ABC Child Care Center (FOR DISCUSSION #1)
Introductory Scenario
The ABC Child Care is one of the largest childcare centers in the city of Chicago. It is a Head Start center that serves 100 children. Zane Groh’s 4-year-old sister, Jessica, attends ABC Child Care Center. Jessica is eligible to attend the center because her family receives public assistance. You were introduced to the Groh family in a prior week when the parents were attending counseling sessions to improve their home environment and parenting styles. Jessica is in a classroom that has a total of 20 children, 2 teachers, and an aide. The lead teacher in Jessica’s classroom has a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, and the assistant teacher has an associate’s degree in early childhood education. Both teachers receive monthly in-service training. The aide has completed two college courses in early childhood education.
The child care center is a hub of constant activity. The classroom has a daily and weekly routine, which is displayed on the bulletin board set-up for the children’s parents. The parents of children enrolled at the child care center are expected to be actively involved in the school and the classroom. Every parent is invited to attend parent meetings and participate on the parent board.
The curriculum that is used in Jessica’s classroom is play-based. There are toys and learning materials that are appropriate for the children’s age group in the classroom, and the materials are available to the children when engaged in activities and free-play. There are outside activities planned for all of the children every day (unless there is inclement weather). During the school day, the children receive breakfast, lunch, and a snack. The meals are designed around nutritional requirements specifically for children.
Although the atmosphere is normally pleasant in the child care center, there have been several issues in Jessica’s classroom. The teachers have noticed that Jessica often appears unkempt, hungry, and tired, and that she sometimes seems depressed. If Jessica is unclean when she arrives at the child care center in the mornings, her teachers help her wash-up in the bathroom and provide her with clean clothes when necessary. The child care center administrators have told the teachers that Jessica’s parents (Katalina and Eli) have separated and that the children are living with their mother at their grandmother’s house. During a recent situation when the teacher was helping Jessica clean herself and change clothes, the teacher noticed that Jessica had hand-shaped bruises on her legs and her buttocks. The teacher also noticed that Jessica had difficulty walking that day. When the teacher asked Jessica if there was anything wrong at home, Jessica told her teacher that her father hit her and her mother because he was very angry.
Jessica’s teachers have alerted the center’s administrator about their concerns about Jessica’s home life. The administrator tried to find the services that the community can provide to help child care centers proactively address issues such as abuse and domestic violence. Before recommending services, we are going to study the following topics.
THESE ARE TWO SEPARATE POSTS. PLEASE DO NOT INTERTWINE THE ANSWERS TOGETHER.
Discussion#1
Role of Child Care Contains
Why do you think that childcare providers have made a national statement that they are rejecting that their roles be defined as “babysitters”?
What are the implications for parents and the community if the public accepts views of childcare providers as babysitters?
Discussion #2
Recommendations to Mayor – Quality of Care Contains
You are asked to propose a publish of the Quality Care Guidelines to the mayor. It is up to you to decide what categories should be included within the guidelines and then to provide specific observable and measurable standards that must be met in that category. Such categories might include classroom size, total number of children per center, cost of care, curriculum approaches used, parent involvement requirements, education level of teachers and center directors, and pay scale for teachers and other workers, among other things.
Include the following information in your guidelines:
2 categories/aspects of quality care (e.g., teacher-child ratio)
1 standard within each category that is observable and measurable (e.g., if the teacher-child ratio is your category, then what standard would you propose? 1-3 for infants/toddlers? 1-5 for preschoolers?)
INCLUDE A BRIEF RATIONALE FOR THE CATEGORY AND THE STANDARDS YOU PROPOSED..