Reprinted from the Health District's quarterly publication mailed to district residents (Winter 2005)
TOPIC: Making an informed child-care choice
 Early Childhood Council helps ease worries for parents
 
by chryss cada

Deciding whom to leave their children with is arguably the most important decision parents make. Thankfully in Larimer County, there’s someone to help them make it.

The Early Childhood Council of Larimer County offers free child-care provider referrals. Founded in 1997, the council serves families, child-care providers and the community at large.

“Parents tell us what they’re looking for – everything from whether there are pets in the home to the provider’s beliefs about raising children – and we give them a list of potential providers,” explains Wendy Watson, the council’s outgoing executive director. “We never recommend a certain provider. We give them a starting place so they can then go out and make an informed choice.”

When Sheri and Jeff Giles decided their 4-year-old daughter Elissa needed more exposure to other kids, they were pleased to discover the council’s referral line.

questions to ask potential care providers

• What will my child’s day be like?
• Do you have a daily routine? (nap time, lunch time, story
  time, etc.)
• What are the active, busy things children do?
• What are the quiet things children do?
• How do you manage to give all the children the attention
  they need?
• What will you do to keep my child safe?
• When do you take time to talk to parents about their
  children?

For the complete list of questions, visit www.fortnet.org/ECC and click on the “Parent Tool Kit.”

about early childhood council

 For a child-care referral, call 377-3388 or visit www.fortnet.org/ECC

“The referral program is like a Consumer Reports for child care,” Sheri Giles says.

After telling the referral specialist their criteria, including the type of curriculum and the kinds of activities their daughter enjoys, the couple was given a list of nine “solid choices.”

“We visited the centers on our own and found a place that is a perfect match,” Sheri says. “Elissa is excited to go, and that’s such a huge weight off our shoulders.”

Last year, 706 families received child-care provider referrals through the group’s web site and another 962 by phone.

Not only does the council refer parents to child-care options, it works to ensure the quality of those choices. Through its training and technical assistance team, the council has trained consultants available to work with child-care providers and provide formal assessments of individual homes and classrooms using nationally recognized quality standards. In addition, scholarships are available to child-care providers interested in furthering their education.

Kris Van Laningham has been an in-home childcare provider in Fort Collins for 11 years. She received a scholarship through the ECC to get her degree in childhood development from Front Range Community College.

“With more than 10 years’ experience behind me, I thought I knew it all,” Van Laningham says. “But I’ve learned things in class that I can come home and use the next day with the kids — things that not only work, they work wonders.”

And that, Watson says, benefits the entire community. “The experiences of early childhood have an impact on the adults these children will become.”