Food & Nutrition [Volume 11, Number 2]

              Child Care
and
Food
As more and more mothers join the
w9rk force, there is an increasing
need for quality child care services.
This issue takes a look at how
USDA's Child Care Food Program
helps participating child care facili­ties
serve nourishing, well-balanced
meals. Page 2
CCFP facts for sponsoring
organizations Page 4
Day Care with a family feeling
Page 6
Latch Key ... for before and after
· ·; school Page 9
1980
Index
Page 13
CHILD CARE
AND FOOD
The Child Care Food Program
can make it easier for child care
centers and day care homes to
serve nourishing well-balanced
meals to children. The program
provides cash reimbursements for
part, or in some cases all, of meal
costs. It also provides USDA­donated
foods, technical assistance,
and guidance.
Child care centers, family and
group day care homes, and
outside-school-hours care
centers can receive this aid. Child
care centers and outside-school­hours
care centers may participate
as independent institutions or under
the guidance of sponsoring
organizations. Family and group
day care homes must have a
sponsoring organization to join.
The next 10 pages are full of
information on the Child Care Food
Program. You'll find the basics, like
who can participate, some specific
information for sponsoring organ­izations,
and two features-one on
a family day care home sponsored
by a child care association, another
on an outside-school-hours care
center operated by the YMCA in co­operation
with schools.
Who can
participate?
Program benefits are available to
children 18 years old and younger
and to certain people who, ac­cording
to the state's definition, are
physically or mentally handicapped.
In order to participate, handi-capped
people must be enrolled
in a nonresidential institution
where most participants are
age 18 or younger.
Eligibility requirements vary
for different kinds of institu­tions.
To find out eligibility
requirements for each kind
of institution, use the
following definitions. Then
refer to that category in the
chart. An important require-ment
for child care centers,
outside-school-hours care centers,
and sponsoring organizations
-
Eligi.bility
Requirements
Must provide nonresidential child
care services.
Must be a governmental agency, or
have Federal tax-exempt status, or
have applied for it, or participate in
another Federal program requiring it.
Must have child care licensing or
approval or be receiving Title XX
child care funds or meet alternative
licensing standards.
May participate in the program with
or without a sponsor:in or anization.
May only participate under a spon­soring
organization.
is that they be non profit.
Child care centers are licensed or
approved to provide nonresidential
child care services to enrolled chil­dren,
primarily preschoolers, out­side
of the home setting.
Family and group day care homes
are licensed or approved to offer
organized, nonresidential child care
programs in private homes, pri­marily
to preschoolers. Generally:
A family day care home consists
of a single staff member licensed to
care for up to six children, includ­ing
no more than two of his or her
own.
A group day care home may have
no more than 12 children enrolled
under the care of twoor more staff
members.
Outside-school-hours care cent­ers
are licensed or approved to
provide orga~ized nonresidential
child care services before or after
school hours to enrolled children,
primarily of school age.
Sponsoring organizations can
administer the Child Care Food
Program in child care centers, out­side-
school-hours care centers, and
day care homes. The sponsored
facilities provide the care. The
sponsoring organization provides
supervisory and technical aid and
accepts final responsibility for the
finances and administration of the
program. Organizations such as
units of state or local governments,
community agencies, and churches
frequently become sponsoring or­ganizations.
April 1981
X X
X X
X X
X X
Licensing and
tax-exempt status
X
X
X
X
Institutions that are not part of a
state or local government agency
and are not family or group day
care homes must have tax-exempt
status under the Internal Revenue
Code of 1954, or must have applied
to the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) for it at the time they apply
for the Child Care Food Program. If
an institution takes part in other
Federal programs for which it needs
nonprofit status, it already meets
this requirement. Local IRS offices
give information on how to get tax­exempt
status.
All institutions, except sponsoring
institutions, must have child care li­censing
or approval from the licens­ing
agency for that state. Institu­tions
that receive Title XX funds for
child care already meet this require­ment.
The administering agency
can help the institution find out
how to get a license.
For more
information
Child care institutions and spon­soring
organizations can get
information on the Child Care Food
Program from the agency that
administers the program in their
state. In most states, the state
department of education is the
administering agency. Where states
do not administer the program,
regional offices of USDA's Food
and Nutrition Service are the
administering agencies.
To find out who administers the
Child Care Food Program in your
state, contact the nearest FNS
regional office:
New England Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
33 North Avenue
Burlington, Mass. 01803
Telephone: (617) 272-0861
Mid-Atlantic Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
One Vahlsing Center
Robbinsville, N.J. 08691
Telephone: (609) 259-3041
Southeast Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1100 Spring Street, N.W.
Atlanta, Ga. 30367
Telephone: (404) 881-4911
Midwest Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
536 South Clark Street
Chicago, Ill. 60605
Telephone: (312) 353-6673
Mountain Plains Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
2420 West 26th Avenue
Room 430-D
Denver, Colo. 80211
Telephone: (303) 837-5071
Southwest Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1100 Commerce Street
Dallas, Tex. 75242
Telephone: (214) 767-0214
Western Regional Office
Food and Nutrition Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
550 Kearny Street
San Francisco, Cal. 94108
Telephone: (415) 556-4256
by Linda Feldman
3
~?
~oo • ' ~f$J ~ ~0 c~0 f ~c§ ~·g·~g·~·~·!·~a·t-io·n·s·t·h·at-sp·o·n·s·o·r·d·a·y·c·a·re.
,~.#'b# O~~($ In general, payments for a spon-
V A soring organization's program at
# ·~~"'I both child care and outside-school-
~~.,. hours care centers are limited to
0~ the number of meals served to en-
~ rolled children multiplied by the
0~ appropriate rate of reimbursement.
