City’s Childcare Program has room to grow
By Gary Luster
Parents of young children know exactly how hard it is to balance
parenthood and working so Gardena has stepped in to give parents some help with that.
City’s Childcare Program has room to grow
By Gary Luster
Parents of young children know exactly how hard it is to balance
parenthood and working so Gardena has stepped in to give parents some help with that.
It’s called the Gardena Family Child Care Program (GFCC) and it provides child care and child development services for children younger than 1 to 12 years old at low or no cost (depending on family income) to low-income families Gardena residents who are seeking employment, school/training or working.
“Parents get time to go to work,” said Lydia Robledo, manager of the GFCC. “This helps parents be able to go to work or find a job and also helps if parents are ill.”
Established in 1976 as a response to the unmet child care needs of the community, the program provides quality child care and child development services that promote early learning, school readiness and school-age programs to infants, toddlers, preschool and school-age children.
Robledo said the GFCC is funded by a $1.8 million grant from the department of education with most of the money going to the providers in the form of educational materials and regularly scheduled trainings.
There are currently around 25 to 30 licensed GFCC homes in Gardena serving approximately 190 kids
“They [GFCC provider homes] provide a curriculum,” Robledo said. “This is not babysitting. The kids are actually being taught during the day.”
Matilde Valdez, one of the GFCC child care providers, currently cares for 14 kids throughout the day in her Gardena home where she runs a program that includes serving them breakfast in the morning, circle time, music, playing outside, art, projects, and field trips.
“The big thing for me is to love the kids, so that they come back here everyday happy,” Valdez said.
Valdez, who gets help with the kids from two assistants, has taken the kids on numerous field trips including to the Mayme Dear Library, the Kidspace Children’s Museum in Pasadena, and local Gardena parks. During a lesson on community helpers, Valdez took the kids to a local school to meet the principal, and to the Gardena Fire Department.
To become a GFCC provider home, potential caregivers must meet certain requirements such as being licensed to provide care to children.
Once a Gardena home is licensed, it is visited by Robledo if they are willing and able to follow GFCC guidelines such as being clean, and nurturing and that they have some sort of educational curriculum. If the family passes this inspection, Robledo then sends out GFCC staff who come out to evaluate the family home’s education program.
In addition, the GFCC staff visits each provider home twice per month to do assessments called developmental profiles on the children as required by the Department of Education.
For example, if the child needs to work on gross motor skills, speech or reading, the assessment lets the provider know what area that child needs more focus on.
The GFCC Program provides quality care, nutritious meals snacks, a safe and healthy indoor and outdoor area that is conducive to learning, and a variety of activities.
If you would like more information on enrolling your child in the GFCC Program or to be placed on the waiting list, call 310-217-6115.
The City of Gardena Family Child Care Program (GFCC) contracts with family child care providers who offer a quality program and provide a wide variety of learning experiences that promote children’s growth and development in a safe, supportive, and stimulating environment.
GFCC is looking for providers who are professional, caring, nurturing, and understand how children grow and develop. GFCC staff offers technical assistance, information, and assistance with such items as curriculum, child care environment, behavioral problems, and developmental and age-appropriate practices to providers in the GFCC network. Additionally, there is a toy and equipment lending library available to GFCC providers.
Those needing more information or would like to apply to be part of the GFCC Network, call 310-217-9588. GFCC contracts with providers who live in Gardena and in some areas of zip codes 90504 (Torrance), 90250 (Hawthorne) and 90260 (Lawndale).
