Child Development Program
Parent Handbook
JOINT BASE CHARLESTON
Table of Contents
Welcome 4
Mission 5
Philosophy 5
Goals and Objectives 5
Desired Outcomes 5
Hours of Operation 6
- Alerts and Exercises 6
- Expanded Child Care Program (ECC) 6
Services 6
- Full-Time 6
- Hourly Care 6
Waiting List/Placement 7
- Eligibility 7
- Waiting List/Priority Policy 7
- Placement of Children 7
- Children with Special Needs 7
Admission/Enrollment Policies 7
- Fees and Charges 8
- Registration/Admission 8
- Withdrawal Procedures 9
- Termination/Suspension of Enrollment 9
- Check-In/Out; Sign-In/Out Procedures 9
- Release of Children 9
- Clothing and Personal Belongings 10
Food Service 10
- Meals and Snacks 10
- Food from Home 11
- Family Style Dining 11
- Non-Discrimination Statement 11
Staff Qualifications 11
CDC Curriculum 12
- Daily Schedule/Activity Plans 12
- Infant & Toddler Care 12
- Rest/Quiet Time 13
- Toilet Learning 13
Assessment of Children’s Progress 13
- Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) 13
- Parent/Teacher Conferences 13
CDC Program Policies and Procedures 14
- Confidentiality 14
- Health Policies 14
-- Smoke/Alcohol/Drug Free Environment 14
-- Medication Administration Procedures 14
-- Exclusion & Readmission Policy 16
-- Hand washing, Sanitation, Standard Precautions Policies 16
-- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) 17
-- Infant/Toddler Feeding 17
-- Oral Health 18
-- Healthful Environments for Infants (shoe covers) 18
-- Child Abuse Prevention/Reporting Procedures 18
-- Supervision of Children 19
-- Unattended Children in Motor Vehicles 19
-- Positive Guidance & Touch Policies 19
-- Transportation Policy 20
-- Transition Policy 21
-- Incident/Accident Reports 21
-- Visitors 21
-- Birthdays/Special Celebrations 21
-- Open Door Policy 21
-- Absence from Care 22
-- Communication with Parents 22
-- Emergency Procedures 22
Parents/Family Involvement/Support Plan 23
- Parents as Partners 23
- Parent Involvement Opportunities 23
- Parent Advisory Board 23
- Complaints/Grievances/Chain of Command 23
- Community Resources 24
- Additional Child Care Options 24
DoD Hotline Number/Local Numbers 25
CDCs address/phone numbers 26
Welcome
Thank you for entrusting your child to our care. This handbook is designed to familiarize you with the policies and procedures of the Joint Base Charleston (JB CHS) Child Development Program (CDP).
Our Child Development Centers (CDCs) are certified by the Department of Defense and accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. As a high quality early childhood program we provide a safe and nurturing environment and stand behind our commitment to provide the best developmental experiences for your child. Our curriculum is designed to meet the cognitive, creative, language, social, emotional, and physical needs of each individual child entrusted to our care. We recognize the important role you play in helping us provide a quality program. Your ideas for change and improvement are always welcome. Your active participation in our program helps us to be the best we can be. Thank you for your continued support. It is a pleasure serving you and your child/ren.
If you have any questions about our program or policies, please do not hesitate to bring them to the attention of your Child Development Center (CDC) Director.
Child Development Program Staff
Mission Statement
The program’s mission is to assist military and civilian personnel in balancing the competing demands of the accomplishment of the DoD mission and family life by managing and delivering a system of quality, available, and affordable programs and services for eligible children and youth birth through 18 years of age.
Philosophy
Our practices are based on current knowledge of child development and early childhood education. We support the development of the whole child; meaning all areas of development are considered inter-related and equally important. Our program acknowledges that children learn through active, hands-on involvement with their environment, peers, and caring adults. We respect each child’s unique interests, experiences, abilities and needs, thus allowing us to be responsive to and appropriate for each child. Children are valued as individuals, as well as part of a group. Likewise, our program respects and supports the ideals, cultures, and values of families in their task of nurturing children. We advocate for children, families, and the early childhood professionals within our program.
