THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 24, 1996 TAG: 9602240310
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Welfare reform is destined to drive up the need for child care in the public housing community where Paulette Turner lives.
Turner, 26, hopes to help meet that demand, thanks to a Health and Human Services grant that gave Turner free training to become a child care provider.
The grant funds ``A Step Ahead,'' a program that will help Turner and nine others work themselves off welfare benefits and also provide child care in public housing neighborhoods where it will most be needed once welfare reform kicks in.
The nonprofit Planning Council, a human services agency, is coordinating the program and targeting four public housing communities in Norfolk: Diggs Town, Calvert Square, Tidewater Gardens and Oakleaf Forest. In those four areas, there are about 460 children younger than 5, according to census statistics, but only 150 licensed child care slots.
Turner, a 10-year welfare recipient, has spent the past three months learning child development basics, getting heart-resuscitation training and filling out the paperwork to become licensed by the state. Now that she's completed the 22-hour initial training, she'll start looking for customers this week.
``I'm so proud of myself,'' Turner said. ``I never thought I'd get an opportunity like this.''
The $344,000 Health and Human Services grant provides money for training, background checks, insurance, and even equipment such as cots, toys, high chairs and fire extinguishers. The largest portion of the grant, however, goes to paying for child care itself. To get the 10 providers off to a good start, the grant will pay the child care fees for low-income parents who sign up with Turner and the other Step Ahead trainees.
Once the grant period is over in 1997, the parent will be responsible for either paying the full amount or finding another program to help subsidize the day care.
Turner, a single mother of four, said she has wanted to get a job working with children, but she couldn't afford the start-up costs of a family day care operation. Besides $1,000 worth of equipment, the Step Ahead program will provide Turner free training sessions twice a month.
And once Turner opens her doors to children, she'll still get help from Tessa Ellis, the Step Ahead program coordinator. Ellis will travel to the homes of the Step Ahead providers in a van with toys and equipment the providers can check out for their day care businesses. The visits will not only provide the day care providers with equipment but with moral support.
``This is not baby sitting we're talking about here,'' Ellis said. ``They will be teaching the children, developing their skills. It's not something where children will watch TV all day.''
Besides meeting state license requirements, the providers must be certified by the Child Care Assurance Plan, a family day care system that has standards a cut above what the state requires. The long-range goal of the program is to get the providers accredited by the National Association of Family Child Care, which has even tougher standards.
The goal is to provide the highest quality day care possible in the low-income areas where welfare reform will send parents to work.
The providers must live in the targeted neighborhoods and are selected by a board including Planning Council personnel, resident council members of the housing communities and officials from the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority. One other person has started the application process, but eight other Step Ahead slots are still open.
Turner, the first to be trained in the program, says she's glad to see welfare reform coming. ``I think it will make people more independent,'' she said. ``I'm just hoping the system and the community will pull with me to build up my day care business.'' MEMO: For more information on The Step Ahead program, call The Planning
Council at 627-3993.
ILLUSTRATION: Paulette Turner and nine others will try to make the transition
from welfare to child care providers.
KEYWORDS: PUBLIC HOUSING GRANT WELFARE REFORM DAY CARE CHILD CARE
PLANNING COUNCIL by CNB