reform program,

Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare (VIEW),

requires employment or training for all able adults

with children over 18 months, as a condition for

continued public assistance. Public assistance is

limited to two years whether or not a person has

obtained employment. Virginia offers welfare

recipients subsidized child care if their children are

placed in agency-approved programs (i.e., child care

services that meet state standards). As a result, new

employment and business opportunities have been

created for training and employing welfare-assisted

families in the field of child care. Project Opportunity

was developed to respond to these emerging needs

and take advantage of the employment opportunities

they provide.

Program Strategies and Elements

At the heart of Project Opportunity’s approach is the

creation of successful self-employment opportunities

for welfare recipients, while addressing the growing

need for quality child care. Many child care training

programs encourage welfare mothers to attempt child

care careers without adequate assessment. Others

provide only limited training in early childhood

development and almost no training in business

operation. The Children’s Foundation, a national

nonprofit child care advocacy and training

organization, designed Project Opportunity to

overcome these inadequacies, increasing the

chances for a successful transition off welfare. Five

basic strategies are followed in the design of the

program:

1. Assess individual characteristics against the

requirements of the job to determine if there is a

match.

2. Provide a process for bringing the home to

licensing standards.

3. Provide child development education to build

trainee competency and self-esteem.

4. Focus on the business aspects of selfemployment, including planning, marketing and

asset-building.

5. Integrate comprehensive on-the-job technical

assistance and support with peer support and

networking to reduce the isolation of new

providers during start-up and operation.

The design of the Project Opportunity model is based

on a number of key elements:

In-Home Child Care

The model focuses on home-based child care

services. There are several advantages to providing

services in the home rather than in child care centers,

including responsiveness to neighborhood needs,

lower operating costs and the elimination of the

provider’s commute to work.

Small Business Development

While the model provides employment training in the

field of child care services, its main focus is to

develop business opportunities for low-income

persons in order to provide sustainable levels of

income.

Targeting and Recruitment

Mothers with at least one child between 18 and 36

months of age, who are receiving public assistance,

are targeted for recruitment. This group includes a

significant number of women who have been

receiving assistance for five years or more.
The Child Care Challenge: Page 3

Models for Child Care Services June 1999

Screening for Program Entry

An important premise of the program is that not

everyone is suited to become a child care provider.

Prescreening interested individuals prior to training is

designed to identify a candidate’s potential for

success by providing key pieces of information. First,

the candidate’s ability to meet basic regulatory

requirements, such as home safety and police

clearance, is determined. Second, the candidate’s

personal characteristics are matched with the

requirements of the job to determine if those

characteristics are likely to be assets in meeting both

the professional and business requirements of

operating in-home or family child care.

Self-Selection

Self-selection is a key element emphasized

throughout the training program. A major goal of the

orientation session is to help potential trainees decide

if a career in child care is appropriate for them. The

orientation session introduces potential trainees to the

goals and activities of Project Opportunity and

discusses issues involved in developing and

operating home-based child care. Orientation is

followed by staff interviews with interested

participants to provide additional information and

guidance to help in the self-selection process.

Training

Participants receive a total of 40 hours of training in

3-hour sessions held two days per week. Training

focuses on several major facets of running a homebased child care business. These facets include

development of a thorough understanding of the

steps proven to be successful in setting up quality

infant and toddler care, child development education,

business requirements (recordkeeping, state

regulations, marketing and ratesetting), parenting

education and self-esteem building.

Field Placement

Each trainee is then placed in a family child care

home or child care center for “hands-on” experience.

Participants spend either two 4-hour days or one 8-

hour day each week in their field placement site

observing and assisting child care providers with

planning and conducting daily activities with the

children. A supervisor at each placement site

receives training on how to evaluate the trainees.

Participants are evaluated weekly for competency,

indications of progress and areas in need of

improvement.

