YMCA expands day care services

Grant funding enables program in Bowie for children with chronic medical conditions

Currently, the YMCA offers day care for preschool and school-age children, and as a result of the grant, will re-open its infant and toddler program to both children with medical needs and other children.

Many families of children with medical needs do not have a day care center they can use and are unable to work, said Andrea Kolp, associate executive director of program services for the Arc of Prince George’s County. Arc is a national organization which provides services to people with mental retardation and their families.

‘‘Typical child care centers just can’t manage that level of care,” Kolp said. ‘‘So the child might be perfectly healthy and need pre [school] education so they’re ready for school and ready to learn, and [parents] can’t find a center that’s willing to accept them because of their increased needs.”

There are only two such programs in the state, Kolp said, with one located in Montgomery County and a second in Baltimore.

As part of the program, the YMCA in Bowie will also re-open day care for infants and toddlers for all children, which it has not offered for the last two years, according to Jessica Bennett, associate executive director of the YMCA of Prince George’s County Program Center.

The program will accept 44 children ages 6 weeks to 5-years-old. The grant was awarded for two years and is renewable after it expires.

Bennett said the program will not be significantly different for the children who currently attend day care at the YMCA, as they already have children with disabilities included in their programs.

The children in the program will use the Creative Classroom curriculum, developed by the publishing company Teaching Strategies, which encourages them to learn through exploring and discovery with child-directed activities such as playing with blocks, reading, art and games.

‘‘It’s more of a child-driven program as opposed to a teacher-driven program,” Bennett said.

Each child in the program with medical needs will have a medical assessment completed daily, said Judy Tribby, the Arc’s nursing administrator.

The fees for the program will be $990 per month for infants, $800 per month for 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds and $750 per month for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds. Three-year-olds must be toilet-trained to move up into the 3-year-old and 4-year-old class.

Bennett said the YMCA’s goal is to have the program running by May 1, depending on how quickly they can hire the additional day care teachers who will be needed to staff the program.

Bennett said the center is looking to hire at least four new teachers to staff the program.

Kolp said the inclusive nature of the program will be beneficial to typical children as well as children with disabilities.

‘‘We just think it benefits humanity to have kids of all different ability levels live and breathe and go to school together. It’s one of our founding beliefs.”

E-mail Megan King at mking@gazette.net.

If you go

What: The YMCA-Arc Partnership Open House

Where: YMCA Prince George’s County Program Center, 3501 Moylan Drive, Bowie

When: 9 a.m. Wednesday

Contact: 301-262-4342