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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Estancia Could Get Child Care Facility

By Laura Nesbitt
Mountain View Telegraph
    Results of a survey could lead to the opening of a new child care center in Estancia as early as next fall.
    Alta Mira Specialized Family Services, which is conducting the survey, has had an office in Estancia since 2000 and has served the area for 20 years, said Karen Burrow, director of early childhood programs for the Albuquerque-based nonprofit agency.
    If results of the survey are positive, the Estancia center could open as early as the fall of 2008, Burrow said.
    After several families with children approached directors of the program to request a child care center, they decided to conduct a feasibility study.
    A short, seven-question survey was distributed last week at town offices in Estancia, Mountainair, Willard and Moriarty, and at schools in Estancia and Mountainair. Estancia also circulated the flier in the town water bill.
    About 10,000 surveys were distributed, said Jim Copeland, Alta Mira's executive director, who works in the Albuquerque office.
    The survey also can be completed online at www.altamiranm.org. The deadline for returning the survey is Friday.
    The survey will be evaluated by members of the Alta Mira management team including Burrow, Copeland and managers from family support, early intervention, fiscal resources and human resources from the Albuquerque office.
    The Alta Mira office in Estancia has five staff members with qualifications in early childhood education, special education and social work, Burrow said. These qualifications seem to be a good fit for a child care program, according to Burrow.
    Fees for the center have not been set because the child care program is in the planning stages, Burrow said.
    "But we'll do subsidized child care through the state. So if a family is low-income and they qualify, it won't cost anything," Burrow said.
    Offering extended hours for working families with children up to age 5 is being considered, Burrow said. Alta Mira is also considering offering before- and after-school care for older children up to age 12 with working parents.
    Alta Mira in Estancia currently offers home-based early intervention services for children under age 3, Burrow said.
    "If a family has a 1-year-old child they are concerned with who isn't crawling, we go to their home," Burrow said in a phone interview Monday.
    Staffers teach the families how to train and support their developmentally delayed children, Copeland said.
    Alta Mira is considering either renting a space or erecting a modular building for the child care center, Burrow said.