~ These rates of reimbursement are
~Y determined by the economic need
~ 7 of the children served by the
ttO~ sponsoring organization 's centers.
~ workshops, visits to individual child Using USDA guidelines, each cen-
~~ key link in the chain between
Federal assistance and many local
child care operators is the sponsor­ing
organization. Sponsoring ·_organ­izations
get Federal funding and
technical assistance that can have a
lasting effect on the quality of child
care in local communities. Qualified
organizations can sponsor the Child
Qare Food Program in family and
group day care homes, child care
centers, and outside-school-hours
care centers. In many instances, the
sall]e organization serves as spon­sor
for both centers and homes.
Here are some CCFP facts for
sponsoring organizations:
~ ' '
;Jponsoring organizations can get
various kinds of assistance to help
them organize and operate the
CCFP. Whenever sponsoring or­ganizations
have a problem, they
can contact the administering
agency for help. The administering
agency, usually the state depart­ment
of education, can provide
guidance on application pro­cedures,
meal pattern requirements,
fo_od service operations, record­keeping,
reimbursement or any
other aspect of program manage­ment.
Administering agencies pro­vide
technical assistance through
4
care institutions, newsletters and ters determines the child's eco-other
publications, and phone calls. nomic need based on a statement
Sponsoring organizations provide of family size and income.This
similar program assistance to each statement is prepared by the center
child care facility they sponsor. and completed by the parents.
They make pre-approval visits to Depending on a child's economic
homes and centers that wish to par- need, the child is placed in one of
ticipate under their sponsorship. three categories for meals served at
They train day care providers and the center: paid, reduced-price, or
child care center staffs on program free. USDA provides additional re-requirements.
And they periodically imbursement for needy children
review and monitor food service whose economic status places them
operations in all their centers and in the free or reduced-price cate-homes.
gories.
\ The appropriate rate of re-
}1/t;.n important responsibility of imbursement, multiplied by the
sponsoring organizations is to see number of meals served to enrolled
that meals served by their centers children , represents the maximum
and homes meet USDA meal amount of money a center can
pattern requirements. These re- receive for breakfasts, lunches, sup-quirements
help to ensure that all pers, or snacks served. Sponsoring
meals will be well-balanced. They organizations usually fund the total
are based on research related to the administrative and operating costs
individual needs of infants and at their centers out of this reim-children
over 1 year old. Centers bursement.
and homes can prepare meals ~
themselves or get them from a food ;J.ponsoring organizations of cen-service
facility in a local school or ters may choose to have their maxi-through
a food vendor. mum rate of reimbursement deter-
~ mined by either the tiering method
;Jponsoring organizations receive or an alternate method. The tiering
USDA meal reimbursements from method has been developed to help
the state office administering the sponsoring organizations of centers
program. They, in turn, pass the that serve a high percentage of
funds along to the centers or da}< needy children.
care homes. There are two methods Under the tiering method of re-by
which sponsoring organizations imbursement, sponsoring organiza-may
be reimbursed. One method is tions of centers are placed in one of
for organizations that sponsor out- three tiers, depending on the per-side-
school-hours care centers and centage of children served who are
child care centers. The other is for eligible for free or reduced-price
Food and Nutrition
meals. The tier in which a spon­soring
organization is placed deter­mines
its rates of reimbursement for
all meals. If one-third or more of
the children enrolled in a spon­soring
organization's centers are
eligible for free and reduced-price
meals, that sponsoring organ­ization
would receive its maximum
potential reimbursement by choos­ing
the tiering method.
The alternate method is appro­priate
for sponsoring organizations
of centers that do not serve high
percentage of free and reduced­price
meals. Under this method,
sponsoring organizations are reim­bursed
according to the actual
number of children who are eligible
for the different categories of re­imbursement-
paid, reduced-price,
and free.
If less than one-third of the
children enrolled in a sponsoring
organization's centers are eligible
for free or reduced-price meals, the
sponsoring organization would
receive its maximum potential re­imbursement
by choosing the
alternate method.
Sponsoring organizations and in­dependent
centers can receive
guidance on the best reimburse­ment
method for them from their
administering agency. All reim­bursement
rates are adjusted
periodically to reflect changes in
the Consumer Price Index. "'-'r ganizations that sponsor day
care homes receive separate re­imbursement
for administrative
costs and for food service costs.
The reimbursement for food service
costs is passed on by sponsoring
organizations to the day care
homes under their administration.
Food service costs. Organizations
that sponsor day care homes are
reimbursed for food service costs
based on the number of meals
served in the day care homes.
USDA has established food service
payment rates that prescribe the
level at which each breakfast,
lunch, supper, and snack will be re­April
1981
imbursed. These rates are adjusted
periodically to reflect changes in
the Consumer Price Index.
All meals served by day care
homes under the CCFP are reim­bursed
at the food service payment
rate level. Homes receive the full
rate for each meal that meets
program requirements. The spon­soring
organization must pass the
full food service payment to the
home, unless the sponsoring or­ganization
provides part of the
home's food service. In this case,
the home and sponsoring organiza­tion
must make a written agreement
about how much of the food cost
payment the sponsoring organ­zation
will receive.
Administrative costs. The reim­bursement
that sponsoring organi­zations
of day care homes receive
for administrative costs is based on
the lesser of four factors: (1) actual
administrative costs; (2) an amount
determined by multiplying the
number of homes administered by
the sponsoring organization by an
administrative rate established by
USDA; (3) the sponsoring organ­ization's
budget, as approved by the
State agency administering the
CCFP; and (4) 30 percent of the
yearly total administrative and food
service reimbursements for the
sponsoring organization's day care
home operations.
