• Connections with the New York State Office for Children and Family Services (NYS OCFS) for grant opportunities.
• Administration of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) for family child care providers.
• Technical assistance, program assessment and consultations on curriculum.
• Connections with support groups.
• Yearly conferences and special events.
• Workshops and on-site training sessions.
• Technical assistance and training in fulfilling requirements to administer medications.

Statistics and Reports on Child Care Supply and Demand

Whether you’re starting a new program or wondering how you can improve your current program it’s essential to understand the needs of the families you serve and the child care supply in your area. In late 2006, Westchester County commissioned a study of the Westchester County child care market to address why enrollment in regulated child care settings were not at the anticipated level, and why use of child care subsidies provided by Westchester County DSS had recently declined.  

The finding flexibility of programs. In addition, parents are looking for more flexible child care arrangements. Many are using a combination of several types of child care, such as part-day in a child care center or home provider, and part-day in their own home or that of a friend or family member. Parents at all income levels are more often opting out of formal child care programs. As a result, the combined capacity of child care centers and homes in the county is greater than the current demand. 

The bottom line is that child care is a business, so if you are planning to open a business you need to plan for it carefully. This means thinking about what “product” you are offering, whether it meets customer needs, who your competition is, how much it will cost you to provide what parents are seeking, how much you will be able to charge, how you will market your product to the community, and many other considerations.

Additional information on the child care community in Westchester County can be found in the resources below. You may also contact the Director of Employer and Parent Services, 914-761-3456 ext. 139 or email: nicolem@cccwny.org, for information specific to your area.

Click here for Parent Requests for Child Care; Information on the child care requests made through the Referral Department.
Click here for the Westchester County Child Care Capacity and Enrollment Report 2007.
Click here for the Westchester County 2006 Child Care Utilization Study (the ETC Report); A comprehensive market study of child care in Westchester County.  
Click here for the Westchester County Child Care Supply and Demand Survey 2005.

Training:
CCCW provides a wide variety of training opportunities for child care professionals throughout the county. Through regional workshops, conferences and on-site workshops, the training department is available to assist you in meeting your mandated training requirements. Regulations for all modalities require 30 hours of training in each registration or licensing period.

Twice each year, the CCCW publishes a training calendar, which lists our scheduled training opportunities.
Click here to view the Professional Development Calendar.
Click here for Medication Administration Training (MAT) course dates & MAT Registration Form.

Health Care Consultant Services Program
The Office of Family and Children Services will require that all child care providers who choose to administer medication to children in a child care setting, with the exception of over-the-counter topical ointments, sunscreen and topically applied insect repellant must:
• Successfully complete the Office of Children and Family Services approved Medication Administration Training ( MAT ) Course.
• Have a Health Care Consultant of record who must review and approve the child care program's health care plan.
• Have an Office of Children and Family Services approved Health Care Plan with a policy for the administration of medication.

CCCW provides a Health Care Consultant Service Program to assist with these new requirements. The program is all-inclusive and must be renewed each licensing/registration period. The service includes:
• A workshop on developing health care plans
• Review and approval of the entire Office of Children and Family Services health care plan and other documents related to the programıs medication administration policy.
• Assistance with developing medication procedures for your site.
• At least one site visit with follow-up consultation.
Click here to view the necessary steps to take in order to become approved to administer medications.
Click here for Medication Administration Training (MAT) course dates & MAT Registration Form.
Click here for Health Care Consultant Service Agreement.

Newsletters:
CCCW publishes a quarterly newsletter, "Update" which can keep you abreast of the latest national and local developments affecting the child care industry. Creative ideas, marketing and business tips, updates on CCCW services are also regular newsletter features.
Click here to view the newsletter. (pdf file)

The Institute for School Age Child Care, a department of the CCCW, publishes a newsletter containing funding, programming and training information relevant to school age care programs in the area.
Click here to view the ISACC newsletter. (pdf file)

The Cathryn A. Riley Leadership Fund:
This vital fund is named for Cathryn A. Riley–a former Council employee who devoted her entire professional life to improving the lives of young children and those who work with them. Her dedication and passion for early childhood programs lives on in this fund, as it offers a step forward to early childhood professionals who have new and exciting ideas to develop and share.

The Fund awards educational grants to early childhood professionals who would like to develop projects that will enhance their leadership skills and inspire others to advance through training. The Fund supports the development of new collaborations supporting children and families, initiatives promoting early childhood education, independent research and the development of courses strengthening leadership.

Grants from the Cathryn A. Riley Leadership Fund are awarded once a year, yet are designed to be open-ended. Applicants must be:

• A resident of New York State.
• Employed in the early childhood field.
• Work with children from birth through age 12 and their families.
• Submit a detailed proposal that demonstrates how their training goals will advance them to leadership roles within the child care community.

To learn more about this Fund call Susan Poltarak at (914) 761-3456, ext. 108 or e-mail her.

$$ Available for Training:
The Educational Incentive Program (EIP) was created to promote the professional and career development of those working in the field of child care. Scholarships are awarded based on financial need and can be used for workshops, conferences, credit-bearing courses and credentials within the child care profession.
For an application or further information, call 1-800-295-9616 or visit the Web site.

Mandated Reporters:
As a professional in the child care field, you are a mandated reporter. It is your responsibility to report or cause a report to be made, whenever you have reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming before you in your professional or official capacity is abused or maltreated.

The purpose of the mandatory reporting statute is to identify suspected abused and maltreated children as soon as possible so that children can be protected from further harm. Intervention services cannot begin until a report is made. Consequently, as a mandated reporter you play a critical role in preventing any future abuse or maltreatment to a child.

Report child abuse to the Hotline, 24 hours per day at 1-800-635-1522.

Learn more about your role as a mandated reporter and the regulations pertaining to child abuse and maltreatment.
Click here to visit the Web site.




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