HIGHER STANDARDS BENEFIT YOUNG CHILDREN
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Child Care and Preschool Ministry has successfully completed the Family and Social Services Administration, Division of Family Resources, Bureau of Child Care Voluntary Certification Program (VCP). The Voluntary Certification Program requires unlicensed registered ministries to meet specific standards regarding food and nutrition, health and safety, and special requirements for programs offering infant and toddler care.
The Indiana Association for Child Care Resource and Referral (IACCRR) is implementing the Hoosier Quality Child Care Expansion Project, working directly with unlicensed child care programs to support their efforts to meet the standards. Marsha Thompson, Executive Director of IACCRR states, “IACCRR is committed to increasing the capacity of high quality child care in Indiana. We know high quality child care is essential to healthy communities, school readiness, and lifelong learning. This program illustrates our effectiveness in working toward our goal.”
“We decided to access the extra support from IACCRR to achieve the VCP because this has been our goal since we opened the child care in 2008,” says Sue Doepner, program director. “We wanted to show the community that we offer a quality program with safety and education for all children—one that goes beyond the requirements of a registered ministry.” Doepner continues, “Achieving this also puts us on the first level of the Paths to QUALITY™ program. We are an accredited program with National Lutheran Schools Accreditation and we hope that will quickly bring us to Level 4.”
Quality Expansion Specialist Lynda Place mentored the Mt. Calvary staff through the VCP process. “I can’t say enough good things about our mentor! Lynda has been working with us since July 2010 to attain the Voluntary Certification Program,” says Doepner. “From the very beginning, she broke down this enormous task into smaller, achievable steps that were to be accomplished by each of her next visits. Part of her job was to help us interpret each detail of the guidelines so each requirement was fully met. She also provided training meetings for the directors in our area who were working on this program. These trainings covered all aspects of our program and were so valuable!”
The hope of the Mt. Calvary staff is for each child to have a secure and loving environment in which to develop and thrive in all areas of growth – social, emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual— to reach their fullest potential. “Because we are a Christian child care,” Doepner says, “we also hope that each child knows Jesus as Savior and views his or her self-worth in light of being a child of God.”
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Child Care and Preschool is open Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and accepts children between the ages of 6 weeks and 12 years. Openings are currently available for all age groups.
Information about Voluntary Certification Program:
www.in.gov/fssa/files/vcp_providerguidelinesFinalRevision(1).pdf
Learn more about IACCRR programs: www.iaccrr.org
Learn more about Paths to QUALITY: www.childcareindiana.org
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