The Butte College Child Development Center (CDC) strives to provide high-quality child care that is respectful of and responsive to children by developing a partnership with the parents and families. To provide high-quality lab instruction to incoming students who are learning to work in the Child Development Center. Our goals are to promote optimal growth for their child, while supporting student learning spanning a variety of disciplines.
The CDC serves nearly 400 college students per semester. These services range from offering laboratory opportunities to providing child care to students from all disciplines. The CDC serves as a lab for the following programs: Child Development/Family Relations (CDF), Nursing, EMT-Paramedics, Foods and Nutrition, Communication Studies, and Education. The CDC is conveniently located on the main campus. Last year nearly one hundred families were served. These were made up of college students, faculty, staff and the greater community. Our funding sources come primarily from the District and from parent tuition. The CDC has four classrooms serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Breakfast and afternoon snack are offered to all children in our program. The CDC is reimbursed for meals through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The CDC utilizes some Perkins IV grant money and offers vouchers to offset the cost of child care to qualifying students. In fall of 2015 we received child care vouchers for Student Equity students giving them free childcare as well as giving our center three student interns who help support the center in a variety of ways. The Strategic Plan directs us to focus on and increase student success. The CDC serves a population not mentioned in the strategic plan, parents. More than 80% of the children served by the CDC are children of Butte College students. Many of our students have young children and need reliable child care in order to continue their education. The CDC is committed to the success of these students and provides high-quality child care on-campus, thus alleviating the student’s anxiety over transportation and care needs of their young children. The CDC fulfills an essential need for these students and, therefore, is a vital link to their success. In addition to providing high quality and reliable child care, the CDC is continually looking at ways to help students. For the past five years, we have offered vouchers to help with or offset the cost of child care tuition. This service is offered to students who are in a Career and Technical Education Program pathway and who qualify for the Perkins IV grant. In the past few years, the CDC in collaboration with the Child Development and Family Relations (CDF) instructors have been working on the Curriculum Alignment Program (CAP) and a Transfer Degree to develop foundational core courses that can be easily transferable between community colleges and the California State University system. The CDC is moving forward to provide students with the best experience possible within these core classes that utilize the CDC lab. This effort has primarily focused on a number of time students are in the lab as determined by each lab related course. The result is a less flexible yet highly efficient schedule with concentrated groups of students moving through the lab within a 13-week window. Recently the infant classroom began to take in children less than 12 months old and is maintaining a 1 to 4 teacher ratio. This change has allowed for college students to return to school even sooner by creating a safe environment for their baby while they are in class. In addition, this change has also allowed our lab students to observe children as young as 6 weeks old through 5 years old. Currently, the infant room is serving 12 infants and 1/3 of these infants are receiving the Student Equity childcare grant. As we look to the future, it is important that the CDC continues to fulfill its mission as well as develop new plans. By increasing quality, early care and education the CDC is aligned with a campus strategic initiative, enhancing and innovative, flexible, responsive and accountable culture, as well as increasing the availability of critical services. The community’s need for high quality early care and education is recognized and plans are being developed to better meet these needs.
Return CDC Director to 11-months
The CDC Director returning to 11 months has benefited the center in the following ways:
Fee shortfall - Interfund Transfer
This fee shortfall helped CDC continue serving student parents, children, and lab students. Without this transfer the center would not have been able to order much needed supllies that the center needs in order to operate. If the CDC tution does not bring in enough money to cover the director and secretary salary we would have a deficit. Due to a current increase in enrollment the CDC is not using these funds currently. We are recieving student equity funding for childcare slots and have interns who are paid through perkins and student equity funds to help support the center. This increase in funding boosted our enrollment and now that infants are accepted we have a large wait list. I would like to keep this fee shortfall in case we do not get the staff we need to support the increase of children. Without securing more staffing, the center must continue to turn away children which means the loss of addtitional tuition.
Repairs to blinds, countertops, wireless
The CDC had blinds installed in August. This has benefited the center by creating a safer learning enviornment. The countertops were replaced the previous fiscal year and wireless internet access was provided earlier this summer. The CDC is in the process using the rest of the funding for the playground stucture on the preschool side. Keenan the playground safety specialist deemed the structure unsafe for use. The structure needed to be removed and we have been working with the leadership team to get our new structure ordered. The PO is currently going through the approval process and we hope to have the stucture installed during sping break.
