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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2015)
11A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 Child care:)LQGLQJTXDOL¿HGVWDIILVRQHRIWKHPDLQFKDOOHQJHV Continued from Page 1A Kids, the in-home child care Hunter’s been running out of her Lewis and Clark home since 1997. “Do you want to be a child care provider or a babysitter? Because there’s a difference,” Hunter said. As a registered home-based provider with two-year licenses from the state, she is inspected \HDUO\ E\ WKH 2I¿FH RI &KLOG Care. As another part of her li- censing, Hunter said she goes through regular training about child abuse, neglect, food han- GOLQJ¿UVWDLG&35DQGRWKHU subjects related to her profes- sion. To further improve her program, Hunter participates LQWKHQHZ4XDOLW\5DWLQJDQG Improvement System (http:// bit.ly/1DiJYVc), a child care improvement program rolled out in Oregon in 2013 that Mestrich recommends for all providers. The program offers SURYLGHUVOLNH+XQWHU¿QDQFLDO incentives to improve their op- erations, curriculum and staff training. Several providers in Astoria, Seaside and Jewell are rated as Committed to Qual- ity, the introductory level of the program, which provides a search engine on its website of rated providers. ³5LJKW QRZ LW ZRXOG EH D very good decision,” she said of someone else opening a child care center. “Your startup isn’t WKDWVLJQL¿FDQW´ 2WKHU WKDQ GXULQJ WKH ¿- nancial crash of 2008, Hunter said she’s always had plenty of demand for child care and a SUR¿WDEOHRSHUDWLRQZLWKDERXW nine families on her waiting list. Preschools New and existing preschool providers lined the walls of Warrenton Grade School’s caf- eteria Saturday, pitching their programs to local parents. Since Coryell’s Crossing closed late last year, Mestrich said several new operations have opened up, taking infants, preschoolers and children visit- ing after school. Many are run JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Leah Cox, a teacher at Soar With Us, leads students in a game of letter-recognition bingo. Cox, who has a mas- ters in elementary education, has been with Soar With Us since its beginning. EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian Adrienne Hunter, who operates Simply Kids child care center out of her home, said she had to make several basic modifications, including, clockwise from top left, a sign-in sheet for arriving and departing kids, covering fluorescent lights, childproofing outlets, erecting fenc- es around a small pond, keeping first aid kits and making a bathroom accessible to children. Become a child care provider Family Care Connection, the Child Care 5HVRXUFH DQG 5HIHUUDO SURJUDP LQ &ODWVRS County, is looking for new child care providers in the county to increase resources in our com- munities, and help meet the needs for parents who need child care in order to go to work. 7DUD0HVWULFKLVWKH&KLOG&DUH5HVRXUFH DQG5HIHUUDOFRRUGLQDWRUDQGTXDOLW\UDWLQJDQG improvement specialist for Clatsop and Tilla- mook counties. “I have noticed that the number of referral FDOOV KDYH LQFUHDVHG VLJQL¿FDQWO\ LQ WKH ODVW several months,” Mestrich said. “I receive calls from frustrated parents who tell me they are un- DEOHWR¿QGFKLOGFDUHWKDWPHHWVWKHLUQHHGVRU they tell me that the child care programs don’t have any openings. “There is also a new surge of pregnant PRWKHUV FDOOLQJ ZLWK FRQFHUQV DERXW ¿QGLQJ suitable child care once their baby is born and they need to go back to work.” There is a lack of infant care, weekend care and extended-hour care for working parents. by former in-home providers expanding, from Kelsy Fau- sett’s Sea of Dreams Childcare in the Gateway district of Asto- ria to Tami Williams’ Mrs. Ta- PL¶V'D\FDUH3UHVFKRROLQD former truck garage in Seaside Family Care Connection can help set up a child care business for anyone who loves children and has the necessary skills to nurture and care for them. The program helps child care providers through the licensing process, offers UHTXLUHG DQG RQJRLQJ HDUO\ FKLOGKRRG HGXFD- tion and training and helps build a business by including its information in referrals to parents who are looking for care. The program also works with providers who are license-exempt and providing care for friends and family. Family Care Connection is part of OSU Extension Service in Clatsop, Lincoln and Til- lamook counties. The program offers referrals only and does not provide recommendations. 