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.

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

March 15 - April 28, 2017

The Child Care Council of Westchester and Westchester Association for the Education of Young Children (WAEYC) celebrate the Week of the Young Child with our 9th Annual Children’s Book Drive.

Learning to read and write starts in early childhood when children have many opportunities to hear books read to them. This forms the basis for later school success. Many child care programs in Westchester County do not have enough books. They need your help.

From March 15—April 28, 2017, please donate slightly used books at the Child Care Council and other child care programs that are collection sites. The Child Care Council is located at 313 Central Park Avenue, Scarsdale, New York (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm; call for Saturday hours).

Please only donate books in very good condition that can be used and enjoyed by other children. We especially welcome books depicting diverse ages, abilities and cultures, for children ages zero to 12.