Need child care and don't know where to go to find the right place or what child care center offers what programs or facilities?

Combined Community Services is now offering help to Kosciusko County residents in finding the right facility through their Child Care Resource and Referral program. And it's as simple as making a phone call.

"We'll give (parents) referral to what they're looking for and we'll come as close as we can," said Pam Houser, quality child care coordinator for CCS.

The first step for a parent to take is to pick up the phone and call Houser at 269-6194 or call CCS direct at 269-6019. The statewide toll-free referral number is 888-463-5473.

Once the connection is made, the caller gives Houser or a CCS representative information on themselves, their child, the environment of the child care facilities they are seeking, the number of meals the child needs to be served and the type of child care needed. The parent can request specific hours child care is needed, the area of Kosciusko County where the child care is needed, give the age of their child, the current care the child receives, if they receive any subsidies, if the child has special needs, if there are transportation issues and other information. The computer program does a search and comes up with matches that are as close to the requests as possible.

"We'll take all that information and run a report on that based on the services requested," Houser said. She said they should have the information with a confirmation letter sent out within a day.

All provided information is kept strictly confidential.

The referral service is open to anyone in the county. And they can find child care for any child of any age.

Houser said, "We've been appointed to keep a database, to try to educate our families in what they need to be looking for in child care."

There are five different categories that the resource and referral service can connect with parents. Those providers include licensed homes, licensed exempt homes, licensed centers, licensed exempt centers and registered ministries. Houser said they currently have 88 child care providers in the database and are always trying to recruit more.

Providers in the database must fall under the license or license-exempt categories.

"Of course, if they're licensed, they have to be in good standing," Houser said.

"We're here to provide technical services to employers who have employees with child care issues and to provide technical support to the providers," she said.

The need for child care is great in Kosciusko County and that's why CCS is providing the referral and resource program, Houser said.

"I think there is a huge need. Child care is probably one of the hottest topics in Kosciusko County," Houser said.

She said that according to a survey, employers report the average number of days employees miss from work due to child-related issues is 11 days every six months.

"If you're an employer, you're talking some big monetary losses," Houser said.

The program is funded through Sept. 30, 1999, with quality dollars awarded to parts of Indiana. A portion of the dollars were allocated for the sole purpose of child care resource and referral programs.

"We're obviously working hard to continue the funding," Houser said.

The program is a collaboration between corporations, CCS, Step Ahead, child care providers, the state and parents.

"The end result is that we have quality child care in Kosciusko County," Houser said.

And April is as good as any month to begin the program because April is "the month of the young child," Houser said. [[In-content Ad]]