Start-Up and Ongoing Support

After completing the training and field placement

experience, Project Opportunity provides participants

with a significant amount of follow-up assistance:

q Ongoing Technical Assistance. Specially

trained case workers provide weekly technical

assistance in both child care and business

operations for a year following graduation.

q Mentoring. Mentors are assigned to each

participant for a period of nine months. Mentors

give valuable guidance to participants in setting

up child care in their home and give continued

support.

q Start-Up Equipment. Project Opportunity

provides each graduate who sets up their own

family child care home with approximately $500

to buy the basic necessities for their new

business. These include toys, equipment (e.g.

cribs, cots, high chairs and strollers), children’s

books, safety resources (e.g. baby gates, outlet

covers, cabinet locks, and fire extinguishers) and

recordkeeping materials for the business.

q Focus Group Meetings. Regular meetings of

program participants and training staff are held to

share experiences and solve common problems

affecting their start-up efforts.

q Individual Meetings. Case Workers maintain

weekly contact with participants to discuss

individual issues.

q Child Care Agency Certification. Prior to

certification as an agency-approved provider, the

Virginia Office of Early Childhood Development

(OECD) staff visit the home to determine if both

the home and the provider meet agency

standards. Ongoing assistance from OECD is
The Child Care Challenge: Page 4

Models for Child Care Services June 1999

available if the participants continue as agencyapproved providers.

q Family Child Care Providers Association.

Providers are encouraged to join and maintain

membership in the Family Child Care Providers

Association located in Alexandria, Virginia, which

serves as a networking organization for providers

in the state.

Achieving Program Results

Project Opportunity’s training program took place in

Alexandria, Virginia, in 1996. It was a collaborative

effort of the Children’s Foundation and the

Alexandria, Virginia, Office of Early Childhood

Development. Twenty-two women, age 25 to 50

years old, participated in the training. Half were

residents of HUD-assisted housing. Many had been

receiving public assistance for five years or more.

The success of the training program is reflected in the

outcomes it has achieved. These were specific

outcomes reported at the completion of the training

program:

q Nineteen of the 22 women enrolled in the

program graduated.

q Of the 19 graduates, 14 operate their own family

child care business and remain in operation more

than one year after the training.

q Sixty-two new child care slots in low-income

neighborhoods have been created, and several

providers are operating at maximum occupancy

(up to five children are allowed by the City of

Alexandria).

q Child care during weekends and non-traditional

hours is available.

q Participant follow-up evaluations revealed that

many believed the training had resulted in

improving their personal parenting skills, most

commonly that they had learned more effective

discipline methods, such as positive rather than

negative reinforcement and modeling appropriate

behavior for their children.

q Several graduates already have enough income

from the business to leave welfare, and one

parent has a steady net income of $2,500 per

month.

For further information regarding Project Opportunity

and other training opportunities, contact Kay

Hollestelle at the Children’s Foundation

( 202-347-3300

E-mail childrensfoundation@erols.com.

The Need for Child Care -- Seeking a Solution

The two significant problems that home-based child

care programs like Project Opportunity address are

insufficient family income and inadequate child

care services.

Insufficient Family Income

The number of working poor families in the United

States is increasing. While there are more adults

employed today than ever before, the basic expenses

of housing, health care and education are rising at a

rate that forces more working families into poverty.

Welfare reform will result in millions of adults entering

the workforce in the next two years. Many are

unskilled and unprepared for employment and will

only be capable of competing for minimum wage or

near-minimum wage jobs. While many families with

two working parents will be able to cover basic living

expenses with minimum wage jobs, single parent

families will not be able to subsist on $12,000 per

year attainable under the minimum wage law.

In addition, there are other financial rewards. Parents

of young children who are providers do not have to

pay for the cost of care for their own children,

transportation costs are minimized, and they receive

tax advantages for using the home as a business.

Inadequate Child Care Services

It is estimated that 29 million young children under the

age of 13 require child care during some part of the

day while their parents are at work.3 There are

approximately 100,000 regulated child care centers

and approximately 300,000 regulated family child

care homes.4 These regulated services, along with an
The Child Care Challenge: Page 5

Models for Child Care Services June 1999

estimated 1.2 million unregulated providers, serve a

large number of children. Yet, there is a significant

unmet demand for quality child care services. These

gaps take several forms:

Lack of Quality

While Head Start Programs, licensed child care

centers and licensed family child care homes provide

high-quality child care services, there are many other

unlicensed providers who are untrained in child

development and serve largely as baby sitters.