Sponsoring organizations are not
permitted to charge homes a fee for
the administration of the program.
I~ ecordkeeping requirements vary
for sponsoring organizations,
independent child care institu.tions,
and day care homes. Independent
child care institutions and spon­soring
organizations must keep the
following records:
• copies of all applications and
supporting documents;
• daily attendance records for en­rolled
children and the numbers of
breakfasts, lunches and snacks
served to them;
• information on the family size and
income of children enrolled in child
care centers and outside-school- .
hours care centers;
• copies of menus and any other
food service records required by
the state agency;
• documentation of administrative
and operating costs, as well as of
any income to the program;
• copies of all claims for reim­bursement
and receipts for all
program payments received from
the state agency;
• information on training provided
to child care center staffs or day
care providers;
• and, except at day care homes,
daily records indicating the number
of meals, by type, served to adults
performing labor necessary to the
food service.
In addition, sponsoring organiza­tions
must keep records of pay­ments
to each child care facility
and reviews of food service opera­tions
in each facility.
Day care homes must keep daily
attendance records of the children
in their care. They must also keep
daily records of the number of
meals and the menus they serve.
The sponsoring organization will
collect these records from the day
care home at least once a month. J\n sponsoring organizations are
eligible to receive advance pay­ments.
These funds are available to
help sponsoring organizations pay
for program expenses that are in­curred
prior to receiving program
reimbursement for the month.
Sponsoring organizations may
choose to receive all or part of the
advance payment they are eligible
for, or they may choose not to
receive advance payments. Each
State may establish additional re­quirements
for advance payments.
If you would like more
information, contact the FNS
regional office for your state as
listed on page 3.
by Michael McAteer and
Michael Healy
••••••••••••••••••••••••
At 5:30 every morning a light
comes on at 41 Dunbar Street, and
the Kent family gets ready to start
another day in their family busi­ness.
Donna and Jeffrey dress, then.
wake their two daughters, Elizabeth,
3, and Vicki, 15 months. At 6:45, as
Jeffrey begins preparing breakfast,
Donna leaves in the family car. She
returns an hour later with five
bright-eyed children.
The Kents operate a day care
home in Manchester, New Hamp­shire.
Theirs is one of approx­imately
1.8 million day care homes
providing a service that is in­creasingly
in demand as more and
more mothers join the work force.
Nearly 8 million mothers with chil­dren
under age 6 now work outside
the home. By 1990, the number is
expected to increase to 10.5 million.
Many of these working mothers are
single parents living below the
poverty line, according to a recent
Census Bureau study.
Donna and Jeffrey Kent started in
the child care business 5 years ago
when Donna decided her librarian
job was not allowing her enough
time to work with children. She quit
her job and started caring for chil­dren
in her home. Six months later,
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Jeffrey quit his job at the library
and made the child care operation a
family business. He afso began
working part-time toward a master's
degree in early childhood
education.
Now care for
eight children
The Kents now care for eight
children , ranging from 18 months to
6 years old, plus their two daugh­ters,
Elizabeth and Vicki. They have
converted the first floor of their
home to accommodate the busi­ness.
The living room serves as the
reading room, and the dining room
doubles as a makeshift office for
Donna and Jeff and a place for
quiet activities for the children,
such as painting and drawing.
There is also a playroom for toys.
The kitchen is a learning lab­oratory
as well as the place for
cooking and eating meals. Here the
children help Donna and Jeff pre­pare
meals and learn about food.
"While we prepare the foods, we
talk about how the foods help us
stay healthy and strong, and how
some foods are better for the body
than others," said Donna. "We know
we're getting the message across
April 1981
by the choices the children make
when playing games that involve
grocery shopping. They usually
choose foods such as fruits,
vegetables, milk and meat instead
of items with little nutritional value."
The Kents participate in the Child
Care Food Program and are spon­sored
by the Greater Manchester
Child Care Association (GMCCA).
GMCCA takes care of all the food
program finances and certain
recordkeeping tasks for home
providers under its sponsorship.
The association also acts as a re­ferral
service for parents in need of
child care services.
The child care business is the
Kent's livel ihood. It is a profession
they both enjoy and to which they
are totally dedicated. " It's also an
opportunity to run my own small
business right in my home with my
family all together," said Jeffrey.
The experience
is valuable
Jeffrey advises new and potential
home providers to plug into child
care associations and meet with
other providers to keep abreast of
new developments, techniques and
general child care information.
He and Donna are active in na­tional,
state and local child care
associations. Donna is president of
the Organization of Day Care Provi­ders
(ODCP), a local committee of
parents, day care home providers
and nutrition professionals in the
Manchester area. ODCP serves as a
sponsoring organization for some
of the child care home providers in
the Manchester area, and Jeff is
responsible for overseeing ODCP's
duties as a Child Care Food Pro­gram
sponsoring organization.
The experience Jeffrey is getting
as a child care provider and with
ODCP will be instrumental in
attaining his_goal of one day op­erating
a network of child care
homes.
One image the Kents try to ob-
I iterate is that of day care providers
as "babysitters," where children
spend the day in front of the tele­vision
. In fact, the television is rare­ly
turned on at 41 Dunbar Street.
The Kents provide the children with
a structured day of learning activi­ties
and experiences that allow
each child to develop at his or her
own rate.
Lessons are not limited to written
or prepared drills. A lesson in
7
·······························································~
colors might occur at a traffic light
while on a field trip or traveling to
and from the day care center. City
landmarks provide lessons in his­tory,
building structures and
shapes, anq spelling of street
names. The family setting ~llows
children to share responsibility­they
help prepare meals, set the
8
table, and clean up after meals and
play activities.
