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YMCAs are dedicated to providing high-quality, affordable child care. As the nation's largest provider of child care programs, YMCAs provide family-centered, values-based programs to nurture children's healthy development. Well-trained staff provide safe, affordable, high-quality care so you can have peace of mind while you work.
Like all Y programs, child care is open to all, with financial aid available. Staff members are partners with parents and other caregivers, working together to help kids grow up healthy, happy and strong.
Work Without Worry
For the times you can't be there yourself, the YMCA supports your efforts to nurture your child's healthy development. Well-trained staff provide safe, affordable, high-quality care so you can have peace of mind while you work to help your family succeed.
Age-Appropriate Experiences
YMCA infant-toddler care gives babies the consistent, positive attention they need. Aware of the developmental stages that go along with these early years, Y staff guide children's growth. Positive relationships with these caregivers help children learn to trust others and themselves.
YMCA preschool care builds on children's natural desire to learn new things and become more self-reliant. Getting along with other children, sharing, taking turns and working in a group are a natural part of playing games or learning a new craft. The Y is an exciting and challenging place, helping preschoolers stretch their skills in mind and body. It is also a safe, comfortable place where children build positive relationships with caring adults.
YMCA school-age care makes sure that the time gaps before and after school are filled creatively and constructively. Kids have the chance to express their talents in the arts, sports and other areas of interest, taking advantage of all the Y has to offer. Kids find out what success is all about in an approach that says everybody plays, everybody wins. Time is set aside for tackling homework, with adult help available. Y staff know how to challenge children and listen to them.
Family
No matter how many hours children spend in child care, family is the most important structure in their lives. At the YMCA, good child care is good family care. Like all Y programs, child care is open to all, with financial aid available. Staff members are partners with parents and other caregivers, working together to help kids grow up healthy, happy and strong.
A Commitment to Children's Safety and Protection
The YMCA was one of the first national organizations to take a stand in the critical area of child abuse prevention. When parents drop off their children at a YMCA, they're entrusting that Y with their greatest treasures. YMCAs take that responsibility very seriously. Ys encourage parents' visits at any time and solicit their input and full involvement in ensuring the safety of all children in Y programs.
Quality Matters
Collectively, YMCAs are the country's largest provider of child care and are committed to developing and operating the highest-quality child care programs possible. YMCAs seek to provide child care that supports and strengthens families and nurtures the healthy, successful growth and development of each child involved. Before choosing a program, look for the five essential ingredients of quality child care:
1. Positive and healthy relationships
2. A spacious and appropriate environment
3. Engaging and diverse activities
4. Emphasis on safety and health
5. A highly effective administration
Quality in all five areas of a child care program leads to an experience for the children and their families that is much more than the sum of its parts. While poor-quality programs may threaten children's development, high-quality programs can pay tremendous dividends - not just for the kids and their families, but also for the larger community and the nation.
Your child's experience and the experiences of millions of American children in child care every day can make the difference in their emotional stability, their successful development and their family's economic success. YMCA Child Care provides programs to more than 500,000 kids at more than 9,000 sites nationwide. These programs help kids grow physically, mentally and spiritually, while emphasizing and modeling character development values such as caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.
Some Important Facts About YMCA Child Care• Nearly 50 percent of children in YMCA Child Care come from families whose annual income is less than $25,000 a year.
• About 40 percent of children in YMCA Child Care come from single-parent homes.
• YMCA Child Care is affordable to the members of the community, and those who cannot afford it are given financial assistance when possible.
• YMCA Child Care helps children grow physically, mentally and spiritually. YMCA programs include character development, international education, health and fitness, environmental awareness, school readiness, diversity, and community service.
• YMCA Child Care supports families through community collaborations with other social service agencies-providing additional support for children and their families.
• YMCA Child Care supports parents through regular activities and opportunities for parental involvement.
• YMCAs are dedicated to developing and maintaining quality child care staff. YMCA Child Care staff regularly pursue ongoing professional development training as a requirement of their positions.
• More than one in 10 children in school-age care are in a YMCA school-age care program.
• Nationwide, the median fees for YMCA Child Care are typically 30 percent lower than the national average.
• More than 90 percent of YMCAs reported that their programs use the YMCA Child Care Quality Check or other nationally recognized assessment tools to monitor and evaluate quality.
• Eighty-four percent of YMCA school-age programs are located in schools. Many YMCAs receive support from local schools and school boards.
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