Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C./ERR -- The Tri-Command Family Child Care Program completed its last training session of the year today at the MCAS Beaufort FCCP Center.
The program certifies military spouses to start and run their own home-based day care program. The FCCP is looking to increase the present number of at-home providers to ease childcare woes of Tri-Command families.
The program not only benefits the providers by enabling them to stay at home with their own children while earning money, but also those who use the service, according to FCCP director Kathy Chamberlain.
?A lot of parents like the one-on-one attention their children get in this type of setting,? she said. ?They also like the home atmosphere.?
Training sessions instruct potential providers on things such as business aspects, tax information, first aid, sanitation, developmental aspects, how to do lesson plans, how to dispense medications, USDA training and how to set their homes up as the ideal child environment.
?The training is pretty intense,? said Chamberlain, who conducts training for the air station and the Depot. ?All of the women go away exhausted, but they all say it was fantastic. Even those who don?t go on to become providers, feel they get a lot of valuable information they would have otherwise missed out on.?
The training sessions usually go from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day for a week.
Those considering participating should be aware of a couple of things before going in.
Getting started involves about a four- to six-week process, according to Chamberlain. It also involves a significant output of money.
?There are three things that I stress to the potential providers,? she said. ?There?s a fee for the class, for starters. They are also required to have a smoke detector in the room where the children will be sleeping. Finally, they are required to have liability insurance.?
The Navy Marine Corps Relief Society offers a no-interest loan for the three items to families who want to start the program, based on their budgets.
One of the areas that the FCCP is looking to better facilitate is for the care of the 2-years-old and below age group, of which the Tri-Command has an abundance. The Child Development Centers aboard the Depot and MCAS Beaufort each have significant waiting lists for children who fall into this category due to the shortage of spaces.
Other areas that are critical right now include facilitating special needs children and children in need of extended care ? care during CDC non-operational hours. Drill instructors and Marines who work on the flight line are examples of those who may be in need of extended care.
To help encourage potential providers who could help out in these areas to come forward, the Marine Corps has designed a special incentive called Direct Cash Pay. This program helps the family receiving the care by only charging them what their leave and earnings statements dictate they can afford, while compensating the provider for the pay they would normally receive for this type of childcare.
There are currently plans to have a new CDC in Laurel Bay ready for operation next summer. Children enrolled at the MCAS Beaufort CDC will be moved over to the new center. The MCAS Beaufort CDC will be closed down for renovations. It will be able to facilitate more than twice as many children when re-opened, ideally doing away with the waiting list all together. Until then, the demand for at-home providers will continue to rise.
?Right now, we have 21 providers,? said Chamberlain. ?My goal is to get up to 40. Usually, I have no problem filling homes. We could easily use almost twice as many as we have now.?
In order to be eligible for the program, spouses must speak English, have a high school diploma and live in military housing or obtain a state license if they live off base. After a spouse is certified, the FCCP will conduct detailed inspections of the home once a month.
Homes will also undergo an annual inspection by Beaufort County Sanitation, Fire and Safety. For providers who may be short of supplies to facilitate the children, the FCCP lending library is stocked with things such as extra high chairs, cots, play pens and more that are available for check out.
Once certified, providers must receive two hours of monthly training to keep their certification up-to-date. They must also be re-certified each year. Spouses who may have been certified at previous duty stations are also required to be re-certified before they can begin their business here. The monthly training will transfer from base to base, however.
The next FCCP certification training class is scheduled for Jan. 13-17. There are introductory classes held at MCAS Beaufort on the first Monday of every month, 10-11 a.m. For more information, or to register for a class, contact Chamberlain at MCAS Beaufort at 228-7279 or Alisha Lee aboard the Depot at 228-3685.