Childcare agency adapts to difficult times

It has been a tough seven months for Child Care of Southwest Florida.

The agency nearly had to close its doors after learning in April that a $40 million contract with the Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida was terminated, but has since been able to reestablish itself.

"It has been relatively difficult because we had to terminate several individuals who worked for the agency and were dedicated to the services that we provide and were doing a good job," said Rhea Mike, president and chief executive officer for Child Care of Southwest Florida. "We had to look at the services we were going to continue to provide and figure out how to use our staff to the best advantage."

The termination of the contract came as a shock to Child Care of Southwest Florida, which has been serving the community for 40 years. Under the contract, the organization oversaw the voluntary pre-kindergarten program and provided subsidized childcare. In total, they saw more than 5,000 children a month.

The Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida selected Orlandobased Community Coordinated Care for Children to administer the funds, effective June 1. Five organizations, including Child Care of Southwest Florida, bid on the contract.

Child Care of Southwest Florida had to terminate 35 positions and re-focus on the basics in order to stay in business.

"That means we're putting the highest priority on taking care of children - it's what we do best," said Mike. "The main difference is that we are no longer serving as a conduit for child care dollars."

Instead, the agency is re-focusing on training childcare workers and enrolling families in KidCare, the state-funded insurance program for children without health insurance. The goal is to increase the number of children receiving the health insurance by six percent by next June. In order to help with that work, the non-profit agency received a $100,000 grant from Florida Healthy Kids.

"I feel that there are a lot of families and businesses that can legitimately receive assistance from our agency," said Mike. "There's a lot of work to be done. We are very much committed to the community."

Since the contract termination, Child Care of Southwest Florida has opened three new childcare centers, bringing their total to 13 centers in Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades, and Hendry counties, which serve 900 children per day. It also began offering on-site training for childcare workers, in addition to two professional development certificate courses in Fort Myers and Immokalee.

The organization has also enrolled 25 childcare centers in the federal Child Care Food Program, allowing them to be reimbursed for food served to children from low-income families. An additional 15 centers are expected to be enrolled by the end of December. Additionally, the non-profit has been selected to operate the new childcare center to be built at the Lely campus of Edison College in Collier County. The new center is expected to open next fall with space for 114 children.

In total, 29 new positions have been added. While a few have been filled with people who lost their jobs when the contract with the Early Learning Coalition was terminated, most are new employees.

"We are very excited by the new opportunities ahead and look forward to serving Southwest Florida for many years to come," said Board Chairman Bill Robinson.

Child Care of Southwest Florida, Inc., now employs about 200 people - nearly the same number as the agency employed prior to July 1 - and has an annual budget of $8 million.

"What many people do not realize is that the $40 million in financial assistance was pass-through money that went directly to child care centers and family childcare homes for care. We kept about $2 million to administer the program, so it really was a 20 percent reduction in our operating budget," Mike said.

In hopes of continuing to add services, Mike said officials plan to begin an aggressive fundraising campaign. The agency needs to raise $250,000 by June 30. Officials will also continue to write grants.

"I have to be optimistic that we will be able to raise that," Mike said.

For more information about services offered by Child Care of Southwest Florida, Inc., call (239) 278-1002 or visit www.ccswfl.org.