Patience and
work pay off
Because of her experience with
kids, Donna is quick to zero in on
problems such as learning and
physical disabilities. She's been
The Kents make pre­paring
meals educa­tional
and fun for the
kids. Here, and on
pages 6 and 7, the
children help Jeffrey
and Donna make
meatloaf.
instrumental in helping many
children over hurdles. Doctors pre­dicted
one 4-year-old boy in the
Kent's day care home would not be
able to enter kindergarten the
following year because he would
not communicate verbally. Donna
worked patiently with the boy,
showering him with extra attention.
Her patience and work paid off. The
boy was able to start school on
schedule and is now an A student.
Then there are times when Donna
or Jeff detects or suspects that a
child has a handicap such as a
hearing or vision impairment. "It is
sometimes hard to convince parents
that their child has a physical prob­lem
or handicap. It's been difficult,
but we've managed to get the
parents of these children to take the
child to a professional to be ex­amined,"
said Donna.
These are just a few of the re­wards
of being a chid care provider,
according to Donna. "It has also
helped our children learn to share
and interact with other children,"
she said. "This business allows us
to all be together during the day.
There is never a boring moment.
Every day is different, and every
child is different. This is one of the
most challenging jobs there is."
For more information, write:
Greater Manchester Child Care
Association,
435 S. Main Street
Manchester, New Hampshire 03102
by Marilyn Stackhouse
Food and Nutrition
••
I
April 1981
• Utt'l 6fl'Utt'lfl c
a.Utfl'l ~chtttt!
• •••••••••••••••••••
Every morning at 7 a.m. the chil­dren
arrive. They pop out of Novas,
Volkswagen beetles, and Econoline
vans. They give the parent-chauf­feur
a kiss good-bye and, clutching
records, baseball gloves, and the
other impedimenta of childhood,
they come to Latch· Key to start
the day.
Latch Key Child Development is
an outside-school-hours day care
service operated by the YMCA of
Metropolitan Hartford at 16 loca­tions
in downtown Hartford and
neighboring communities. The serv­ice
offers care and supervised activ­ities-
before and after school-to
approximately 500 school-age
children.
Only one of the 16 Latch Key
sites is in a YMCA building. The
others are in schools. The unique
cooperative venture works well­schools
provide the heat and space,
and the YMCA provides the staff
and administrative structure. Latch
Key sites serve breakfast and
snacks through the Child Care
Food Program.
The need
was there
"More and more children live in
homes where both parents work or
a single parent works," said former
Latch Key monitor Joyce Morgan.
"Latch Key's goal is to give parents
confidence that their children are
well cared for while they work.
Latch Key also gives children an
opportunity for social development
and practice in using time con­structively.
"The need for the program
existed long before we started,"
said Morgan, who helped set up
Latch Key as a pilot project 4 years
ago at the Plainville YMCA. Until
that time, the "Y" had offered a
morning program for preschoolers,
but no before-school activities for
school-age children.
As head of the YMCA's preschool
program, Morgan noticed the lack
of organized care for older children.
9
"When we picked up milk and juice
for the preschool children at a local
convenience store," she recalled,
"the manager would ask what we
could do about the school-age chil­dred
who hung around his store in
the morning buying snacks for
breakfast and waiting for school
to start."
The Plainville YMCA began its
before-and-after school operation
with 12 children. John Bennet, pro­gram
director of the Plainville
YMCA, and Joyce Morgan worked
together in setting up the service,
using as a model a Latch Key
program in Portland, Oregon.
To notify parents, they mailed
announcements to all YMCA mem­ber
families and got additional help
from the director of social services
for the Plainville school system,
who sent flyers home with the chil­dren.
Since then, there have always
been enough applicants to run a
self-sufficient program.
10
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Other areas
wanted service
As Latch Key proved successful,
parents in other communities want­ed
a similar service. Although Latch
Key is a YMCA concept, individual
programs must still be initiated
locally, and each program must be
licensed individually as a day care
program by the Connecticut De­partment
of Health.
Setting up Latch Key in neighbor­ing
communities took some
thought. "In Plainville, we were in
the YMCA building with all its facili­ties,
but in other towns, that wasn't
feasible," Morgan said. "One parent
decided to petition the board of
education in her town, Simsbury,
requesting that the schools be used
as program sites with the YMCA
providing staff."
There are now 5 local YMCA's
operating programs in 15 schools.
At first, each local YMCA ran its
own program, but, as sites multi-plied,
it became more efficient to
centralize administration at the
Metropolitan YMCA office in
downtown Hartford. Harold Wright,
assistant executive director of the
Metropolitan YMCA, has ultimate
responsibility for the program.
Each YMCA works out its own
schedule and program according to
its needs. For instance, in some
towns, school bus schedules are
staggered. Consequently, a before­school
program in one school may
run longer and be larger because
more families need before-school
care due to a later school opening.
In one town, children can attend
town library programs and partic­ipate
in arts and crafts classes at a
nearby art center after school.
Other children opt to participate in
after-school activities such as
soccer, gymnastics, or scouting,
using Latch Key as their base.
Coordinators
buy the food
Each of the five YMCA's has a co­ordinator
responsible for its sites.
The coordinators buy the food and
other supplies and arrange for deli-..--..~:
livery to the schools. Seven of the
sites serve breakfast, and mor init===;:=
snacks are available at all others.
All of the sites serve aftern1o.o:~n-====~c:::
snacks.
In East Hartford at Burnside
School, where the Latch Key pro­gram
has access to a kitchen, the
children prepare cheese balls, oat­meal
cookies, soup, carrot sticks,
and other foods as activities. Two
favorite snack items at all locations
are orange wedges, and celery with
peanut butter.
