Finding The Right Fit

Investing in quality child care will pay off down the road

written by Jessica Lindsey

As a parent you want the best for your kids. Sometimes, however, the task of knowing
what is best or finding the best for them can be daunting. Take child care, for example. Many times
word of mouth or personal references can lead to a great child care provider but that luxury isn't always readily
available. That's when an organization called Child Start can become your best friend.

“This service is important because the early years are the foundation for the rest of your life in terms of success,” said Teresa Rupp, executive director of Child Start. “Ninety percent of brain development takes place before the age of 5.”

Child Start is a nonprofit organization that oversees programs that include Head Start, a preschool program for
children, and the Child Care Resource and Referral Program.

While the programs serve many different area's of the community, all point back to Child Start's one clear purpose: preparing your child for lifelong success.

“Just like when you're building a house, you need a solid foundation,” said Rupp. “You need the wiring before you
put up the drywall. It's the foundation for the rest of what is going to happen in life. Reading, language, how you get along with others, at the age of 18 or 21 if you're a good person to live beside, if you're a person that someone would want to hire. It all starts with quality care, the parent and the person who watches them when the parent is not there.”

Rather than stressing about what you're getting yourself into when trying to find a quality child care provider, Child Start can be your best resource and can help you become an informed consumer. Child Start, a beneficiary of the United Way, offers the services free to parents.
On the flip side, Child Start offers countless training classes for child care providers. The educational classes give providers the required hours of training to become licensed and maintain their license.

Aiding parents in their search

For parents, making a call to the Child Care Resource and Referral program is a great first-step in finding quality child care openings in the Wichita area. The Resource and Referral Call Center serves the 316 and 620 area codes with information on area child care providers. The toll-free number is 1-800-684-3962. By partnering with KDHE, state and national networks, Child Start is able to compile a detailed listing of child care providers. When providers complete necessary requirements to be licensed by the state, they are entered into the Call Center’s system.

“A call (to the Resource and Referral Center) can take about 10 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on how many
questions the parent has,” said Clairissa Maddy, senior manager of the Call Center.

During the call, the call center specialist asks for information on the hours, days, location and any other requirements that the parent is looking for in a child care provider.

“We talk to them about what to look for, what questions to ask,” said Maddy.
“We’re helping parents to become informed consumers.”

The caller is given a list of at least eight providers that fi t their requirements.

“It’s an individualized list,” said Maddy. “There may be many quality providers, but your list wouldn’t necessarily match my list. It’s based on needs, preferences, times, ages, locations, vacancies, etc.”
The caller also receives a sheet of information on each provider that tells fees, some information about the provider and contact information.

“We suggest that you talk on the phone with (the provider), ask for references, take and read the handbook thoroughly,” said Maddy.

Equipped with a list of names, the parent can then begin narrowing down which child care provider would be the best fit for the family.

The Call Center averages 20 to 30 calls per day while certain times of the year, such as the summer months and January, tend to produce a higher volume of calls.

Child Start’s website, www.childstart.org, also has resources available to parents. Parents can search for providers through the online system and also can use a program to estimate whether their family could qualify Head Start or for child care subsidies from the state.

Training, counseling and more for providers

In addition to the support offered to parents, Child Start provides valuable support to caregivers as well.

Care providers are required to take a specified number of education classes
to become licensed. A variety of classes and training sessions are offered through Child Start, helping providers to be trained to give the best possible care to children. Some classes are free and others are offered for a small fee.

“Not only are the Child Start training classes fulfi lling the required hours needed for my licensing, but it is an invaluable tool in helping me learn to set up my business,” said Leslie Corenchuc who recently became a licensed provider and opened her home day care, Wee Care, in west Wichita.

Classes include curriculum training, developmental milestone education, behavior and guidance classes, the list
goes on. Services are also available to help providers with specifi c issues such as how to handle biting, how to
balance having a home business along with managing family responsibilities and more.

“There are so many resources that Child Start offers that will help me run my business to its fullest potential,” continued Corenchuc. “I’m excited that they’ll have my name and number available for people contacting them looking for child care. The staff at Child Start has given us access to call on them anytime
and to have them come out and help us with behavior issues or ideas on what to try if we’re having specific issues with children. It just feels so good to know that there’s an organization right here that is so willing and ready to help me.”

Providers are asked to keep in touch with Child Start to keep the system updated with vital information such as vacancies, fees and other information so the Call Center can give out accurate information to parents looking for openings.

New laws and a new rating system

A new law that went into effect July 1, 2010 has changed the requirements for people providing child care in their homes.

Up until July 1, providers had the option of choosing to be licensed or registered by the state. That option is no longer available, providers now are required to become licensed to care for children. Registered day care providers were allowed fewer children that they could care for and were never required to have an on-site licensing surveyor to inspect the home where care was provided. As a licensed provider, a survey is done, a
specific number of education hours are required and a higher ratio of children is allowed.

No new registrations to become a registered day care provider are being accepted. If someone has already been
practicing as a registered provider, when their registration is up for renewal, they will be expected to complete the application and requirements to become licensed.

“KDHE (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) has already sent out licensed packets with applications,
regulation books and forms to all Registered Day Care home providers whose Certificates will be expiring in July, August and September,” said Nancy Jensen, Child Care Supervisor with the Offi ce of Environmental Health for the City of Wichita. “These persons will be required to submit a licensed application if they want to continue conducting child care in their homes.” Between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011, all registered home day cares will be phased out and only licensed child care providers will exist.

Child Start’s leaders are supportive of the change, stating that the licensing standards will provide parents with
higher quality home day care providers. Child Start also is helping parents to identify the highest quality providers by rolling out a new rating system called the Kansas Quality Rating Improvement System (KQRIS).

“The program has been active for five years, but we were building up our system before publicizing the ratings to the parents,” said Rupp.

As of July 1, the ratings are now available to parents. However, ratings are only available on providers who
have volunteered for the program. The comprehensive program evaluates providers in several different areas of
their business. It rates the provider in each area on a 5-star grading system. As an added benefit, if the provider is a 3 in one area, they are given specific information on how to reach the next level and become a 4 rating.

Now, when parents call the Child Care Resource and Referral Call Center and receive the KQRIS ratings for any of the providers who have volunteered to be evaluated.

The program allows parents to have yet another opportunity to be an informed consumer and it offers providers a
chance to show their strengths and improve on their weaknesses.

Currently, Child Start is operating KQRIS through grant money. Several states, including Colorado, have chosen to fund the program fully because of the benefit it is to parents and children using child care and because it encourages child care providers to strive for the highest quality of care.

“Every child care provider who has a license from the Health Department is in our system but not every one of them will have gone through the KQRIS process,” said Rupp. “We have been trying to build it up and now the goal is that parents will be in a place to be able to drive the demand for higher quality care and ask their providers to be a part of the rating system. It won’t take long for parents to realize that this is what they want to see in a day care provider.”