The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS- R)was completed in the two preschool classrooms as well as The Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised(ITERS-R)for the infant and toddler classrooms at the CDC. These environmental rating scales assess the quality of the classrooms. The evaluation consists of the various interactions that go on in a classroom between staff and children, staff, parents, and other adults, among the children themselves, and the interactions children have with the many materials and activities in the environment. They have good interrater reliability and validity, thus making them suitable for research and program evaluation, as well as program improvement efforts. The data compiled from these environmental rating scales showed a lack of materials in our environment at the CDC. One a scale of 1-7 one being unsafe and poor quality and a 7 being the highest standards the CDC averages in the mid-range of around 4-5. ECERS scores showed a lack of large motor materials, fine motor, literacy materials supplies, math materials, science material and art supplies. Each classroom at the center will need new shelves in order to produce a model learning environment for our college lab students. If the classrooms are set up with the highest quality standards then we are giving our college students the best career and tech experience.
The CDC helps support the college to meet its student achievement standards by providing much needed childcare for sudent parents attending Butte College. This allows our students to focus on attaining degrees and certificates. The CDC also supports lab classes that are required for transfer degrees to a CSU for all child development centers. We allow student parents enrolled in our program the flexibility to continue their education while we care for thier child. Parents receiveing the student equity childcare stipends recieve additional study time they need in order to complete thier course units. The CDC serves nursing students, the police academy, and various other career and tech families on campus.
The CDC helps to supports the college's Strategic Direction Initiative #6 (Enhancing a Culture of Inclusiveness) by improving access, success, and completion of targeted student populations through implementation of the Student Equity Plan.
The CDC developed and was awarded a childcare stipend to support verteran, foster youth, African-American, and Native Amercian students with free full time child care. We are currently filling 14 of the 15 slots awarded which gives these student parents additional study time. The parents are also encouraged to take 12 units or more towards degree completion. A surveys of students was conducted in Fall 2015 which showed that student parents are now enrolling in more units than they did before the childcare stipend being in place.
The CDC unit plan is our Administrative Program Review.
The Child Development Center would like to continue to support student parents by poviding high quality childcare. This would require us to grow with more staff. Long term goals we would like to begin the NAYEC accredidation process. In order to be elligible we need new equipment, better child to teacher ratios, and an adopted curriculum. As we continue to develop these strategies our focus is to give college lab students the best modeling of what a child care center needs to be. We strive to be child, family, and student focused
Strategy 1 - Renovating and Infrastructure- New Equipment
The Child Development center is in need of infrastucture repairs/equipment replacement in the following ways:
The CDC requires equipment and materials for the health and safety of children and students.
Strategy 2 - Staffing
The CDC requires:
With an increase of staffing at the CDC, the CDC could enroll even more children for lab students to observe. In previous semesters lab students were choosing to go to other centers off-site because the CDC had too few children to observe or work with. Our goal is to provide more high quality care to student parents on campus as well as Butte staff. There is a particularly high need in our area for infant and toddler care in our area and there is a significant wait list. The CDC can not keep up with the high demand. With adding one Children Program specialist in the toddler room could increase tuition up to $10,000 a month.
Returning the Master Teacher's assistants is of high need. These positions are necessary to give the quality care to the children at the center. These positions cover breaks, lunches, and off the floor time for reviewing lab students. We also need support doing dishes and preparing meals. We could increase our infant capacity with an additional tuition of up to $2000.00 a month as well as open up more slots for infant care in our every growing infant toddler waitlist.
Each semester the CDC offers a limited number of student internships. Working in the CDC is usually the first step on the student’s career pathway often offering them their first real world experience. These internships have continually proven to lead to competitive jobs in the field of Early Childhood Education both within the surrounding communities and beyond.
The CDC requires a larger Substitute budget due to the high need for support at the center. If a Chidlren's Program Specialist is gone someone has to teach their class. Maternitiy leave, disability, and regular sick days put signifigantly higher usage of subs. Just this fall semester alone the CDC had a $5000 budget shortfall.
Strategy 3 - Instructional Materials for Lab
The CDC serves a large number of students on a daily basis. They come into our classrooms looking for models of the highest quality teaching examples. Our environment needs to be updated dramatically. The field of Child Development, much like Psychology and Medicine, is a field that sees constant change; and yet the CDC has remained exactly the same over the past few decades. Due to budget restrictions, the CDC has not been able to purchase much needed instructional materials for the classroom. Every semester the CDC completes an Environmental Rating Scale and every semester the results come back the same. The CDC does not have the items in the classroom required of them to be a high quality learning environment. In order to model what a proper learning center looks like, we need to purchase many items. Most of the toys in the classrooms are used items that the Master teachers have brought in. Many items in a learning center are only good for a few years and need to be replaced such as puzzles, books, easels, and dolls. The CDC desperately needs these things in order to serve the children and lab students.
