Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Scope Will Cope With Kids

Alison Boggs Staff Writer

Looking to get involved but can’t find a babysitter? One Spokane Valley volunteer group wants to help.

To make things easier for busy parents, SCOPE East Valley has offered free child care since its start last summer.

“Our hope is that it’ll bring more people in,” said volunteer Shelley Wiemer. SCOPE stands for Sheriff’s Community Oriented Policing Effort.

Wiemer informally surveyed her Trentwood community and found 22 people who said they’d be more inclined to attend SCOPE meetings if child care was available.

When the group holds its monthly meetings at Trentwood Elementary, child care is provided by two to four girls between the ages of 11 and 13, Wiemer said.

All the girls have completed a daylong course called babysitting basics, given by Deaconess Medical Center.

The course costs $10, includes talks by police officers and registered nurses, and teaches safety tips and introductory CPR. The monthly babysitting course has been around for about two years and usually fills to its 60-person capacity, said Deaconess community programs secretary Hope Lopez.

At the SCOPE meetings, the babysitters also are in constant contact with an adult superviser, Wiemer said. The girls have cared for up to a dozen children during the two-hour meetings, she said.