Child Care Council of Westchester, Inc., a child care resource and referral organization for parents, child care providers, employers, and community organizations.

So You're Thinking of Starting a Program?
The Institute for School Age Child Care (ISACC), a department of the Child Care Council of Westchester (CCCW), provides many support services for individuals and organizations interested in starting a before and/or after-school program.

Registration
The first step to starting a program is to become familiar with the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (NYS OCFS) School Age Care Registration process and regulations. Registration application packets may be requested through the Child Care Council of Westchester.
Click here to request an application.

Through a contract with the NYS OCFS, the CCCW offers information sessions about the school age registration process and staff are available to answer questions about registration and the regulations. The CCCW also processes all school age care registration applications for Westchester County.
Click here for a schedule of upcoming start up information sessions in our Training Calendar.

For general support as you start a new program, feel free to contact Susan M. Edelstein, ext 127, email susane@cccwny.org

Become a member of the CCCW and receive many benefits including use of our extensive library collection and video tapes, reduced conference fees, and more!
Click here to become a member.

The State of School Age Care in Westchester
The field of after-school programs has exploded over the last ten to fifteen years with the dramatic increase of parents/caregivers in the workforce. The 2003 State of After-school Programs in Westchester Report offers a local perspective on the tremendous growth in this field, and also highlights the need for more safe places for children to spend time in the out-of-school time hours.
Click here for the text of the report.

CHILD CARE SUPPLY AND DEMAND Click Here.

Child and Adult Care Food Program(CACFP)
Funds to cover the cost of snack (and in some cases, meals) are available to many programs through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) CACFP program.

Reimbursement rates for snacks vary, depending on a child's household eligibility. Reimbursement rates range from .05 cents per child, per day, to .61 cents.

While .61 cents per snack may not seem like a lot of money, consider the following: 30 children X .61 per day X 5 days per week X 4 weeks = $366 per month in food subsidy.

That's over $3,500 for a 10 month period!

For more information on the CACFP program and to request an application to participate in the CACFP program, call 1-800-942-3858 and ask to speak with a public health nutritionist.

You can also check out the CACFP Web site for New York for more information.

Fingerprinting Requirements
NYS OCFS requires that all child care staff, substitutes, volunteers, and consultants who have regular contact with children must be fingerprinted. The CCCW offers FREE fingerprinting in their offices in White Plains.

Call 761-3456 ext. 133 to schedule your appointment. Be sure to bring a photo I.D.
A schedule of fingerprinting offered at trainings held at the CCCW is also available.
Click here for fingerprinting information in our Training Calendar.

Fingerprinting is also available at the Yonkers Regional Office, 525 Nepperhan Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10703, 914-376-8810.

Complaint Procedures
Anyone with a complaint about a licensed or registered program should call 800-732-5207. This is the central clearinghouse number that will be transferred directly to the Yonkers Regional Office, NYS OCFS. The Yonkers office can be reached directly at 914-376-8810. A licensed representative will visit the program, and mandate necessary action.

Anyone who suspects child abuse should call the Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-342-7472.

Directors' Meetings
The School Age Directors' Network has been providing peer support to school age care and after school directors for more than 15 years. A membership organization of school age care professionals, the SADN meets monthly during the school year at the Child Care Council of Westchester, located at 470 Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains.

The SADN meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month (excluding July and August) and there is no fee to attend the meetings. Membership in the Network runs from September through August and is $40 per year for two staff from the same organization. Membership is $10 for each additional staff from that organization. Membership benefits include credit for training hours received at the meetings, discounts on training costs and conference registration, and discounts from selected vendors.

For more information contact:
Noreen Brett, Co-President at 914-698-5632 or Linda Cammorata, Co-President at (718) 678-8793

The Middle School Providers' Network is a new group that meets monthly at the Child Care Council and was formed to support the specific needs of afterschool practitioners serving middle school youth. There is no membership fee to attend these meetings.

For more information about the network and future meeting dates contact:
Susan M. Edelstein 914-761-3456 x 127.

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