About The Family Center

Center Based Child Care Program | Partnerships with Parents | Onsite Special Education/Early Intervention | The Family Center as a Training Site | Home & Community-Based Program

Center Based Child Care Program

The Center serves approximately forty families each year. The children are divided into three groups, two mixed-age groups of infants and toddlers, and one group of preschoolers. Each group has one certified teacher, one assistant teacher, one graduate intern, one part-time assistant teacher, and additional student teachers and volunteers. In addition, we have teenage interns that work every afternoon. The Center is open Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., from September through July. We are closed one week in December, a week in the spring, and on all major holidays. The Center is also closed for staff development five days per year. The Center offers both full- and part-time programming. Childcare options include two, three, four, or five days, from either 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., or 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Children in the general education childcare program must attend at least two full days. Children in the pre-school special education or early intervention programs attend five mornings. Families of children in the special education program can choose to add the childcare afternoon component for an additional fee. We try to meet each family's educational and childcare needs. No morning option is available for the general education childcare program. Our two mixed-age groupings enable children to have a program specifically geared to their individual needs, and to be in situations similar to those they have at home. Children are able to stay with the same teachers for more than one year, which provides for continuity of care giving. The third group takes children who are 3.0 to 4.5 in September. Children in the preschool special education program can spend two years in this group. In most cases, children in the general education childcare program are limited to one year. The curriculum for Group Three focuses on group living and preschool activities. Through early intervention and preschool special education, the Family Center serves children who have a variety of delays and disabilities. These children participate fully in the program, with the assistance of the director, the family support coordinator, therapists, and a classroom staff trained to support inclusive educational programming. Teachers individualize activities to meet each child's physical, emotional, language, and cognitive needs, thereby enabling children with delays and disabilities to participate fully.