THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 22, 1996 TAG: 9606240201
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 87 lines
YOU'VE SCOURED the neighborhood, scanned the fliers, checked out the signs on the way to work and talked with co-workers.
Now add one more to the list of ways to find a child-care provider: Browsing the web.
Virginia's child-care providers are now on the Internet. The Virginia Council on Child Day Care and Early Childhood Programs has set up a web site with a list of child-care providers across the state. The list includes licensed providers and those who are voluntarily registered. Centers that are exempt from regulation because they are church-run also are on the list.
While the electronic list - called Virginia Child Care Online - may be helpful to parents who are cyber-savvy, some child-care advocates worry that it will leave those who don't have computers in the dark.
``Most families don't even have access to the Internet,'' said Ben Greenberg, executive director of Action Alliance for Virginia's Children and Youth. ``Not only that, but when you try to do resource and referral through the Internet, you lose the interpretive analysis that families should have to meet their child-care needs.''
About one-third of American households have a personal computer, according to Dataquest, a marketing research firm in San Jose, Calif. Sixty-five percent of households with incomes of $100,000 a year own a personal computer, but only 12 percent of those that make less than $30,000 a year do.
John Elson, who is coordinating the Internet service, said the Virginia Council on Child Day Care and Early Childhood Programs recognizes that not all families in Virginia have access to the Internet. He said arrangements are being made for printed versions of the list to be distributed in public libraries, departments of social services and other public places.
While the web site may not replace face-to-face counseling and follow-up phone calls that referral services often provide, it does offer some child-care tips for parents.
``Welcome to Virginia Child Care Online,'' the web site introduction reads, followed by an invitation to play ``Child Care Pursuits,'' an interactive game designed to give web browsers tips on selecting a day-care provider, such as visiting the center or home, observing the number of children each provider cares for, and conducting interviews with teachers and directors.
The site lets participants short-circuit the advice though: ``No time for fun and games?'' reads the web site instructions. ``Click here for a table of contents.''
The electronic service, which has been up and running about three weeks, lists about 4,000 providers, broken down by city.
Setting up Virginia's Internet service was a move by the Virginia Council on Child Day Care and Early Childhood Programs to provide less costly resource and referral services for the state's residents. The savings would allow more grant money to be used for child-care subsidies for working poor families.
Virginia's Internet service cost $13,000 to set up and will be funded through a Child Care Development Block Grant, federal money designated for child-care services in the state.
One local agency that will lose funding is the Planning Council, which in the past has used a $40,000 block grant for a service that links parents with child-care providers.
From July 1994 to February 1995, the Norfolk-based Planning Council provided a referral service free to anyone. During those eight months, more than 2,700 people received day-care information specific to their needs and also received counseling about how to choose quality child care.
The Planning Council lost that grant from the council and now provides the resource and referral service to individuals at a cost of $30 a search. Some businesses also contract with the Planning Council to provide the service for their employees, and three cities - Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Norfolk - also provide the service for low-income residents. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/The Virginian-Pilot
The list will be useful to cyber-savvy parents, but those without
access to the 'Net may be left in the dark.
Graphic
WHERE TO GET INFORMATION
Virginia Child Care Online can be accessed on the World Wide Web
at http://www.state.va.us (tilde) daycare/child.html
The Internet web site includes a database of Virginia child-care
providers, including providers with state licenses, those who are
voluntarily registered and centers that are religiously exempt from
regulation. The on-line service also has tips on finding quality
child care and information on how to become a licensed child-care
provider. The web site was set up by the Virginia Council on Child
Day Care and Early Childhood Programs.
For questions about Virginia Child Care Online, e-mail the
coordinator of the service, John Elson at jelson.dss(AT)state.va.us by CNB