Service Works To Widen Child-Care Opportunities

Barb Giachetti considered hers to be one of society’s most important jobs.

She ran a licensed child-care business out of her home for over 16 years. Now she works for Family Care Resources, a referral and information service for parents, day-care centers and in-home child-care providers.

The director of Family Care Resources, Kathy Thamm, says in-home child care “is a microbusiness that no one knows about.”

It also helps fill a need for parents who struggle to pay for day-care or who have difficulty finding a center close to their home or work.

Now the organization is looking for a place in Spokane to create a child-care lab school. Potential in-home (or family) child-care providers could go to the lab school to learn about creating this kind of business. Currently, there’s no training facility like it in the area.

“We’re probably looking for a duplex where half the house could be the family child-care model and the other half could be our resource center,” Thamm says. “This would be an important education and training tool.”

Both Thamm and Giachetti want to ensure that people who run family child-care businesses go through the proper training and licensing procedures.

Giachetti also tries to dispel misconceptions surrounding in-home child-care providers - that they don’t provide an enriching environment or that they are people who can’t find other employment.

“Most of them see this as an entrepreneurial opportunity, a chance to own their own business,” she says. “And the community needs a choice in child care. Some children do better in day-care centers. Others do better in a home setting.”

Family Care Resources provides access to infant equipment, audio visual training materials, children’s books, toys and specialized resources for multicultural education and children with special needs. They can also help parents locate child care.

To get in touch with Family Care Resources, call 484-0048.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: Created in support of the Spokane County Health Improvement Partnership (HIP), Discoveries highlights people working to improve community health and well-being. If you have a discovery that deserves recognition, call Elana Ashanti Jefferson at 459-5419. To get involved with HIP, call 482-2557.