Healthy Kids, Healthy Future

Child Care 101: Overview and Everday Practice

The second Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Steering Committee meeting, entitled “Child Care 101: Overview and Everyday Practice,” was held on February 1. The discussion provided perspectives on the realities and current state of child care across the country.

Presenters offered an overview on a number of topics including:

The layers of federal, state, legislative, and regulatory authority within the child care settings;
The current state of public and private funding and potential opportunities given the released 2011 Federal Budget; and
Perspectives from the inside of child care centers and family child care homes.

Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy at the National Women’s Law Center, informed the group of the mixed Federal and State responsibilities for funding child care centers, the role that the Child and Adult Care Food Program(CACFP) plays in supporting the dietary needs of children in these centers, as well as the extent to which current resources are not sufficient in supporting the children who attend and staff who work at these centers.

Bob Siegal, National Director of Easter Seals Children’s Services, offered a view from inside child care centers. He explained two issues that significantly impact quality of care, whether it be family based or community based: 1) child care centers are currently overcrowded, understaffed and under-resourced and 2) providers’ income remains poor leading to frequent turnover.

Denise Dowell, Director of Early Learning and Care Programs, Civil Service Employees Association, AFSCME, presented information on the specific challenges for those who run family based child care homes. She expressed that one of the major obstacles is providing quality care for a group of children that often vary in age. A second unique challenge is the added difficulties of managing the administrative aspects of the business, including record keeping, buying/preparing foods, and providing referrals for families, while developing a child care program that supports healthy development.

The opportunity for questions and answers from the steering committee revealed a wide spread interest in the training and technical assistance available for these providers. The experts explained that training is not required in many states and that the resource and referral agencies, which are funded by the Child Development Block Grant program, struggle to provide support to many child care centers and family based care due to location and limited funding.

This meeting allowed for a better understanding of the family and community based child care perspective. With this information, steering committee members will be able to more strategically move forward with the development of agendas and work plans to address the childhood obesity in the 0-5 age range.