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Caring For Children. Caring For Families
Through continually expanding services, CMS has established a strong tradition of assisting Bronx families by providing quality community-based child care services. Today, the program provides subsidized Day Care Services to 852 children from some of New York's neediest families - making us the largest provider of Day Care Services in New York City.
Supporting FamiliesThe CMS Family Day Care Program supports and strengthens family life by matching families with carefully screened Day Care Providers in their neighborhoods. By providing families with safe, nurturing, high quality child care, children are ensured a developmentally appropriate learning experience in which to thrive and parents are able to maintain self-sufficiency as they work, go to school or attend job-training programs. In many cases, without the CMS Family Day Care Program, such opportunities would not otherwise be possible. Thousands of former public-assistance recipients have been able to complete welfare-to-work assignments, receive training and begin employment while their children were safe in the CMS Family Day Care Program. A diagnostic assessment of every family entering the Family Day Care Program is completed as part of the Intake Process to determine any areas needing intervention. Through the program families also receive crisis intervention when needed as well as referrals and assistance with accessing additional resources. The provision of child evaluations and crisis services to parents has ensured the stability and safety of the home, and has acted as a deterrent to the removal of a child to the Foster Care System.
Registered & Trained Child Care ProvidersCurrently, CMS contracts the services of more than 215 registered Day Care Providers to care for children in the Family Day Care Program. All Day Care Provider homes under CMS sponsorship are carefully evaluated for safety and are monitored on an on-going basis to ensure that children are cared for in a safe environment. Ensuring children's safety begins with careful screening of the Day Care Providers. All prospective Day Care Providers must be certified and registered with New York State following a mandatory 15-hour Health and Safety Course administered by a State Certified Trainer. (Click here to find out more about the registration procedure.) In addition prospective Day Care Providers are fingerprinted and cleared through the NYS Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment.
Once children are placed, Day Care Provider homes are monitored at least 10 times per year through announced and unannounced visits by Social Workers / Agency Representatives to ensure children's safety
Providing Early Childhood EducationDay Care Providers associated with the Cardinal McCloskey Family Day Care Program follow a defined early childhood educational curriculum. Children are provided with activities to promote and enhance their social, physical, cognitive and emotional growth and development. Indoor and outdoor activities are provided in accordance with the recommended Department of Health Day Care guidelines. Play activities such as arts and crafts, drawing and coloring are planned to foster children's socialization skills and promote positive self-esteem. Since many of the children are from Spanish speaking families, all activities and programming follow a curriculum that encourages the children to develop both verbal and written bi-lingual language skills.
Enhanced Food & Nutrition ProgramEvery child participating in the Cardinal McCloskey Family Day Care Program from age 6 weeks to age 13 is enrolled in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Through the CACFP Program, 985 children receive meals on a daily basis. Each Day Care Provider prepares an established meal plan for the children in the home consisting of two main meals and a snack, (breakfast, lunch and snack or snack, lunch and supper), for children one year and older or an infant menu for children 6 weeks to one year. Social Work Staff / Agency Representatives review the menus submitted by the Day Care Providers on a monthly basis and provides ongoing training in nutrition. Meal times are monitored by Social Work Staff / Agency Representatives at least four times per year during announced and unannounced visits at each Day Care Provider home. The visits are conducted to ensure that the food being served is nutritious, balanced, seasonal, and in accordance with CACFP guidelines; that the home is maintained in a sanitary condition; and that the weekly menus are varied and culturally diverse.
Encouraging Parental InvolvementThe parents, guardians and caretakers of the children enrolled in the Cardinal McCloskey Family Day Care Program are an integral part of all aspects of the Day Care experience. The parental role is viewed as central to the well-being and development of each child. Likewise, the need to strengthen and enhance the parenting skills within each family unit and to support and encourage parents not only in their role but also in their reason for needing care (job, school program, training, illness, treatment program, etc.) is seen as crucial to the well-being of the family. From the point of Intake, each family is assigned an individual Social Worker / Agency Representative who is responsible for not only overseeing the needs of the parent and child in the Day Care setting but also through frequent contact, provides parents with the opportunity for close participation in the workings of the program. Informing parents of their rights, as well as helping them to become knowledgeable about Child Care issues and learning how to advocate on behalf of their children is another important program element.
Providing Additional Support For ParentsOver the past 33 years the use of a Social Work model has been quite effective in working with our parents and children. The casework services provided to our parents involve both individual and family counseling, as well as a vast array of referral services and assistance with concrete needs, such as public assistance, Medicaid, housing, etc. Beyond the individual and family counseling, parents are encouraged to attend parenting workshops. Training for our parent, caretaker, and guardian population is done through the presentation of scheduled workshops. Training covers the following topics and others as needed: Single-Parenting Issues, Child Safety, Discipline, Stages of Child Development, Child Abuse, Resources/Activities for Children, Health and Proper Nutrition. The Family Day Care Program has stabilized family life for thousands of families by providing safe secure Child Care as well as through services such as career counseling and assistance with job search, housing, Medicaid, income maintenance and school problems. We have found that our method of both individualized and group participation has been extremely successful and has been beneficial to children and parents.
Hours of Operation
The Intake Process
Families seeking care
will initially be interviewed by an Intake Social Worker / Agency Represetative to determine Eligibility. The Intake Process will involve a diagnostic assessment of the family's need for care, the developmental, social, emotional, physical and nutritional needs of the child as well as a review of the strengths and pressures confronting the family. Once the need for care is established/documented, an approval is secured from the NYC Administration for Children's Services/Division of Child Care/Head Start formerly know as ACD. Once approved, medical forms must be completed and then the family will be assigned to a Day Care Povider home based upon the need, location and available space. A Social Worker / Agency Representative is assigned to the family, a pre-placement visit arranged and a determination made by the parent, Day Care Provider and Social Worker / Agency Representative as to the acceptability of the home. Social Workers / Agency Representatives collaborate closely with parents until an appropriate Day Care Provider home is located.
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