Agenda - 09-02-1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 1� .»5- Second, the direct benefits of day care services extend be- yond the children to their families by freeing them to work and become involved in community affairs. The availability of low cost, quality day care for families, otherwise dependent on total, social services subsidy, is the first step in breaking the cycle of poverty. Thus it can be argued that the number of families on total subsidy could be reduced eventually with the initial provision of' day care. The community also benefits from the- larger employment base made available by freeing people to seen employment. And, in those cases where parents are being trained, i the level of skill of community members is improved. In Orange County there are eleven certified day care centers. Each of these day care centers is unique in various organizational 'j characteristics, but they all have the following goals as a park: of their programs: 1. Education--to enhance the growth of language, perceptual, and cognitive development through activities specifically planned for this purpose. ' 2. Physical--to help children develop physical skills and coordination with techniques and equipment emphasizing large and small muscle control. 3. Social and emotional---to promote children's ability to get _ along with other people (both children and adults) and to 'E express and deal with emotions in an appropriate manner through exposure to differing role models and through posi- tive guidance. 4.. Health and nutrition--to provide opportunities for pre- ventive health care and the identification and treatment of health problems through cooperation with other community, agencies and to supplement the diet by providing at least one-third of the child's daily minimum nutritional, require-, ments by serving snacks and lunch and, in most cases, breal: fast. 5. Self--help----to reinforce tl�e child's ability to care for her/ himself, for example, self-feeding, and to work and play independently by providing appropriate opportunities and encouragement. 6. Parent support--to augment parental efforts in all of the above areas through working with them cooperatively in the ' best interests of their child. Goals like the ones stated above are a required part of a certified day care program. They are not a requirement for centers to become licensed. The only way to insure that the above goals can be met is by having enough qualified staff to maintain a low ratio of children to adults. The difference between minimal standards which do not provide enough staff to insure quality care and those which do is well illustrated by a comparison of the north Carolina Day Care Licensing Law and the Requirements for Certification. Below is a comparison of the staffing and group size requirements of the two sets of standards: iw