Quality is also compromised by the annual 40 percent

rate of staff turnover at child care centers.

Lack of Affordability

The average weekly cost of child care is $100 in

many areas of the country. Families with annual

incomes of $14,400 or less spend an average of more

than 25 percent of their income for child care.5 For

many families, therefore, child care is not an option.

Lack of Availability

Only a small percentage of providers offer services

during non-traditional hours. Since one-fourth of low

income working mothers hold jobs in the evening and

on weekends, existing services simply do not meet

their needs.

Lack of Accessibility

Child care services are needed either near the home

or place of employment. Less than one percent of

employers provide on-site child care. There are

rarely enough neighborhood-based child care options

available, causing parents to travel long distances to

reach quality child care.

Home-based child care addresses the problems of

insufficient family income and inadequate child care

services by offering sustainable and rewarding

careers and flexible child care in the neighborhoods

where other low-income families are in need of care

for their children.

Barriers to Overcome

Barriers facing the successful start-up and operation

of new family child care services are significant. They

include:

q Inadequate funding for start-up costs. Too

often, child care services open their doors before

they have purchased necessary equipment and

supplies, and/or they have not set aside enough

funds to meet the initial needs of the business.

q Zoning restrictions and bureaucratic

restrictions. Some communities have very

stringent regulations on businesses in residential

neighborhoods. Obtaining a variance of zoning

can be a very time-consuming and expensive

process.

q High costs for licensing standards,

particularly the child care facility

requirements. Modifications to the structure to

meet licensing requirements can be expensive.

Requirements may stipulate changes to

bathroom spaces, eating and play areas and

changes to meet fire and safety requirements.

q Resistance from neighbors (and family

members), particularly at start-up. While few

family-oriented businesses in residential areas

have neighborhood resistance once they are in

operation, many encounter concerns and fears at

start-up from neighbors who are unsure what the

impact will be on their life. Concerns over

potential increased traffic and noise often are

cited.

q Lack of business experience of a new

entrepreneur. Home-based child care is a

business. While many persons are capable of

caring for children, not all of them have the skills

or personal characteristics necessary to operate

the business, which requires accounting,

purchasing, marketing and management skills.
The Child Care Challenge: Page 6

Models for Child Care Services June 1999

Getting Started

Neighborhood Networks centers should assess the

benefits and the barriers before becoming involved in

developing child care services. There are many

rewards, including moving residents toward selfsufficiency and decreasing their difficulty in paying

rent. In addition, there is a measure of community

building which occurs when the child care services

are located in the immediate community. The

following section describes the steps for a

Neighborhood Network center to begin a child care

training program. It also describes the steps for the

individual residents wishing to take action to become

a provider.

Steps for Setting up a Training Program for

Home-Based Child Care Providers

Training programs for accreditation as a home-based

child care provider can be completed in a group

setting or individually. There are a number of

organizations that can provide the training. For more

information on these programs, see the following

section, “Resources for Developing Home-Based

Child Care.”

Conduct a community needs assessment. Find

out if there are enough parents in the community who

need child care. Ask parents what kind of care is

needed, for what age groups and hours (i.e. early

a.m., nights or weekends) and what fees prospective

parents can pay.

Determine if there are residents who are suited for

child care work. Not everyone is suited for a career

in child care, much less to be a small business

operator. Have potential operators interview existing

providers to determine what they like and dislike

about the job. Be certain both childhood development

and business issues are discussed. Potential child

care providers can also spend time assisting a

provider either as a volunteer or paid assistant.

Work with the property manager. You will need to

know if prior approval is needed before residents can

open a business in their apartment or in other

available space in the building. This may deter

complaints from neighbors.

Seek out a training organization or program. Find

a training provider that meets the needs of residents.

Contact a local association of child care providers

(you may be able to find them by contacting your city

or county’s department of human services or social

services). You may also want to contact a

professional child care training organization. See

“Resources” for some of those organizations.