The CDC needs to enhance its instuctional materials to model apprpropriate learning environment. Most of the toys have to be repurchased due to health and safety concerns. Toys are worn, have sharper edges, and need to be updated. As the field changes so do the quality and safety standards. Outside playground structure in toddler needs to be replaced due to recommendations of our playground saftety inspection.
In order for the CDC to provide high quality safe services we need:
Strategy 4 - Promotional Materials
The CDC is at a time of growth and development. Bringing back our infant component has brought back the interest of employees and student parents. We are hoping to get a state Pre-K grant that will offer free care to our preschoolers who qualify. That being said we will need money to promote the center in the surrounding communities. Flyers, brochures, and other promotional materials will help us to advertise our growing center. Along with these promotional items the website needs to be redone and updated with current and relevant information
The center is at the very back of the campus. In order to get more information about our program the CDC needs to advertise. The CDC will need promotional materials in the form of:
Strategy 5 - Budget Augmentation- Tuition shortfall
The CDC tuition pays for supplies for the center as well as the salary for the secretary and the director position. Last year the district had to put in $60,000 for the shortfall of tuition. Lack of staff mean less children in the center for tuition accounts. At this time we are seeing a rapid increase in our revenue due to interns paid for by Perkins and student equity. In the event we are not awarded additional staff to increase our capacity we will need to enroll less children which again will leave us in a deficit. This augmentation will keep the facilities running while we work on bringing in more staff and gain more enrollment.
Having the budget augmentation will allow the CDC to keep operating regardless of the amount of tuition it brings in. This sustains the quality care and lab classroom. The more staff the center has bigger the capacity for enrollment. The larger the enrollment the more students and children we can serve.
Strategy 6 - NAEYC Accredidation
The CDC wishes to pursue Accreditation through a nationally recognized agency such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The areas for self-study and improvement would include:
· Leadership and management
· Teacher qualifications
· Professional Growth and Development
· Group sizes and ratios
· Relationships
· Families and community relationships
· Assessment of children's progress
· Assessment tools
· Health and safety
· Physical environment
· Curriculum
In a highly competitive market and an ever improving field, national accreditation would help the CDC to continue to be a leader in the community and within the field of Early Childhood Education. This would help the CDC in the following ways:
None at this time.
The CDC is presently being funded beyond the Child Development Program by the following:
Perkins IV $ 20,000.00
Parent Tuition/Registration $140,000.00
CACFP (Food Program) $ 3,000.00
Student Equitiy Stipends $46,000.00
| Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
| Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
| 1 | Art/Fam (CDC) | Equipment | $60,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Renovating and Infrastructure- New Equipment | Eliminating the health and safety issues in the kitchen and toddler playground. Updating technology for the CDC Administrative secretary. Providing the CDC with a safe to safely hold tuition. |
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| 2 | Art/Fam (CDC) | Personnel | 11-000-520-1-30500 | $120,000.00 | $120,000.00 | |
| Support for Child care services | The CDC requires: * One additional Children's Program Specialist *Two Master Teacher Assistants *Internships *A substantial substitute budget. |
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| 3 | Arts/Fam (CDC) | Equipment | $30,000.00 | $1,000.00 | ||
| Instructional Materials for lab | The CDC needs to enhance its instructional materials to model appropriate learning environment. Most of the toys have to be repurchased due to health and safety concerns. Toys are worn, have sharper edges, and need to be updated. As the career changes so do the material and safety standards. Outside playground structure in toddler needs to be replaced due to recommendations of our playground safety inspection. In order to provide high quality and safe services the center must have: blocks dolls math manipulatives books fine motor manipulatives large motor activities science materials multicultural materials new materials for outside infant climbing structure toddler climbing structure puzzles Ipad for college students completing assessments. |
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| 4 | Art/Fam (CDC) | Operating Expenses | $60,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Budget Augmentation-tuition shortfall | The CDC tuition pays for supplies for the center as well as the salary for the secretary and the director position. Last year the district had to put in $60,000 for the shortfall of tuition. Lack of staff mean less children in the center for tuition accounts. At this time we are seeing a rapid increase in our revenue due to interns paid for by Perkins and student equity. In the event we are not awarded additional staff to increase our capacity we will need to enroll less children which again will leave us in a deficit. This augmentation will keep the facilities running while we work on bringing in more staff and gain more enrollment. |
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| 5 | Art/Fam (CDC) | Operating Expenses | $7,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Promotional Materials | The CDC is at a time of growth and development. Bringing back our infant component has brought back the interest of employees and student parents. We are hoping to get a state Pre-K grant that will offer free care to our preschoolers who qualify. That being said we will need money to promote the center in the surrounding communities. Flyers, brochures, and other promotional materials will help us to advertise our growing center. Along with these promotional items the website needs to be redone and updated with current and relevant information. |
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