All of the snacks and breakfasts
served at Latch Key sites must meet
USDA meal pattern requirements to
qualify for re.imbursement through
the Child Care Food Program.
Whe_n Latch Key first applied for the
program, the staff submitted sample
menus to the Connecticut Depart­ment
of Education's school food
services office, which administers
Food and Nutrition
--
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
the program. Now, each month they
submit a consolidated report on the
number of meals served at the sites
and keep menus and other program
records on file for at least 3 years.
Payments from USDA vary, de­pending
on family income of the
children. The rates are adjusted
periodically to reflect changes in
the cost of living.
All of the Latch Key sites get the
USDA reimbursement for food.
They also get payments from par­ents,
which average a dollar-an­hour
for general care. One reason
Latch Key coordinators can keep
costs down is that they are using
school facilities and they do not
have expenses like rent and heat.
Key staff with education, recrea­tional,
or social service back­grounds
are hired locally. A good
many aides come from a State
youth employment program. Most
staff work split shifts. Some have
other jobs, and others go home be­tween
the before and after school
phases of the program.
Staff works
with schools-iliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-1_
Walter Dunn, principal of Squad­ron
Line School in Simsbury, tne
first school to tlave Latch Key, is
positive...about the programL
"There's a definite need," he says.
Dunn describes the school-YMCA
relationship as casual. "They have a
capable staff and they don't get in
our way," he says. ''They move from
one activity room to another, if the
need arises. Our cafeteria people let
them use part of the refrigerator."
It is up to Latch Key staff to be
flexible in using borrowed facilities.
On one occasion, the maintenance
staff at a school balked at helping a
Latch Key program because of con­fusion
as to whether the night or
day staff was responsible, but gen­erally,
Latch Key needs only minor
custodial assistance. If there's a
problem, sharing a cup of coffee
and chatting with the maintenance
people usually resolves it.
April 1981
• ••••••••••••••••
The program
is relaxed
Principal Dunn watches the chil­dren
with a practiced eye, as they
toss balls, climb jungle gyms, and
head into a grove of trees by the
school yard to check their fort.
"They let off steam here and estab­lish
good friendships."
"There was opposition at first," he
says. "One of our teachers was
against the program. She felt the
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
children were already too pro­grammed
.. At a PTA meeting she
asked, 'What's wrong with just
hanging around?' Now she ap­proves."
The sites share ideas through a
monthly newsletter that includes
menu suggestions for snacks and
breakfasts. Latch Key coordinators
say the exchange is helpful, but
they've found that what's right for
one town may not necessarily work
in another. Often the children
establish program activities on their
own with guidance from the staff.
The Hartford YMCA staff monitor
day-to-day accounts and records
for the 16 sites and act as consul­tants
for the programming.
Latch Key
is growing
Latch Key is growing because of
the need for quality care. Com­ments
of Hartford participants re­flect
the concern felt by increasing
numbers of working parents who
have school-age children.
"Who's going to stay with the
children from 7:10 to 8:15?" asks
Cathy Labutis as she drops off
Gretchen, 9, and Joseph, 11, at the
YMCA. Labutis is a secretary at an
insurance company. Her husband is
a machinist. Like many working
women, she stayed home with her
children during their pre-school
years. When she started work, her
mother-in-law cared for the children
for a while, but for the past 3 years,
the children have been going to
Latch Key.
Single parent Lois Huot is a
lawyer for an insurance company in
Hartford. Each afternoon she picks
up her three boys at the Hartford
YMCA, knowing they've been to­gether
and under good supervision.
She remembers the tension of
working when Stephen, now 11,
was at school in one place, and
Joshua and Jason, 8-year-old twins,
were cared for in another location
with a babysitter with no training.
James Brown, also a single
parent and with two children at
Latch Key, remembers the anxiety
of the day his last sitter quit without
notice. "Fortunately, this program
was here." His son and daughter,
Thomas and Jaimee, are now 10
and 7.
Brown works as a counselor at
Long Lane School, an institution for
boys with court records, operated
by the Connecticut State Depart­ment
of Children and Youth Serv­ices.
"Most of the kids at Long Lane
were left at home alone a lot and
were sent to school without meals.
It didn't help."
If you're interested in learning
more about the Hartford Latch Key
Child Development Program, write:
Hartford YMCA
160 Jewell Street
Hartford, Connecticut 06070
Telephone: 203-522-4183.