3DUHQWV DUH JLYHQ FRQVXPHU HGXFDWLRQ PDWH- rials and consultations on the steps to take to PDNHLQIRUPHGGHFLVLRQVDERXW¿QGLQJFDUHIRU their children. For more information about the program, or about becoming a child care pro- vider, call Mestrich at 503-325-1220 or 277- 333-4960. Visit the program’s website at http:// bit.ly/1OewQn1 that she and her husband retro- ¿WWHG Becka Blacksten, owner of Soar With Us in downtown $VWRULD ZDV RQH RI WKH ¿UVW to set up a preschool center in Warrenton after the announce- ment from Coryell’s. Late last month, she moved into a for- mer title company building in downtown Astoria and started accepting infants to school-age children. Her 4-year-old daugh- ter also attends her preschool. EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian Adrienne Hunter converted her basement into a child care center and preschool, called Simply Kids, which she’s been operating since 1997. “I wanted a tutoring center and preschool,” she said. “The child care just kind of fell in.” One of the main challenges Mestrich said providers face in H[SDQVLRQ LV ¿QGLQJ TXDOL¿HG staff. Blacksten said she lucked RXWJDWKHULQJDTXDOL¿HGVWDIILQD short amount of time, including a preschool teacher with a masters in elementary education. Also part of her staff is her mother, an aide; and her husband, Joe Ernst, a former Les Schwab employee and now a budding language arts and science teacher. “I’m more tired at the end of the day here than I was over there,” Ernst said, adding he’d never previously thought about child care as a career, but is lov- ing it nonetheless. The Child Development As- sociate credential is one of the most widely recognized in early childhood education. Ernst said he’s earning his online, spend- LQJDQGWKHHTXLYDOHQWRID college term to do so, along with 1,500 hours of experience on the job. That shouldn’t be hard, he added, considering he’s at the preschool 10 hours a day. Mestrich said she is a mem- EHU RI WKH 2UHJRQ 5HJLVWU\ (http://bit.ly/1J2VbdU), which helps track professional devel- opment of early childhood ed- XFDWLRQSURYLGHUVWKURXJK3RUW- land State University. “I help providers take online classes,” she said, adding there are scholarships available and steps to help providers contin- ue their education, and much of the education is online. g n i l F g n i r p S En ter to w in a Ap ril 1 7 • 1 8 • 19 A u t o S a l e FR EE B B Q LU N CH ! 11-2 at each dealership $ 2 0 in Ch a m b e r B u cks ju st for a test d rive!** Us e them a t yo u r fa vo rite lo ca l reta iler G r een M o un ta in BBQ G r ill! *** No purchase necessar y. Must be 18 to enter. *O n -site fin an cin g fro m yo u r R eally lo ca l cred it u n io n • Up to 120 d a ys N O PAYM EN TS !* • S PECIAL LOW RATES ! W a rren to n 801 SE M a rlin Ave. • W a rren ton 855 Alt H w y 101 • W a rren ton 710 W . M a rin e D r. • Astoria *Membership with Wauna CU required to be eligible for special event financing. Special financing ter ms available Friday, April 17 thru dealer close of business Sunday, April 19, 2015. Please visit our website or contact Wauna CU for additional details. *Based on applicant’s credit score. **Must be 18 to enter drawing o r receive Chamber Bucks. Chamber Bucks awarded one per household. ***Winner selected Monday, April 2 0, 2015. 1605 SE E n sign L n . • W a rren ton G REAT D EALS AN D HU G E IN VEN TO RY TO CHO O S E FRO M