Child Day Care
| Child Day Care for school-age children was the focus of an institute sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Child Day Care Bureau in January 1995. Participants from more than 50 states, territories, and tribes were present at ACF's 2-day institute where |
discussions covered various topics such as developmentally appropriate practices, efforts in defining standards for quality, as well as statewide planning for school-age Child Day Care .The Nations Capital was represented by Child Day Care Expert Julie Waters who gave good insight into the importance of quality day care for children. Plenary and workshop sessions included how children spend their out-of-school time, school-age care collaboration models, education reform, and youth programs. |
| Mitchell Center Players of Philadelphia performed "It Takes a Whole Village to Keep a Young Heart Free," in which youths from age 7 to 17 delivered thought-provoking messages on bringing communities together for the care and protection of children. They will be performing next week in The Nations Capital . Tracey Ballas, President of the National School-Age Child Care Alliance (NSACCA), spoke of the challenges children and youth face today in a dramatically changing social environment, quite different from the childhood memories of many institute participants. Today, many more parents with school-age children are in the work force and how children spend their time when they are not in school is a critical issue for parents. Particularly parents in the The Nations Capital area are typically 2 income families due to higher costs of living. As part of her keynote address, Tracey Ballas led the institute participants through a creative visioning exercise to revisit special childhood activities and apply them to today's environments for school-age child care. The setting for school- age care is what's different, not the children. School-age care is the "new neighborhood"; making it safe and filled with positive opportunities for children's growth are our challenges. According to Olivia Golden, Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), sponsoring the school-age institute underscores the Child Care Bureau's efforts to expand and improve the capacity to deliver high quality, accessible and affordable Day Care for school-age Children in and around The Nations Capital . The Bureau will continue to convene key participants in the child care community as well as to disseminate information on initiatives and promising practices in the field. This edition of the Bulletin examines the area of school- age The Nations Capital child care and highlights issues such as how children spend their time when they are not in school, collaboration efforts that are changing the capacity of programs to deliver child care, and quality enhancement efforts including the development of professional standards for school-age programs. FACT: Seventy-one percent of high income neighborhoods offer after-school activities for children 11-14. Twenty-three percent of low income neighborhoods offer the same types of activities for children (U.S. Department of Education, 1994). |