By Catherine Tim Jensen
1980 Index
ABC
A Mobile WIC Clinic Helps in Kentucky ............ Feb. 1980
A Rural Di~trict Builds a School Breakfast
Program ..................................... Feb. 1980
A Summer Sponsor in Georgia Offers Some
Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 1980
Alabama
Complications Clinic Makes Sure Teenager
Understand the Basics ...................... Oct. 1980
Nursing Students Make Teaching Personal .... Oct. 1980
PTA Projects Get People Working Together ... Dec. 1980
Staff of the Teen-Tot Clinic Use Individual
and Group Counseling ..................... Oct. 1980
Alaska
Food Stamp Changes Help the Rural Poor ..... Feb. 1980
American School Food Service Association
Councils Link Kids, Teachers, and School
Food Services .............................. Dec. 1980
Arizona
Food Stamp Changes Help the Rural Poor ..... Feb. 1980
Breakfast (see School Breakfast)
California
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast .... Dec. 1980
Schools Buy Farm Fresh Produce ............. Feb. 1980
Changes in the Child Care Food Program ..... June 1980
Child Care Food Program
Changes in the Child Care Food Program ..... June 1980
Family Day Care Comes to Lewiston .......... Feb. 1980
Colorado
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast .... Dec. 1980
Reservations Begin Their Own
Food Distribution Programs ................. Aug. 1980
Ute Mountain Indians Provide Food Help
With Dignity and Autonomy ................. Aug. 1980
Commodity Supplemental Food Program
CSFP: Food Help for Mothers and Children .... Apr. 1980
Community Involvement
Councils Link Kids, Teachers, and School
Food Services .............................. Dec. 1980
"Help Us Help Ourselves" ..................... Aug. 1980
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast .... Dec. 1980
NET at the Maryland School for the Deaf ...... Oct. 1980
PTA Projects Get People Working Together ... Dec. 1980
Complications Clinic Makes Sure Teenagers
Understand the Basics ...................... Oct. 1980
Connecticut
Teens Are Teachers in Connecticut
Classrooms ................................ Dec. 1980
Councils Link Kids, Teachers and School Food
Services ................................... Dec. 1980
CSFP: Food Help for Mothers and Children .... Apr. 1980
DE
Diem-lo Do Tells How WIC Has Helped Her ........ June 1980
Donated Foods
Changes in the Child Care Food Program ..... June 1980
CSFP: Food Help for Mothers and Children .... Apr. 1980
Families Learn to Supplement and Add
Variety to Their Diets ....................... Aug. 1980
Reservations Begin Their Own
Food Distribution Programs ................. Aug. 1980
Residents of White Earth and Leech Lake
Welcome Added Choice and Convenience ... Aug. 1980
Ute Mountain Indians Provide Food Help
With Dignity and Autonomy ................. Aug. 1980
Elderly
Food Stamp Changes Help the Rural Poor ..... Feb. 1980
Living with Inflation .......................... Apr. 1980
Many People Are Getting Food Stamps
by Mail .................................... Feb. 1980
Nutrition Guidance for Food Stamp Families ... Oct. 1980
April 1981
F
Families Learn to Supplement and Add
Variety to Their Diets .............. .......... Aug. 1980
Family Day Care
Changes in the Child Care Food Program ..... June 1980
Family Day Care Comes to Lewiston .......... Feb. 1980
Family Day Care Comes To Lewiston .............. Feb. 1980
Food Distribution
CSFP: Food Help for Mothers and Children .... Apr. 1980
Families Learn to Supplement and Add
Variety to Their Diets ....................... Aug. 1980
"Help Us Help Ourselves" ..................... Aug. 1980
Reservations Begin Their Own
Food Distribution Programs ................. Aug. 1980
Residents of White Earth and Leech Lake
Welcome Added Choice and Convenience ... Aug. 1980
Ute Mountain Indians Provide Food Help
With Dignity and Autonomy ................. Aug. 1980
Food Stamp Changes Help the Rural Poor ......... Feb. 1980
Food Stamps
Food Stamp Changes Help the Rural Poor ..... Feb. 1980
"Help Us Help Ourselves" ..................... Aug. 1980
Living with Inflation .......................... Apr. 1980
Many People Are Getting Food Stamps by
Mail ....................................... Feb. 1980
Nutrition Guidance for Food Stamp Families ... Oct. 1980
Residents of White Earth and Leech Lake
Welcome Added Choice and Convenience ... Aug. 1980
Ute Mountain Indians Provide Food Help
With Dignity and Autonomy ................. Aug. 1980
G HI
Georgia
A Summer Sponsor in Georgia Offers Some
Advice ..................................... Feb. 1980
PTA Projects Get People Working Together ... Dec. 1980
Got a Problem? Call Out the Kids! ............ Dec. 1980
Handicapped
Living with Inflation .......................... Apr. 1980
Many People Are Getting Food Stamps
by Mail .................................... Feb. 1980
NET at the Maryland School for the Deaf ...... Oct. 1980
Harvard Study Shows WIC is Effective ............. Apr. 1980
"Help Us Help Ourselves" ......................... Aug. 1980
Index for 1979 .................................... Apr. 1980
Indians (see Native Americans)
Interested in Getting Involved? .................... Dec. 1980
J K L
Kentucky
A Mobile WIC Clinic Helps in Kentucky Feb. 1980
Reaching Mothers and Young Children ........ Feb. 1980
Legislation
Changes in the Child Care Food Program ..... June 1980
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast ......... Dec. 1980
Living with Inflation ............................... Apr. 1980
Lunch (see School Lunch)
M
Maine
Family Day Care Comes to Lewiston .......... Feb. 1980
Got a Problem? Call Out the Kids! ............ Dec. 1980
