To the editor:
I have had a few weeks to think over the recent article in the newspaper regarding the need for “quality” childcare in our county. While I definitely agree that there is a need for quality childcare and will always be a need for quality childcare, I must say that quality childcare does not mean a star on your window.
I have been a quality childcare provider for over 20 years in this county, well before the Paths to Quality program was ever thought of. Years ago, my daycare children were collecting eggs, hiking in the woods, building forts from sticks, making mud pies and learning hands-on through nature. How much more quality can a program get?
The Paths to Quality program is a rating system used to rate a daycare that is willing to go that extra mile to fulfill a lot of unnecessary paperwork. I am one of those daycares that go that extra mile to have the paperwork needed to achieve the Level 4 status. What the county needs to understand and this article does not explain is the Paths to Quality program is a little misunderstood.
I own and operate three licensed daycare homes and have been in business for 20 years. Because I am the sole owner, I can only be awarded one Level 4 status. I own three daycares, all of which are “high quality,” but according to your article and the rating scale used, I do not exist up here in Fruitdale when searching for infant and toddler care. This upsets me that I can pour my heart and soul into three daycares but only get credit for one. Your article mentioned the fact that I have the only Level 4 daycare and I appreciate that. What you failed to mention is that I own a wonderful infant house that has been completely redone and a beautiful toddler house and both have several openings. These two homes are Level 2 simply because the paperwork required will take away from the quality time I spend with the children. I cannot have a Level 4 because I already have one in my name and there cannot be more than one accreditation.
So for those of you searching for “high quality” simply by looking for a star on the window of Level 3 or 4, this is where the Paths to Quality program is not serving its purpose. Just because I have chosen to stay at Level 2 with my other programs does not mean that I am not “high quality,”; however, according to your article that is what it means.
No one contacted me before this article was written. It stated there weren’t any openings for infant and toddler care. That was so incorrect. At the time of the article, I had several infant and toddler openings but because I was not a Level 3 or 4 with those two programs, I was not even considered.
What is “high quality” to me? My definition may not be the same as yours; however, high quality to me is a combination of love, childhood experiences that are memorable, providers who are caring and attentive, a childhood without the use of television, computers and games, a childhood filled with hands-on experiences and learning firsthand through doing and seeing rather than sitting in a classroom all day. High quality is imagination, experiences and memories. High quality is staff that has been well trained and has experience. High quality is home cooked meals. Having said that, high quality is family home childcare. In my opinion, this article is looking at the need for some huge daycare center, and quality homes are not being supported.
There is no better place for a child than to be in a home environment when they are under 5years of age. Letting a child be a child is what we do best at Lori’s Ton O Fun Daycare Inc.
Sincerely,
Lori A. Williams, owner, Lori’s Ton O Fun Daycare Inc.
Editor’s note: The story did not say that there were no openings for toddler and infant care. It said that “For each 100 children ages birth to 5 in Brown County, only 10.7 spots were available in licensed care in 2017, according to the Indiana Youth Institute,” and it noted that those stats did not take into account all available child care options.
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