Goals and Objectives
§ Foster positive identity and sense of emotional well-being
§ Provide opportunities to enhance social skills
§ Encourage children to think, reason, question, and experiment
§ Promote language and literacy development
§ Build physical development and skills
§ Support sound health, safety, and nutritional practices
§ Advance creative expression, representation, and appreciation for the arts
§ Appreciate and respect cultural diversity
§ Develop initiative and decision-making skills
Desired Outcomes
Children will experience growth and learning in their social, emotional, physical, language and cognitive development.
§ Children will develop a positive sense of self as valued members of the community; and will progressively gain social competence and display pro-social behaviors.
§ Children will gain competence in problem solving strategies, will gain understanding of concepts and relationships; and will develop logical, representational and symbolic thinking skills. Children will also learn to take initiative and make relevant decisions.
§ Children will gain competence in their home language to include ability to communicate through language, to discriminate the sounds of language, to ask/answer questions, to gain understanding of print and concepts, and to make sense of print.
§ Children will display a progressively higher level of competence in their gross and fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, mobility, and balance.
§ Families will feel supported and nurtured in their child rearing efforts.
§ Families will experience greater support in dealing with the challenges of life in a military community.
§ Families experiencing lengthy separations due to deployments will be supported via formal or informal parent/staff support groups and networks with other community agencies.
Hours of Operation
Operating hours are Monday through Friday, 0630 – 1800. The centers offer quality developmental care to children ages six weeks to preschool age. Full-time weekly and hourly-care, on a space available basis, is available. The centers are closed for all Federal Holidays and other days approved by the Mission Support Group Commander.
Alerts and Exercises - During alerts, military exercises and national emergencies, extended hours may be provided. Hours will be posted prior to the beginning of the event, to include specific instructions for reserving or signing up for care. For temporary shift changes, parents are encouraged to contact the Family Child Care Program at 843-963-2546 for information on the Expanded Child Care Program.
Expanded Child Care Program (ECC) - The ECC program is available for parents needing care after center hours due to temporary shift change, rapid mobilization, or deployments. The care is provided in certified Family Child Care (FCC) homes and is available to active duty, active duty Reserve or Guard members in activated status, dual employed (military married to civilian) or DoD civilian employee assigned to or working on the installation. For additional information, please contact the Family Child Care Program at 843-963-2546.
Services
Full-time - The full day program offers child care Monday through Friday for full-time working/full time student parents.
Hourly Care - Hourly care is offered Monday through Friday 0630 – 1730. Reservations are offered on a first-come basis. Children must be registered prior to making an hourly reservation. To assist us in providing the most support for the community’s hourly needs, please cancel unneeded reservations at least two hours in advance of your scheduled appointment time. Hourly patrons must contact the front desk personnel if they wish to extend their hourly care reservation. Classroom caregivers are not aware of other patron’s reservations and therefore cannot make decisions on extending hourly care reservations.
Waiting List/Placement
Eligibility – Child Care eligibility is contingent on the status of the sponsor. Eligible patrons include active duty military, DoD civilian employees either NAF or APF, Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve military personnel on activity duty or inactive duty training status, active duty Coast Guard members, combat related wounded warriors, surviving spouses of military members who died from a combat-related incident and those acting in loco parentis for the dependent child of an otherwise eligible patron, and eligible employees of DoD contractors. In the case of unmarried, legally separated parents with joint custody or divorced parents with joint custody, children/youth are eligible for child care only when the reside for the eligible sponsor at least 25 percent of the time in a month.
Requesting Care/Priority - Parents of children 6 weeks to 5 years of age may request care for their child/ren at militarychildcare.com. Priority is contingent on the sponsor. Spouses of eligible sponsors who are seeking employment or are enrolled in a post-secondary school must verify their status in writing every 90 days. Space available patrons will be given a 30 day written notice if their child’s space is needed by a higher priority patron.
Placement of Children - Our program is organized and staffed to minimize the number of group, teaching staff, and classroom transitions experienced by your child. Children are placed in classrooms by age. Teaching staff in each classroom are assigned primary responsibility for working with a designated group of children to ensure they provide ongoing personal contact, meaningful learning activities, supervision, and immediate care to protect your child’s well-being.
