Items filtered by date: November 2015

We congratulate the 28 dedicated and determined child care providers who graduated from our 7-month, 120-hour Child Development Associate (CDA) course in June, taught by CDA instructor Cecilia Scott-Croff. They are now eligible to receive the CDA credential from the Council for Professional Recognition.

This credential, which satisfies New York State licensing requirements, is a training standard for national organizations including the National Association of Family Child Care and the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and a key stepping stone in the path of career advancement for child care providers.

Our CDA course graduates are now better equipped to nurture the emotional, physical, intellectual, and social development of the children in their care, who are the real beneficiaries of this effort.

This professional development opportunity is funded by the Westchester County Department of Social Services Office of Workforce Investment. Our thanks to Donnovan Beckford and OJ Yizar for their support.

ADVOCACY VICTORY! The "Thriving Families Resolution" unanimously passed the Board of Legislators last night. We hope you will click below and read the entire resolution, but the key is that the Families Task Force will be developing strategies and programs to ensure more of Westchester's families have access to the high quality housing, child care/after school care, employment and job training, schools and home supports, transportation, and medical and mental health services in our county.

Have a listen. We hope you enjoy our podcast.

Seg 1: Emily Angell
Seg 2: Jeff Samuelson
Seg 3: Marsha Gordon
Seg 4: Alisa Kesten
Seg 5: Peter Edelman

Seg 1: Kathy Halas
Seg 2: Juanita Popu
Seg 3: Elizabeth Rodano
Seg 4: Linsday Iacovello
Seg 5: Dana Lawless
Seg 6: Dana Doyle

Seg 1: Craig Ruoff
Seg 2: Jeff Samuelson
Seg 3: Amy Paulin
Seg 4: Kathy Halas
Seg 5: Wendy Armstrong

Seg 1: Jennifer Canter
Seg 2: Ronnie Weinberger
Seg 3: Henry Wilson
Seg 4: Jeff Samuelson
Seg 5: Rob Kissner
Seg 6: Craig Ruoff
Last Seg: Tara Rosenblum

Seg 1: Craig Ruoff, Cushman Wakefield
Seg 2: Stuart Levine
Seg 3: Hillary Millan
Seg 4: Kathy Halas, Executive Director
Seg 5: Dana Lawless
Seg 6: Frank Williams

Because children only benefit from quality early learning programs, the Child Care Council strives to recognize and support examples of quality experiences.   This year, the Council is awarding four Cate Riley Innovation for Quality Prizes, three to Westchester programs and a fourth to a child care resource and referral agency in Syracuse.  Funding comes from the Cathryn Riley Leadership Fund established years ago at the Council for a respected and beloved Council staff person who died in a tragic accident.   The selections were made by a committee comprised of Lottie Harris, former Council executive director, Dr. Pat Amanna of the Child Care Center at Purchase College and Mary Lou Sgro, Westchester Community College faculty member and current president of WAEYC, and Kathy Halas, Executive Director of the Council.

Westchester awards:

• It Takes a Village to Educate a Child, Sonia-Marshall Brown, Executive Director, for “Cooperative Play Skills with Lego Robotics” an afterschool program for children with special needs and typically developing children together, that teaches social and leadership skills embedded in a Legos Robotics class.
• Little House Day Care, Elizabeth Knowles, Owner/Director, for “The Fundamentals of Play”, a new support community for family and group family programs through hands-on trainings and forums.
• Little Angels Child Development, Angela Bayer-Perseeco, Owner/Director for “From Seeds to Sharing”, a community garden project where the children will create a vegetable garden from scratch and donate their produce to the Sharing Community, so that they learn about both gardening and giving.  

Statewide award:

• Child Care Solutions, Inc., Lori Schakow, Executive Director, for ”Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read and Sing”, to improve the kindergarten readiness of children enrolled in legally-exempt care in Onondaga County, part of a county-wide initiative of the Early Childhood Alliance.

All of the recipients will be sharing the results of their projects so that the Council can share with the Westchester early care and education community.    

Westchester child care and after school programs are encouraged to apply for a 2017 Cathryn A. Riley Innovation for Quality Prize to support improvements in early care and education quality. The Council is looking for new or existing projects that meet one or more of the following criterion:

• Involves collaboration with other parties
• Strengthens business practices
• Involves working with employers
• Strengthens professional development