Additional Steps Suggested for Individual

Residents Starting a Child Care Business

Individuals proceeding on their own should generally

follow each of the four steps listed above before

beginning the next eight steps. There are

organizations listed that can provide individual

training on how to become a home-based child care

provider. Accreditation as a provider is highly

recommended. Keep in mind that training programs

will cover the following areas in greater detail.

Develop a Business Plan

All businesses, no matter how small, can profit from

the careful development of a business plan. A

business plan helps anticipate expenses and cash

needs during the first few years of operation. There

are guidebooks on how to develop a business plan.

Contact the U.S. Small Business Administration to

determine when free business classes will be held.

Contact State and Local Regulatory Agencies

You will need to have your child care home or center

licensed. You will need to know what the building and

services requirements are in order to determine if it is

feasible for you to meet them. It is a good idea to talk

directly with the licensing agency representatives

early in the planning process, hopefully establishing a

personal relationship with them, as they will continue

to play a role in periodic inspections for license

renewal. The Children’s Foundation maintains a list

of regulatory agencies by state.

Contact the Local Building or Zoning Office As

Needed

If you are going to build a center or remodel a

building, you should determine early in the process

whether your intended site is properly zoned and how
The Child Care Challenge: Page 7

Models for Child Care Services June 1999

many children you can care for on site. Determine the

requirements for an occupancy permit. You can

contact the Americans with Disabilities Act

information line to determine the applicability of

federal laws related to handicapped accessibility.

( 202-514-0301

Contact the Local Fire Department

The fire marshal can give you advice on meeting fire

codes.

Contact the Health Department

Health department officials can provide you with

information on subjects such as food service

procedures, bathroom requirements and appropriate

hot water temperatures.

Develop a Start-Up Budget

You will need a great deal of equipment and supplies.

Also, you will need liability insurance, and particularly

if you are using your existing home, you will need to

budget for increased utility bills. You may need to

advertise or market your services. If you are starting

a business outside of your home, rent or mortgage

payments will need to be made and property taxes

paid. Business taxes, renovation or construction

costs, fire and liability insurance, utility hookup costs,

staff training and supplies must also be included in

the budget.

Develop an Operating Budget

You will need to determine your ongoing costs in

order to budget funds to meet cash flow

commitments. Expenses include most of the items

noted above but also include payroll expenses for

staff including worker’s compensation, food, cleaning

supplies, education supplies and the replacement of

toys, furniture and equipment.

Seek Financial Assistance and

a Partnering Agency

Determine if there is financial assistance available to

help start your business and whether there is a

nonprofit organization with which you can partner.

Often, there are local government grant or loan

programs which can be of help in meeting both

operating and building/renovation costs. Contact city

hall (the city departments usually responsible for

assistance are called small business assistance,

economic development or community development),

local banks and the Small Business Administration for

assistance.

Resources for Developing Home-Based

Child Care

There are a number of sources for people and

organizations seeking training and assistance to start

child care services. A few of the major sources

include:

Information and Technical Assistance

The Children’s Foundation. This national nonprofit

organization provides advocacy, technical assistance

and training in the development of child care

programs.

( 202-347-3300

E-mail childrensfoundation@erols.com

The National Association for Family Child Care.

This national membership organization of 3,500

individuals provides training and technical assistance

to home-based child care providers, including

individual self-run training courses with observers to

assist trainees. They operate an accreditation

program for child care providers. The association

publishes a quarterly newsletter, sponsors a national

conference and maintains a web site.

( 515-282-8192

www.nafcc.org

U. S. Department of Labor Child Care

Development Center. The Department of Labor

provides best practices information and technical

information on child care services. The guidebook,

Meeting the Needs of Today’s Workforce–Child Care

Best Practices, provides useful information on a

range of program responses to meet child care

needs.

( 202-219-8553
The Child Care Challenge: Page 8

Models for Child Care Services June 1999

Financing Child Care in the United States – A

Catalogue of the Ewing Marion Kauffman

Foundation. This catalog provides a wealth of

information on financial resources from state

programs, foundations and public entities as well as a

discussion of the tax benefits of providing child care

services and obtaining tax exemptions for the cost of

child care. Copies may be obtained by calling:

( 215-575-9050

Financial Resources

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services

(HHS). Up to 30 percent of the Temporary

Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds received

by states from the federal government can be

transferred to the Child Care and Development Block

Grant fund to pay for the direct costs of child care. In

addition, Welfare to Work funds can be used for child

care. Contact the state or county welfare office for

more information (these offices are typically named

office of social services or human services) or the

HHS Office of Family Assistance in Washington, D.C.

