Parents Get Support Finding Summer Child Care, June 5

CARE Connections Child Care Resource & Referral (a contracted program of Southwestern Oregon Community College) maintains a listing of child care homes and centers throughout Coos and Curry Counties in order to assist parents in our area to find needed child care. In addition to listings, CARE Connections also has information on choosing quality care for your child. It’s almost summer time! Time for children to play and enjoy the beautiful area that we live in and the long days of summer. It’s also a time of planning for parents – “where will my children spend their days now that school is over for the year?” According to Workplace Fairness summer time, when school is out, brings a concerning situation in that the average number of hours children ages 6 to 12 are left alone during the day triples during the summer from 4 to 12 hours. Not only are children not in a child learning environment, they also do not have access to the on-site free and reduced lunch program each day that many of our local children participate in. NACCRRA, National Association for Child Care Resource & Referral Agency, reports that with the current economic crisis, quality child care settings are even more important to the healthy development of children. In too many cases involving low income families, child care is the only place that children may receive a nutritious meal and snack, given that food is often one of the first places parents sacrifice as their family budget becomes tighter. NACCRRA’s report Economic Impact on Child Care 2014, indicates that nationwide, more than 11 million children under age 5 spend a portion of their day, every week, in the care of someone other than their mother. The average young child of a working mom spends about 35 hours a week in such care. About one-quarter of these children are in multiple child care arrangements strung together by their parents. The quality of care varies greatly and many working families struggle with the cost of care. You can find out more about CARE Connections services and programs at www.socc.edu/careconnections. Contact CARE Connections for help and resources to ensure quality care for your children at 1-800-611-7555, or 541-888-7957 in Coos County, or 541-813-1674 in Curry County, or by emailing ccr&r@socc.edu.