Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 31, 1990 TAG: 9005310016
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Kim Sunderland New River Valley Bureau
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Long
And although care exists, families find themselves with limited options.
State licensed day-care centers, for example, are the first choice for many parents, but slots are limited and costs exceed many families' reach.
Other choices include: certified home-care providers; church-sponsored child care; and an informal network of adults who care for children in their homes.
Unregulated care, often provided by a neighbor, grandmother or friend, may not be the best care, but "at least it exists," said Stephania Munson, director of the Montgomery County Human Services Division.
The biggest needs in the county are for full-day care for infants and more available care for preschoolers, according to a 1988 survey taken by a task force formed to look into child care.
Carolyn B. Jennelle, owner of Tomorrow's World Child Care center in Christiansburg, said infant care needs are critical because these slots fill up the fastest at local child-care centers.
With only nine licensed day care centers in Montgomery County - all of them near or at capacity - these needs are not being fully met.
The licensed centers provide some 924 spaces, but there are over 8,000 children aged 13 and under needing child care, according to a school census report conducted by the Virginia Department of Education.
With so many children needing care, waiting lists exist at almost all of the county's licensed centers.
For example, at Carousel Learning Center in Blacksburg, director Clif Bungard quit keeping a waiting list for his 105 slots because he thought it was too stressful for families to wait months and months.
"Sometimes you could wait until your kid went to college," he said.
"It's difficult to find long-term care here," said Deborah Mayo, a philosophy professor at Virginia Tech and mother of an 18-month-old son. "You want those who are capable of doing more than just baby-sitting - they need to be educated."
Families with middle to lower incomes have an especially difficult time finding not only available child care, but care that's affordable.
Their options are significantly limited because costs at child-care centers exceed the reach of their weekly paycheck.
"There are good programs and we have an excellent system in Montgomery County for working parents, but what about the low-income parents? It's hard enough for anyone to pay $50 a child per week and some people just can't do it," said Munson, with the county's Human Services Division.
For instance, costs at licensed centers in the county average from $55 to $85 per week per child.
"People cannot work at garment centers, McDonalds or Hardees and pay the high costs of child care," said Bernice Parker, owner of Pride & Joy Day Care Center in Christiansburg.
"But it's what we need to charge in order to operate and pay our overhead. It's really a difficult situation."
Currently, 69 low-income families, who have applied and qualify for state-subsidized child care, are on a waiting list kept by Judy Arrington, who handles day care for the Montgomery County Department of Social Services.
However, Arrington can't make any new cases; she's already utilized the $100,000 allocated by the state.
"I could use $250,000 . . . for these families," said Arrington.
Because many lower-income families, single parents and shift workers cannot afford many child-care centers, they turn to either unregulated day care or care supplied by a home-care provider.
Yet, home-care providers also are numbered.
Montgomery County has only 39 certified or licensed home care providers, according to Ann Francis, director of the Resource and Referral Service at Virginia Tech, which tries to encourage home care providers to obtain certification or a license.
"And we can only use 20 of them for referrals since some are only certified to keep relatives or children referred by social services," Francis said.
The service works with the Department of Social Services and the Roanoke Valley Council of Community Services offering workshops, guidelines and information to anyone wishing to watch kids in their home.
Certification for home-care sites, not centers, means that adults who care for children in their home have been approved by social services and can receive children referred to them by that department.
It means that the home-care provider has met certain standards, such as passing a criminal records check and fire and health inspections. The person has also been approved as providing proper types of activities and equipment.
A home-care provider is subject to licensing if they care for a mix of more than five kids who are both referred children and privately placed children, said Carol Guilliams, licensing specialist in Roanoke.
In contrast, a license, which can be obtained by both a home care provider and a day care center, means care can be given to children placed privately or by social services. Standards for licensing and certification are basically the same.
With certification or a license, day care providers are linked with needy families looking for child care through social services and Tech's Resource and Referral Service.
"Licensing is the most important quality control that we have," said Francis, the service's director. "Parents don't always know the kinds of things to look for or ask about when checking out home providers or centers."
Since parents don't know what to look for, or maybe they just don't have the time, certification and licensing ensure that activities, services and facilities have met certain standards on items such as teacher-to-child ratios, education of staff and children and insurance and accounting guidelines.
Deborah Craig, who cares for six children in her home in Christiansburg, is certified through social services. She charges $40 per week for each child and thinks the "home-style care" she provides can't be found in larger centers.
"It's important to provide that loving, home-type attention to children," she said.
This option is also being explored to fill the infants and preschoolers gaps.
On the other hand, centers and providers not licensed by the state believe they also offer an important alternative.
Many church-sponsored child-care facilities, which are exempt from state licensing, are just such an alternative.
"I believe strongly in private day care sponsored by churches," said Violet Long, director at Noah's Ark, which is part of the Blacksburg Christian School. "It's something parents can choose now and in the future if they're permitted."
Centers operated by a religious organization, which can apply for a license if it chooses, are exempt from state licensing as are summer camps, public and private schools, and day care offered by hospitals for their staff.
Regardless of the choice a parent makes, there needs to be more options for child care in the county.
Groups such as the Children's Defense Fund have called for more state and federal funding to help low-income families place their children in licensed or certified centers instead of unregulated care.
And social services believes that by increasing the number of certified home care providers, there will be more available slots to which lower-income families can be referred.
This, in turn, helps poorer people become self-sufficient through work. And since the school census report indicates that 75 percent of mothers with children 13 and under are now working, the availability of child care can be a determining factor as to whether a mother can remain in or return to the work force.
Overall, if the number of centers and providers used for referrals is increased, more child care can be available to everyone.
Tomorrow: What is being done in Montgomery County and in the state to provide more child care.
by CNB