( 202-401-9275

U. S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development (HUD). The Community Development

Block Grant Program is a locally available source of

funds for individual child care vouchers, construction

and rehabilitation of centers, start-up costs and

operations. The needs of low and moderate-income

persons are targeted. Funds are available through

cities with a population over 50,000 (and through

large counties and state governments).

( 1-800-998-9999

http://www.hud.gov

The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. This

Federal Income Tax Credit allows the parents to claim

a credit for a portion of their child care expenses while

they are at work. To qualify, all parents must be

employed and at least one child must be under 13

years of age and living with the parent. There are

limits on the amount of the credit, but it can be a

substantial help to individual families in reducing their

taxes. Contact your local federal Internal Revenue

Service Office for more information or consult your

income tax information packet. It may also be

possible to reduce your state income tax as many

states have similar provisions.

( 1-800-829-1040 (IRS Information)

The Head Start Program. This federally-funded

program provides comprehensive services for

preschool children from low income families.

Services include quality child care aimed at

expanding the child’s ability to progress quickly in

preparation for formal school. Head Start programs

operate in most major cities and in many rural

communities. Contact the local school district or

welfare office for further information (the local county

welfare offices are typically listed under the county

social service or human services offices or in rural

areas, you may want to contact the local Community

Action Agency) or the U. S. Department of Health and

Human Services in Washington, D.C.

( 202-205-8572

Other Promising Child Care Models

In addition to home-based child care, there are a

number of other types of child care services operating

across the nation. These generally fall into the

following categories:

Child Care Centers. There are currently 100,000

regulated child care centers in the United States.6

Child care centers vary greatly in capacity, with some

caring for as many as 100 children. They are fully

regulated by the state and require specific ratios of

staff to children as well as other standards. The cost

of space is often a prohibitive factor in developing a

new center. Public funding is often a necessity.

Employer-Assisted Child Care. Employers can be

a source of assistance for child care vouchers for

employees and on-site day care services. Employer

assisted child care makes up a small portion (one

percent) of the total child care provided in the United

States. However, the number of employers including

assistance in their employee benefits packages is

growing. An example is Con Agra Refrigerated

Foods, a company operating in several states. The

company works with local nonprofits to expand
The Child Care Challenge: Page 9

Models for Child Care Services June 1999

existing child care programs to accommodate the

specific needs of its employees, including late night

shifts. The company contributes to the start-up costs

and pays for a portion of the cost of operating the

centers.

Contact Director of Employee Benefits

Con Agra Refrigerated Foods

( 630-262-4067

Employers can also help in starting up a family child

care business. AT&T, for example, provides up to

$350 for training and/or equipment for child care

programs serving AT&T employees.

Contact AT&T Family Care Development Fund

( 973-898-2255

Local Government-Assisted Child Care. Some

states and local governments raise public funds to

support child care for low- and moderate- income

families. An example is the Seattle Children’s

Initiative. The citizens of Seattle voted for a special

property tax levy, which generates over $10 million

annually for children’s services, including child care.

The city council adds $1 million annually to this fund

from its general revenue fund. Seattle also uses its

Community Development Block Grant to pay for child

care vouchers. In 1996, a total of $2.3 million was

allocated to early childhood education and child care

subsidies.

Contact City of Seattle Department

of Human Services

( 206-386-1001

Neighborhood Networks Centers in

Action

Several Neighborhood Networks center sites have

recognized that child care is a major barrier to selfsufficiency and are actively involved in developing

child care resources. Child care allows residents to

attend training, and search for and keep jobs. While

there are many sites that have made great strides in

providing or coordinating child care, the following are

examples that can be modeled.

