Day care in Tompkins County has come a long way over the past 30 years. In the 1960s, the county could claim only eight licensed day-care centers, one non-profit licensed center and no central facility to serve as a referral agency. Today, there are more than 145 registered family and licensed group family day-care providers, 19 licensed child-care centers and one coordinating facility -- the Day Care and Child Development Council.
"Because there is a turnover in the community, you have to keep educating people," said the council's Associate Director Lynne Whetzel. The high number of families here for only a few years not only necessitates more facilities, but it requires that agencies constantly make their presence known to the public.
The Day Care and Child Development Council is crucial to the daily functioning of many families. Although the not-for-profit organization does not provide child care, its three programs -- Child Care Resource and Referral, Child and Family Development, and Teen Pregnancy/Parenting -- offer services just as integral to children's well-being. These services include child-care referrals for parents, home visits to furnish parents and child-care providers with information about toddler and infant care, and counseling for young mothers and fathers under 21 to help them improve their living situations and gain independence, among other services.
This year the Day Care and Child Development Council celebrates its 30th anniversary, and it has invited Dr. T. Berry Brazelton to speak in Ithaca. "He's a renowned pediatrician, a very famous man," said Whetzel. Brazelton hosts the television program What Every Baby Knows and is author of Families: Crisis and Caring and Touchpoints. He will be on campus Oct. 13 and 14, presenting a lecture, "Stresses and Supports for Families in the 1990s," the first day and heading a professional seminar on the second. (See Cornell Chronicle, Sept. 25). The Tompkins County United Way, which allocates funds each year to the Day Care and Child Development Council, is one of the local sponsors of the Brazelton event.
United Way help manifests itself in a number of ways at the council, including short-term scholarships for low-income parents in times of crisis. These scholarships cover day-care expenses to ensure that children remain in a stable environment while problems at home are resolved.
Recently, the council received a facelift after volunteers participated in the United Way's "Day of Caring." Designed to encourage involvement from the community, the event called for employees to take time off from work to help agencies with repairs and other projects. The council now boasts a freshly painted lounge and stairwell at its headquarters on West Clinton Street.
The Day Care and Child Development Council has sponsored various anniversary events throughout the year. Children made gifts for their mothers at the Mother's Day Brunch at the Elks Lodge in May. They also played on fire trucks and ambulances at Climb-On-Big-Trucks Day in June.
With its motto "Celebrating the past, caring for the future," agency members say they hope to continue making this anniversary year a memorable one for the community -- especially for the children.
This article appears courtesy of the 1997 Cornell United Way Campaign. Campaign information is available on the Web at http:www.cornell.edu/united_way/unitedway. html or from your division United Way volunteer. If you need more information, call 255-8595.