Children with Special Needs - The CDCs must be made aware of any problems or special needs your child may have (allergies, asthma, speech delays, physical limitations, non-English speaking, etc.) prior to enrollment/attendance. In turn, we will work with parents and the program Medical Advisor and/or Special Needs Inclusion Team prior to the first day of attendance to develop a written care plan detailing how to best meet your child’s individualized needs. This policy ensures children receive the specialized attention they may need.
Additionally, parents of children with food allergies are requested to provide written documentation of the food allergy, possible reactions and a suitable substitution for that food prior to enrollment. Parents will be asked to sign a statement of consent permitting the Program to post their child’s allergy information (with or without pictures) in each activity room where the child has meals/snacks. Our staff is available to answer any questions you may have and assist you through this process.
Admission/Enrollment Policies
Fees and Charges - Fees are determined by total family income as defined by the Department of Defense in accordance with the Military Child Care Act. Please note the CDC does a review of fees annually, typically at the beginning of each fiscal year. At this time we will ask you to bring in your most current leave and earnings/pay statements for all adults in the home. Providing this information is voluntary and is in the parent’s best interest. Parents who elect not to provide this information, or who are unable to provide a copy of their most current leave and earnings/pay statements at the time of enrollment (and annually thereafter) will be placed in the highest fee category. For blended families, the income of the household in which the child spends most of his or her time is used for TFI. For households in which non-related adults or unmarried couples are living in the same residence, the income of all adults who financially contribute to the welfare of the child is included. In households where the parents are married or in a legal partnership and one parent is geographically separated from the other TFI of both parents/partners is included.
Families with children concurrently enrolled in child development, family child care, or school age programs are entitled to receive a 10% multiple child discount. Families will pay the full fee for the first child (highest rate). Fees are charged for weeks in attendance and are not prorated for federal holidays, illness, missed days/vacation, or program closure due to inclement weather/national emergencies. Emergency situations should be brought to the attention of the Director and will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
DoD civilian employee sponsors with children enrolled in DoD subsidized child care programs are subject to the requirements of Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Title 26, United States Code, section 61 and title 26, Code of Federal Regulations, section 1.61-1. The IRC requires child care subsidies generally be treated as case income in addition to normal earnings. Each civilian sponsor must register with the Third Party Administrator (TPA) contracted by DoD to administer the Defense civilian child care subsidy program. Active duty service members are not impacted as they receive an exclusion from taxes for benefits under dependent care assistance programs in the Military Family Tax Relief Act.
Fees are payable prior to the week service is rendered and may be made with cash, personal check, Visa, MasterCard, or Club Card. Note: Cash, personal check or Club Card are the preferred payment methods. Payments are due NLT close of business on each military pay day. Telephonic credit card payments are not permitted. Failure to make payment as outlined will result in the credit card on file being charged and a late fee of $5.00 per child assessed. Services may be suspended if fees are not paid in full, including all late fees. Though care is suspended, parents are responsible for all fees accumulated until a two (2) week written notice of withdrawal has been received.
All patrons utilizing the Child Development Program are required to provide a credit/debit card number or bank authorization and agree to have the card charged or account debited for their child/ren participating in the program. Failure to make payment will result in the credit or debit card being automatically charged for the amount owed. Parents are responsible to update all credit card information. Declined cards/insufficient funds will result in a late fee assessment of $5.00 per day per child.
A late fee will be assessed for all children not picked up before the stated closing time. Staff are authorized to grant up to a 5 minute grace period for children remaining in the facility after closing. A late fee of $1.00 per minute per child will be charged for all children remaining in the facility at the end of the grace period. Payment of late fees should be paid NLT the close of business the next duty day.
Registration/Admission - Parents must complete and sign all applicable portions of AF Form 1181, Child Care Center Permanent Record, to include authorizing emergency medical treatment prior to their child’s admission into the program. Another critical component of the information that you are requested to provide is an emergency contact. This person must be local as Center personnel will contact this individual in the event of an accident or illness and you cannot be located or are unable to respond. Children are released only to persons listed on the AF 1181 or whom the biological parents have provided written and verbal authorization absent a child custody order or divorce decree limiting parental rights. Children will be released to either biological parent absent a child custody order or divorce decree limiting parental rights. Children will not be released to anyone not listed on the AF 1181 or to anyone less than 14 years of age. Multiple emergency contacts are encouraged to ensure availability.