Security Blanket Provided Area Child-Care Givers Vista Volunteers Reach Out To Day-Care Providers

Day-care providers diaper the babies, put the toddlers down for naps and make sure they get enough to eat.

But who cares for the day-care providers?

Holly Beliveau and Lisa Welle do.

The two Americorps VISTA volunteers are spending a year drawing a security blanket around North Idaho’s diverse array of child-care providers.

For months, they’ve been meeting one-on-one with day-care operators, learning their needs and sharing what information they can.

Some child-care givers were a little unnerved by the attention initially, having worked alone for months or years, the volunteers said.

“One thing we learned is the isolation providers feel,” Welle said. “Most are women in their homes alone with people who are only as high as their thighs.”

The Child Care Panel formed by Sen. Gordon Crow, R-Coeur d’Alene, last fall found the same thing. The disorganized, fragmented nature of the child-care system in the Panhandle was identified as one of its greatest weaknesses in the panel’s recently released report.

Slowly, Beliveau and Welle are helping to change that through their VISTA project, “North Idaho Success in Child Care.” The VISTA Project was made possible by a $9,000 grant from Head Start and the state of Idaho.

“Several of the agencies got together and talked about what we needed in child care,” explained Karen Cotton of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. “We decided that we needed a hands-on training program.”

While training is a big part of what Beliveau and Welle do, they’ve taken on far more. Here’s a short list of what the two volunteers hope to achieve before their year of service is over this summer:

Create child-care provider associations in every county to increase networking. Now, associations are only active in Kootenai and Boundary counties.

Continue a series of low-cost workshops that provide training on a variety of subjects for parents and providers.

Compile and publish a directory of child-care resources for providers and parents. The directory will include day-care licensing requirements, local and national child-care organizations, resources for providers and more.

Develop an on-line web site that lists day cares in North Idaho, resources for parents and providers, and links to experts and other resources.

Start an early childhood resource library at the Harding Family Center that lends out books, educational toys and equipment.

One of the biggest challenges the two volunteers face is finding volunteers or agencies to continue their work when they’re gone.

The workshops will continue, because they are a collaborative effort of University of Idaho extension service, Child Care Resource Center at Panhandle Health District and other child care organizations.

The workshops began last summer and have had great turnouts. Organizers found that a half-day workshop on positive discipline was too short.

“They were demanding more,” Beliveau said.

The next workshop is Jan. 31, and the topic is the business of child care. The cost is only $10 for those who register ahead.

A more difficult task is getting the early childhood resource library up and running. Welle is seeking donations of books, help with cataloguing materials, money to buy supplies and volunteers to staff the library at times convenient to child care workers.

The library’s purpose isn’t just to educate, but also to help new day care operators by providing toys and equipment on loan. The VISTA volunteers are relying primarily on donations to get the library going.

“I’m in the kitchen trying to start from scratch,” Welle said.

For more information about the Success in Child Care Project, call 666-6755, Ext. 10.

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