Child Care for Low Income and Homeless Children

Today, we are licensed to serve 160 children (ages 0-12) in our three age appropriate buildings (Infant/Toddler, Pre-Kinder and School Age) and our multi-purpose building. As Bethune is open five days a week with newly extended hours from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., we must offer transportation services to and from school each day (9 community schools). In addition to our own van, Bethune coordinates with CCISD to provide services. Additionally during the summer and school holidays, Bethune presents special activities for school age children, including summer camps and extended care programs. These special programs offer a wide array of recreational and cultural activities that have the goal of providing the children with a well-rounded exposure to the community. Activities may include sports lessons, field trips to the museum, theater, ballet, guest speakers and special emphasis days. This schedule provides parents of school age children with quality childcare services during the hours that their children are not in school.

Serving children birth to 12 years, Bethune Day Nursery meets the changing needs of parents and their children with innovative programs such as:
● Infant – Toddler Program ● Comprehensive & Developmental Program
● Parenting Skills Program ● After School Care
● Homeless Issues Partnership Program ● Holiday / Summer Camp
● City ESG Program ● GED tutoring for parents

In addition to our regular programs, Bethune periodically offers classes in:
Tennis ● Dance ● Gymnastics ● Swimming ● Music Appreciation ● Field Trips

Evaluation
Bethune Day Nursery uses two specific evaluation systems to evaluate the educational programs and activities. First, the "Ages & Stages Questionnaire" is a parent completed child monitoring system. At regular intervals (every 2 to 6 months depending on the age), parents are asked to fill in the questionnaire reporting the milestones achieved by their child. Secondly, the "Portage Assessment Guide Birth to Six" is a more in depth measurement tool administered by the child's teacher. This assessment is also administered at regular intervals.

Both the "Ages & Stages Questionnaire" and the "Portage Assessment Guide Birth to Six" are integrated into all program activities and lesson plans. Specifically, the Portage Assessment Guide has a companion teacher's guide that offers a more in depth guide with detailed activities to help teach and achieve the same milestones. Using the Portage Assessment Guide is reviewed regularly by the teachers. As a child meets specific goals, additional goals are then presented. Children are placed in specific classrooms based on the achievement of milestones rather than chronological age. Bethune Day Nursery also sets the following objectives for our school aged children: 1. 80% will have an attendance record of no more than 3 unexcused absences per month. 2. 95% will be successfully enrolled into an age appropriate, pre-kinder or elementary program in the Corpus Christi ISD. 3. Of those successfully enrolled, 60% will be on the A or A/B honor roll within the first semester. 4. 60% of the children's parents will attend a parent meeting every three months.

All forms of evaluation are reviewed by the Executive Director, Jimmie McCurn and shared with the board of directors. Upon review of the evaluations, the programs and goals may be adapted to better serve the children.  

Proven Outcomes
Bethune Day Nursery is needed in that:
•1 of only 3 centers in the Coastal Bend to provide services for children under the age of 18 months
•1 of only 2 child care centers that provide free services to homeless families in the community
•the only child care facility within 2 miles of the 4 of the major homeless shelters in the community
•60% of children in Texas have both parents in the labor force. (Children's Defense Fund, 2012)

Additionally, high-quality pre-k:
o increases high school graduation rates
o increases likely to earn a college degree— 23% compared to 6%.
o helps children do better on standardized tests
o reduces grade repetition
o reduces the number of children placed in special education
o reduces crime/delinquency
o lowers teen pregnancy rates
o leads to greater employment/ higher wages as adults
o contributes to more stable families
o improves efficiency/productivity in the classroom
o saves taxpayers up to $7 for every dollar invested in high-quality by reducing the need for remedial/special education, welfare, and criminal justice services (2005-2010 Pre-K Now, a campaign of the Pew Center on the States)

The multi-decade High/Scope Perry Project reveals that:
o More of the group who received high-quality early education than the non-program group were employed at age 40 (76% vs. 62%);
o The group who received high-quality early education had median annual earnings more than $5,000 higher than the non-program group ($20,800 vs. $15,300);
o More of the group who received high-quality early education owned their own homes; and
o More of the group who received high-quality early education had a savings account than the non-program group (76% vs. 50%).

In 2014, Bethune served 359 individual children from 278 families.
Age: 30% 0-3 years, 59% 3-5 years, 11% 6-11 years
Ethnicity: 24% Black, 49% Hispanic, 11% White
Home: 98% single mother, 1% single father, 1% married parents
Financial Aid: 96% financial assistance, 4% self-pay
Days of free childcare services provided to the homeless: 3,175 days

Specifically, your grant will provide 91 days of free childcare services to homeless children 0-12 years of age at a cost of $27.47/day in Nueces County.