LaGrave Learning Center — Grand Forks Homes

(Grand Forks, North Dakota). Residents of the

66-unit building have partnered with the Grand Forks

Public Schools Head Start Program to provide early

childhood education and child care. Ninety-five

percent of eligible Head Start families are enrolled in

the program. The property managers also developed

partnerships with the Child Care Resource and

Referral Center which provides referral to other child

care programs and child care provider training.

Contact Craig Knudsvig

( 701-795-6300

: www.lagrave.com

E-mail knudsvig@lagrave.com

Oakridge Neighborhood Services – Oakridge

Apartments (Des Moines, Iowa). Early childhood

enrichment for children ranging in age from newborn

to five years is provided on site at the 300-unit

complex. A sliding fee scale and city department of

human resources grants are used to reduce the

burden on needy families. To qualify, families living in

the apartments or the surrounding neighborhood must

be actively working toward self-sufficiency by working

or going to school. The program offers child care for

74 children and provides employment for residents.

Contact Lora Duncan

( 515-244-3021, ext. 148

Penn Village Community Technology Center – Penn

Village Apartments (Penn Grove, New Jersey).

The apartment management firm provides families of

the 120-unit development with four hours of free,

enriched child care for ten 3- to 5-year-olds. Four

community volunteers provide assistance while

meeting their welfare-to-work requirements and

gaining experience in child care services.

Contact Tracy Skipton

( 609-299-1989

: www.delanet.com\~pvillage

E-mail pvillage@delanet.com
The Child Care Challenge: Page 10

Models for Child Care Services June 1999

Pensacola Village Neighborhood Network Center

(NNC) and Escambia Arms NNC — Pensacola

Village & Escambia Arms (Pensacola, Florida).

Child care is provided by residents employed by the

Escambia School District to 18 children at each of the

two sites comprising 200 apartment units. There is

no cost to residents while they are attending school or

job skills training classes.

Contact Caroline M. Klages

( 850-433-2026

E-mail klagesg@pecola.gulf.net or

maxgoodwin@aol.com

Pinewood Park Learning Center — Pinewood Park

(Lufkin, Texas). The Lufkin Day Care Center offers

free child care (using welfare-to-work funding) for 15

children in the 94-unit apartment complex while their

parents are in computer literacy classes at the

Neighborhood Networks center. Day care is also

provided for children of residents who are at work or

seeking employment.

Contact Conita Ferguson

( 409-632-6322

E-mail pinewood@in.ne

Oakridge Terrace (NNC), Vandelia NNC,

Southmoore Hills NNC and Orchard Manor NNC —

The West Virginia Multi-County Consortium

(Charleston, West Virginia). Six properties,

including four Neighborhood Networks centers, are

linked with a comprehensive family assistance

program which includes both transportation and child

care for residents. The residents of the 950 units are

provided with child care in two 4-bedroom apartments

which have been converted for use by the Head Start

Program.

Contact Kevin Dyer

( 304-342-1300, ext. 245

www.multi-cap.org

E-mail kdyer@multi-cap.org

For more information about Neighborhood Networks, visit the national website at:

www.neighborhoodnetworks.org

Call the Neighborhood Networks Or Write:

Information Center at: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

( 1-888 312-2743 Neighborhood Networks

TTY 703-934-3230 9300 Lee Highway

Fairfax, VA 22031-1207
The Child Care Challenge: Page 11

Models for Child Care Services June 1999

Endnotes

 

1

 “Making Quality Child Care a Reality for America’s Low-income Working Families” — 1998 Kids Count Overview — An article

published by The Annie Casey Foundation, May 5, 1998.

2

 “The Need for Child Care” — 1998 Kids Count Overview --An article published by The Annie Casey Foundation, May 5, 1998.

3

 “Making Quality Child Care a Reality for America’s Low-income Working Families” — 1998 Kids Count Overview — An article

published by The Annie Casey Foundation, May 5, 1998.

4

 “General Information on Child Care in the United States” – An information bulletin published by the Children’s Foundation,

September 1997.

5

 “The Need for Child Care” — 1998 Kids Count Overview — An article published by The Annie Casey Foundation, May 5, 1998.

6

 “General Information on Child Care in the United States” — An information bulletin published by the Children’s Foundation,

September 1997.