A Federally Funded Child Care Center
Childcare refers to taking care of children usually those below eight years old. There are many options available for the working parents. Among them are home-based care by nannies or family, commercial childcare centers and the federally funded childcare centers (Hershfield, 1997). Federally funded childcare centers are the best childcare facilities for the working parents; this is because the federal government regulates the licensing of these daycare centers and among the requirements for funding and licensing is the criminal record of the child daycare staff. This ensures that the child is not exposed to criminals. Additionally, it reduces abuse compared to other methods such as home-based nanny care. These centers are usually insured, and the government ensures that the home safety inspections are carried out on a regular basis. This eliminates the risk of accidents. Furthermore, it guarantees compensation incase the worst comes to happen while the child is at a daycare center. These two factors create a sense of trust in these daycare centers and ensure peace of mind by reducing the worry and fears for working parents.
In the federally funded childcare centers, the federal authorities ensure that the established requirements for staff who work in these centers are met. Those involved in preparing food, transporting children, and providing medical services among other services have to meet the minimum set requirements. These stringent requirements help protect children from quacks. Additionally, they ensure that a child receives the best service from qualified personnel when need be even though the parents may be off at work. This is especially important in case of emergency and for those children requiring special care, for instance, due to a medical problem or congenital disorders. In these centers, the defined minimum ratios of the number of staff-to-children are observed as compared to some commercial childcare centers. This helps ensure that each child receives the recommended attention from the staff taking care of it. The advantages of the federally funded centers are, by far, more than those of other childcare systems especially for the working parents; thus, there should be more federally funded child care centers in order to carter for the ever growing need for the child care services.
Reference
Hershfield, B. (1997). Child Day Care. New York, NY: Transaction Publishers.
