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CHILD CARE

( Lab School )

The Child Care Program intends to achieve its Mission Statement through the implementation of the following goals:

To provide a model facility which provides education, training and support for children, students and families.
To view parents as the child's primary source of affection and care.
To work with parents as a team to help them gain confidence and improve parenting skills.
To employ only qualified trained specialists in child development and early childhood education.
To operate as a parent cooperative.
To provide an intimate personal atmosphere and the high level of supervision that allows children to thrive with low adult/child ratios.

CHILD CARE PROGRAMS

Centralia College is used as a model facility throughout the Lewis County and Washington State . The child-study laboratories housed within the center are used for many different purposes: student and parent support services; early childhood education; student training and teaching; parent education;and comprehensive childrens' services. These child-study laboratories provide access to education, support services for student retention and child care while students attend classes. In addition, this center gives single, low-income, first generational college students (at risk for not completing their educational programs) the ability to be trained for higher paying jobs to get off welfare.

The following programs are offered at the Child Development Center :

Parent Education: The goal of the parent education program is to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect by providing education and support for families. The training provides enhancement and support for the parents strengths and develops positive parenting skills toward the reduction of the risks of abuse and neglect. The program has two components:

The parents are required to work one hour each day in their child's classroom at the center alongside trained staff. The staff provides support and positive role models for the parents. Parents are viewed as the child's primary source of affection and care; the staff works with parents as a team to help them gain confidence and improve parenting skills.
Parents also attend parent education classes weekly. These classes give parents an opportunity to further study child development, positive guidance and discipline, nutrition, medical and dental needs of their children, contemporary family problems, self-esteem, sibling rivalry, and other relevant topics.

Early Childhood Education Training and Student Teaching: The Early Childhood Education Program is designed to prepare teachers for employment and increase the skills of those currently employed. Early Childhood Education students utilize the child-study laboratory environments for observation and practice. Here students acquire the foundation for a philosophy of teaching, a broad base of knowledge of child development from birth through age eight and special competence in working with children in at least one period of that age span.

Comprehensive Children's Services: While parents attend classes, their young children from 12 months to 6 years are provided with a healthy, safe, loving, nurturing and developmentally appropriate environment. This child care program is designed to foster individual children's optimal development and support the families' child rearing efforts.

Student Support Services: Over 75% of the students enrolled in programs at the Child Development Center are low-income single parents who are first generational college students at risk for: 1) not completing their educational programs; 2) remaining in poverty because they lack job training and skills and; 3) at risk for child abuse and neglect because they lack necessary parenting skills and support.

The Child Development Center addresses several needs at the national, state and local levels: 1) 51% of all poor American families are headed by women; 2) 40% of all single parents are living below poverty level; 3) At Centralia College, 60% of the students are women and 23% are single parents;4) One of the biggest barriers to job training for higher paying positions is the lack of child care; 5) Nationally, the reported cases of child abuse and neglect have more than doubled in the last five years; 6) In Lewis County, the reported cases of child abuse and neglect have doubled in the last three years; 7) Single young parents are particularly at risk for child abuse and neglect due to lack of parenting skills and support.

The comprehensive children and parent services offered at the Child Development Center are strategically planned to help encourage and support achievement for families at risk. Programs housed in the Child Development Center have been in existence since 1986. These programs work. Over 90% of all students enrolled in programs offered at the Child Development Center have completed their educational programs and have gone on to jobs and/or four year universities. Furthermore, the parenting skills acquired have helped reduce and prevent child abuse and neglect within virtually every family served.

The child care program is available to students and staff in Morton.

The following paperwork may be printed out and completed AFTER you have received confirmation of your spot on the waiting list (waiting list application). If you are unable to access these documents, you can get copies from the Child Development Center at 412 Oak St., or call the phone number below.

For more information about the Centralia College Child Care Programs please call Gloria Price, Program Manager at (360) 736-9391, extension 462 or email the Office Assistant.