Exceptional Services for Parents,
Child Care Providers & Employers

Child Care Services for Parents in Warren, Washington and Hamilton Counties

We provide free services to help parents in their search for child care by:

• Providing information on the types of and options for child care
• Maintaining a database of New York State regulated child care providers
• Helping families become informed consumers about quality child care and selecting care that best meets their needs

Check out our quarterly parent newsletter:  Parent Newsletter Winter 2018-2019

Child Care Referrals

The Child Care Network gladly provides parents with referrals to child care providers.

To obtain information about child care referrals, please contact:

Elizabeth Mahon-Laidlaw
Hours:  Monday – Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Phone: 518-798-7972, ext 210 or toll-free 800-807-3224
Fax:  518-812-0799
Email: laidlawe@saccn.org
Or, click here for an online inquiry form.

Disclaimer:
The child care referrals provided to you are not recommendations.  The Child Care Network does not investigate, inspect, regulate or monitor any of the child care centers or family child care homes included in our database of state regulated providers.  You have the right to choose, investigate and monitor the child care arrangement that best meets the needs of your family.

Confidentiality:
Any and all Information received or discussed as part of your child care referral will be handled in a professional manner, is considered confidential and will not be shared.

Helpful Information and Resources on Related Child Care Topics

Quality Child Care Indicators

1. Adult to Child Ratio: How many children are there in care for each adult?  The fewer the children for each adult, the more attention for your child. And the younger the child, the more important the adult to child ratio is. For example, in a center program babies need at least one adult per 4 babies (1:4) and four year olds generally do well with one adult for 8 children (1:8).
2. Group Size:  How many children are in the group? The smaller the group size, the better for your child; a smaller group size is likely to be a calmer, safer environment for young children, in general. 
3. Caregiver Qualifications and Training: What type of training and education has he/she experienced?   Caregivers with degrees and/or special training to work with young children will be better prepared to help your child learn.  Ask caregivers what types of trainings they participate in to maintain and improve their skills.
4. Staff Turnover:  How long has the staff at the center or the family child care home been there?  Children benefit greatly when caregivers stay with the same children for at least a year.  Learning and development can be negatively affected when children are repeatedly using their time and energy to transition to new staff. 
5. Parent Involvement:  How does the caregiver promote communication with parents?  Is parent input and involvement valued by the caregiver? Forming positive relationships between the caregiver and the parent is essential to quality care.  A parent needs to feel free to visit the child care program at all times and to know what happens in the day to day happenings in the life of his/her child
6. Health and Safety: An important component of a quality environment for children is one that is safe for exploration, social interactions and freedom of movement.  Supervision of children at all times is the primary way to promote overall health and safety. Additionally, does the provider know how to reach the parents in an emergency? Are rooms well lit and ventilated? Do the adults know first aid and CPR?  Are smoke detectors evident? Child care regulations may be obtained on line at www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/.Note: While state regulated programs meet basic health and safety standards, they do not necessarily meet other quality standards as outlined above; quality standards go beyond state licensing standards.
7. Accreditation:Is the child care provider accredited by a national organization? Caregivers that are accredited have met voluntary standards for child care that are higher than licensing requirements.  The National Association of the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Association of Family Child Care (NAFCC) are the two largest organizations that accredit child care programs.

• Steps in Choosing Quality Child Care:
  • One of the important steps in the choosing the best child care option is to review a program’s licensing records, inquiring about the regulatory and complaint history to make sure the child care program is in good standing with the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (NYSOCFS) and that there are no unresolved regulatory violations. To contact your local regional office, call 1-800-732-5207 or visit the website at www.ocfs.state.ny.us.
• Types of Legal Child Care
• Parent’s Child Care Checklist
• Finding Creative Solutions TIPSHEET
• 2017-2018 Average Child Care Rates
• Child Care Financial Assistance Options
• The Child Care Tax Credit
• Organizations That Promote Healthy Families Directory
• Parent Education Resources
• Parent Tip Sheets

If you have a complaint about a child care program, please call the New York State Child Care Complaint Line at 1-800-732-5207.

Prevent/Report Child Abuse and Maltreatment

If you have any concerns and/or comments about the services that you have received from The Child Care Network, we would like to hear from you. Please contact our Executive Director, Lynn Sickles at 518-798-7972, extension 204 or sicklesl@saccn.org.

Referral Follow Up:

Within a month of receiving a child care referral, the referral specialist will contact you to follow up on the referral process.  The information you provide regarding your search for child care and the effectiveness of the information we provided will help us to improve our level of service to our customers.

Contact information:

To obtain additional information about services for parents, please contact

Elizabeth Mahon-Laidlaw
Phone: 518-798-7972, ext 210 or toll-free 800-807-3224
Email: laidlawe@saccn.org

Or, click here for an online inquiry form.

Individuals with special needs who may want information in an alternate accessible format are encouraged to call the office at 798-7972 or email info@saccn.org.  Arrangements can be made for TTY calls, translation services and other special needs.

 

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