| |
 |
| |
Tara Mann was pleased
with the quality of care and peace of mind that the Duke Child Care Partnership
provided her when choosing a child care center for her son Thomas. |
Partnership Helps New Mom Find Quality Child Care
Few things generate more pain for a new mother than
dropping her child at a child care facility for the first time
and returning to work from maternity leave. Many a mom
has sat in her car and cried during those heart-wrenching
first few days.
"The Duke Child Care Partnership gave me great piece of
mind," said Mann, who has worked at Duke since 1999 and
has a nine-month-old son, Thomas. "It was tough to have to
leave him, but having the benefit of the Duke Child Care
Partnership helped me find a quality child care center that I
feel good about having Thomas attend."
The Duke Child Care Partnership provides faculty and staff with information
and priority placement at 20 different
child care facilities in the area. A partnership between Duke
and the Child Care Services Association (CCSA) provides
a $200,000 donation to fund grants to these area child
care centers for improving the quality of child care and to
expand space for infants and toddlers. In exchange for
Duke's financial support, faculty, staff and students get
priority for vacant spaces at these facilities when they
become available.
| |
"It makes me want to stay at Duke, knowing Duke is looking
out for those of us with child care needs. They are genuinely interested in mine
and my child's welfare, and I feel good about that."
|
Getting priority placement was an excellent benefit, Mann
said, but so was having a list of child care facilities to visit
and research.
"The Duke Child Care Partnership gave me a starting
place when I virtually had no knowledge of area child care
centers," Mann said. "I didn't know where to start and the
information provided by the partnership helped me make
sure I was making the best choice for my son."
Mann said she also didn't know about all of the information
available to her about area facilities until she got involved
with the Duke Child Care Partnership. Parents can find
information about the star-rated licenses for each child
care facility, as well as any reported incidents involving a
child or violations of state regulations.
 |
 |
 |
More than 250 Duke families have taken
advantage of the Duke Child Care Partnership. |
|
The Duke Child Care Partnership was the
result of recommendations from the Women's Initiative at Duke. |
|
|
|
|
"Looking at the number of stars on the license and any
incident reports that may have been filed helped a
tremendous amount," Mann said. "In trying to decide
on the best place for my son, I probably would have
had to go only from word-of-mouth if it wasn't for this
program alerting me to all the information I could
access about the facilities."
After looking at many different facilities in the area, Mann
came to appreciate the choices and benefits that the Duke
Child Care Partnership offered her.
"Without this program, I would not have had as many
choices that were as highly rated or had the availability to
accept Thomas," Mann said. "Because I am a Duke
employee, I was bumped up on the waitlist for our top
choices. If not for this option, I may have had to go with
one we were not as comfortable with. We ended up
choosing one of the facilities offered through the Duke
Child Care Partnership, and I am glad to say that I'm very
happy with our decision."
The program did more than ease Mann's pain of leaving
her first-born child -- it allows her to stay focused on her
work because she doesn't worry when she drops her son
off in the mornings.
"It makes me want to stay at Duke, knowing Duke is
looking out for those of us with child care needs," Mann
said. "They are genuinely interested in mine and my child's
welfare, and I feel good about that."
|
