Networks of centers and Family Child Care (FCC) homes:

1. Community Day Care, Inc, Lawrence, MA

Key features:

· Founded 1970. Independent non-profit agency operating seven centers in the City of Lawrence and a network of 60 family child care homes in Lawrence and neighboring Methuen. Also operates a charter school for grades pre-K through 8. Population served: Lawrence is a city of 72,000, with a population 60% Hispanic. Neighboring Methuen has a population of 44,000. [Note that this combined population of 116,000 compares with Kennebec County’s 117,000 in size and median household income, but is highly urbanized and multi-ethnic.]

· Organized in three divisions, covering Child Care Programs; the Charter School; and Child Care Circuit, providing services to outside ECE providers.

· The seven centers are differentiated by program type, including an infant/toddler program, two school-age B&A care and summer camp programs, two preschool programs, and two work site-based centers, on a college campus and at a courthouse. Center size is small, ranging from 40 to 70 children, i.e. below level of 70+ often claimed to be minimum necessary for sustainability.

· The 60 family care homes serve approximately 200 children, primarily but not exclusively in the infant/toddler age group. It is common for children to move from a family care home to a center as they reach pre-school age, but there is no hard and fast progression.

· The Charter School teaches 300 children in grades pre-K-8, with a waiting list of over 600 for admission.

· Child Care Programs’ central administration provides the following services to all centers and family care homes:

o Financial: Billing, collections, payroll.

o Human resources: recruitment, substitutes, a staff career ladder.

o Support services: medical, therapists, bilingual services, USDA food program management, data analysis, curriculum development, maintenance, transportation.

· Child Care Circuit – a subsidiary – provides services to both CDC’s centers and to other regional ECE providers, including:

Professional development; resource and referral, literacy programs for children and families, administration of child care vouchers, and services to foster parents.

· Funding: in addition to fees, primarily Massachusetts Office of Child Care Services; Mass. Dept of Education; City of Lawrence; and “over two dozen private foundations and businesses.”

Key insight: Model focuses on family care for ages 0-3, centers for ages 3-5. It’s possible to both manage a group of centers and operate a family care network.

Questions:

How close are the interrelationships between family care and centers?

Costs and fees, centers ve family homes?

Sources:

‘Collective Management of Early Childhood Programs,’ Start Smart National Technical Assistance Center, 2003.

http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/reports/inspect/0440_04.pdf