Nutrition Guidance for Food Stamp Families ... Oct. 1980
Many People Are Getting Food Stamps by Mail Feb. 1980
13
1980 Index
Massachusetts
Councils Link Kids, Teachers, and School
Food Services . .. ... .. .. . . . ... . .. . .. ... . .. .. Dec. 1980
Harvard Study Shows WIC is Effective . . .. ..... Apr. 1980
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast .. . . Dec. 1980
Nutrition Guidance for Food Stamp Families ... Oct. 1980
WIC: Food Help for Mothers and Children . .... Apr. 1980
Michigan
CSFP: Food Help for Mothers and Children . . .. Apr. 1980
Reaching Mothers and Young Children .. . .... . Feb. 1980
Minnesota
Families Learn to Supplement and Add
Variety to Their Diets .. . . . . . . . ........ . ... . . Aug. 1980
Reservations Begin Their Own
Food Distribution Programs ... . .. . . . .... . ... Aug. 1980
Residents of White Earth and Leech Lake
Welcome Added Choice and Convenience .. . Aug. 1980
N
Nancy Crane Offers Some Advice to WIC Staffs . .. . June 1980
National School Lunch Program (see School Lunch)
Native Americans
Families Learn to Supplement and Add
Variety to Their Diets .. .. . ..... . . .. . .. . . .. . . Aug. 1980
Food Stamp Changes Help the Rural Poor ..... Feb. 1980
"Help Us Help Ourselves" .. . . .... ... ... .. . .. . . Aug. 1980
Reservations Begin Their Own
Food Distribution Programs . . .. ..... . . ... .. . Aug. 1980
Residents of White Earth and Leech Lake
Welcome Added Choice and Convenience . . . Aug. 1980
Ute Mountain Indians Provide Food Help
With Dignity and Autonomy ... . . . . .. . .... . .. Aug. 1980
NET at the Maryland School for the Deaf ..... . . . . . Oct. 1980
New Hampshire
Food Stamp Changes Help the Rural Poor ..... Feb. 1980
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast . ... Dec. 1980
Many People Are Getting Food Stamps by
Mail . .. . ...... .. ... . . .... . ......... . .. . .... Feb. 1980
Schools Buy Farm Fresh Produce . .. . .... .. ... Feb. 1980
New Jersey
One Parent Shares Her Experiences . . . ... . . ... Dec. 1980
Reaching Mothers and Young Children . ... ... . Feb. 1980
New Mexico
CSFP: Food Help for Mothers and Children . . . . Apr. 1980
New York
YMED Program Offers a Variety of Services ... Oct. 1980
North Carolina
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast . ... Dec. 1980
PTA Projects Get People Working Together .. . Dec. 1980
North Dakota
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast . . .. Dec. 1980
Nursing Students Make Teaching Personal . . .. Oct. 1980
Nutrition Education
A Mobile WIC Clinic Helps in Kentucky .. . .. .. Feb. 1980
Complications Clinic Makes Sure Teenagers
Understand the Basics ... . . . . .. ....... . . . . . . Oct. 1980
Diem-lo Do Tells How WIC Has Helped Her .. . June 1980
Families Learn to Supplement and Add
Variety to Their Diets .. . ... .. . .... .. . ... . . . . Aug. 1980
Interested in Getting Involved? .. . .. . . . . . ... . . . Dec. 1980
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast .... Dec. 1980
Nancy Crane Offers Some Advice
to WIC Staffs ... .... . . . .. . . ...... .. .. . . . ... June 1980
NET at the Maryland School for the Deaf . ..... Oct. 1980
Nursing Students Make Teaching Personal . . . . Oct. 1980
Nutrition Guidance for Food Stamp Families ... Oct. 1980
Pat Freeman Talks About the Refugees'
Special Needs ... .. .. . ... . .. ... . ... . .. . . ... . June 1980
School Lunch Tips for Families ... .. . .. . ...... Apr. 1980
Serving Southeast Asian Refugees . . .. . . . . . . .. June 1980
Staff of the Teen-Tot Clinic Use Individual
and Group Counseling .. . .. ... .. . . . ..... ... Oct. 1980
Teens Are Teachers in Connecticut
Classrooms . .. . .... . . . . .. .... . .. .. . . ..... .. Dec. 1980
14
To Hear the Mean Queen Tell It .. ...... . .... . . Dec. 1980
Ute Mountain Indians Provide Food Help
With Dignity and Autonomy ...... .. . ..... . . . Aug. 1980
Working with Teenage Mothers .... .. ..... .. .. Oct. 1980
Workshop Looks at Changing Attitudes ..... . . Oct. 1980
YMED Program Offers a Variety of Services .. . Oct. 1980
You and Nutrients .. . .... .. . . .. . . .. .... ...... . Aug. 1980
Nutrition Education and Training Program {NET)
Interested in Getting Involved? . . ..... ....... . . Dec. 1980
NET at the Maryland School for the Deaf .. , .. . . Oct. 1980
Nursing Students Make Teaching Personal . . .. Oct. 1980
Teens Are Teachers in Connecticut
Classrooms . .. . . . . .. . . . .... .. .... . ..... .. .. Dec. 1980
To Hear the Mean Queen Tell It .. .. . . . . .... ... Dec. 1980
Nutrition Guidance for Food Stamp Families . .. Oct. 1980
Nutrition Information
Nutrition Guidance for Food Stamp Families . . . Oct. 1980
School Lunch Tips for Families ........... . ... Apr. 1980
You and Nutrients .. .... .... . . ... . . . .. .. ...... Aug. 1980
OPQ
Ohio
A Rural District Builds A School
Breakfast Program ...... . . . . . ........ . . . .. . Feb. 1980
Oklahoma
PTA Projects Get People Working Together ... Dec. 1980
One Parent Shares Her Experiences .. ... . . .... Dec. 1980
Parent Involvement {in school food services)
Councils Link Kids, Teachers, and School
Food Services .. ... .. ..... . .. . ....... . ...... Dec. 1980
Got a Problem? Call Out the Kids! .... .. ... ... Dec. 1980
Interested in Getting Involved? . . .. .. .... . ... . . Dec. 1980
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast .. . . Dec. 1980
NET at the Maryland School for the Deaf .... .. Oct. 1980
One Parent Shares Her Experiences .... . . . .. . . Dec. 1980
PTA Projects Get People Working Together ... Dec. 1980
Parent-Teachers Association {PTA)
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast .... Dec. 1980
PTA Projects Get People Working Together .. . Dec. 1980
Pat Freeman Talks About the Refugees'
Special Needs ....... .. . . .. . ... .. ..... . .... . June 1980
Preventing Lead Poisoning: WIG Clinics
Help Reach Children at Risk . . .. . . .. .. . .. . . .. . June 1980
PTA Projects Get People Working Together .. . .. . .. Dec. 1980
R S
Reaching Mothers and Young Children . .... ....... Feb. 1980
Reservations Begin Their Own
Food Distribution Programs ... . . . .. .. ..... .. .. Aug. 1980
Residents of White Earth and Leech Lake
Welcome Added Choice and Convenience .. ... Aug. 1980
Rhode Island
To Hear the Mean Queen Tell It ... ........ ... . Dec. 1980
Rural Areas
A Mobile WIC Clinic Helps in Kentucky ... .. . . Feb. 1980
A Summer Sponsor in Georgia Offers Some
Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 1980
Family Day Care Comes to Lewiston . . . .. . . ... Feb. 1980
Food Stamp Changes Help the Rural Poor ..... Feb. 1980
Many People Are Getting Food Stamps
by Mail . ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . ..... .. . ....... Feb. 1980
Reaching Mothers and Young Children . ... ... . Feb. 1980
Schools Buy Farm Fresh Produce . . ... . .. . ... . Feb. 1980
Summer Meals for Rural Children . .. .. ...... .. Feb. 1980
School Breakfast
A Rural District Builds a School Breakfast
Program .. .... .. . . . . .. . ........... . . .. . .. .. Feb. 1980
Councils Link Kids, Teachers and School
Food Services ............ . ...... ..... ... . .. Dec. 1980
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast .. . . Dec. 1980
PTA Projects Get People Working Together .. . Dec. 1980
Food and Nutrition
(
1980 Index
School Lunch
Councils Link Kids, Teachers, and School Food
Services ................................... Dec. 1980
Got A Problem? Call Out the Kids! ............ Dec. 1980
Interested in Getting Involved? ................ Dec. 1980
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast .... Dec. 1980
NET at the Maryland School for the Deaf . . . . . . Oct. 1980
One Parent Shares Her Experiences ........... Dec. 1980
PTA Projects Get People Working Together ... Dec. 1980
School Lunch Tips for Families ............. . . Apr. 1980
Schools Buy Farm Fresh Produce ............. Feb. 1980
School Lunch Tips for Families ............... Apr. 1980
Schools Buy Farm Fresh Produce ............. Feb. 1980
Serving Southeast Asian Refugees ............ June 1980
South Carolina
Preventing Lead Poisoning: WIC Clinics
Help Reach Children at Risk ................ June 1980
Food Stamp Changes Help the Rural Poor ..... Feb. 1980
Special Supplemental Food Program for Women,
Infants, and Children (WIC)
A Mobile WIC Clinic Helps in Kentucky ....... Feb. 1980
Complications Clinic Makes Sure Teenagers
Understand the Basics ...................... Oct. 1980
Diem-to Do Tells How WIC Has Helped Her ... June 1980
Harvard Study Shows WIC is Effective ......... Apr. 1980
"Help Us Help Ourselves" ..................... Aug. 1980
Nancy Crane Offers Some Advice to WIC
Staffs ...................................... June 1980
Pat Freeman Talks About the Refugees'
Special Needs .............................. June 1980
Preventing Lead Poisoning: WIC Clinics
Help Reach Children at Risk ................ June 1980
Reaching Mothers and Young Children ........ Feb. 1980
Serving Southeast Asian Refugees ............ June 1980
Staff of the Teen-Tot Clinic Use Individual
and Group Counseling ..................... Oct. 1980
Nursing Students Make Teaching Personal .... Oct. 1980
WIC: Food Help for Mothers and Children ..... Apr. 1980
Working with Teenage Mothers ............... Oct. 1980
Workshop Looks at Changing Attitudes ....... Oct. 1980
YMED Program Offers a Variety of Services ... Oct. 1980
Staff of the Teen-Tot Clinic Use Individual
and Group Counseling ..................... Oct. 1980
Studies
Food Stamp Changes Help the Rural Poor ..... Feb. 1980
Harvard Study Shows WIC is Effective. . . . . . . . . Apr. 1980
"Help Us Help Ourselves" ..................... Aug. 1980
Preventing Lead Poisoning: WIC Clinics
Help Reach Children at Risk ................ June 1980
Reaching Mothers and Young Children ........ Feb. 1980
WIC: Food Help for Mothers and Children ..... Apr. 1980
Summer Food Service Program
A Summer Sponsor in Georgia Offers Some
Advice ..................................... Feb. 1980
Summer Meals for Rural Children ............. Feb. 1980
Summer Meals for Rural Children ................. Feb. 1980
T U V
Teens Are Teachers in Connecticut Classrooms .... Dec. 1980
To Hear the Mean Queen Tell It ................... Dec. 1980
Ute Mountain Indians Provide Food Help
With Dignity and Autonomy ................... Aug. 1980
Virginia
Diem-to Do Tells How WIC Has Helped Her ... June 1980
Pat Freeman Talks About the Refugees'
Special Needs .............................. June 1980
Serving Southeast Asian Refugees ............ June 1980
WXYZ
WIC (see Special Supplemental Food Program
for Women, Infants. and Children)
WIC: Food Help for Mothers and Children ......... Apr. 1980
Wisconsin
Let's Work on School Lunch and Breakfast .... Dec. 1980
Workshop Looks at Changing Attitudes ............ Oct. 1980
Working with Teenage Mothers .................... Oct. 1980
Wyoming
Food Stamp Changes Help the Rural Poor ..... Feb. 1980
YMED Program Offers a Variety of Services ........ Oct. 1980
You and Nutrients ................................ Aug. 1980
Youth Advisory Councils
Councils Link Kids, Teachers, and School
Food Services .............................. Dec. 1980
PTA Projects Get People Working Together ... Dec. 1980
(O)food
~Nutrition
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•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
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