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Child care providers adjust summer programs to COVID-19 limits on group size

The Citizen - 6/23/2020

Jun. 22--Cayuga Community College'sChild Care Center had 137 children enrolled at the end of March. As they start summer programming, that number is currently less than 40.

Child care providers in Cayuga County are preparing to meet an uncertain need while juggling a New York state requirement that cuts the size of each age group to 10 children. For preschool and school-age children, the groups are usually much larger in the summer.

Lori Schakow, executive director of Child Care Solutions, said CCS has heard from parents worried there won't be enough summer programming and others worried their children will be exposed to COVID-19 in a group setting.

"The programs are concerned they're not going to have enough revenue to pay their staff adequately, between the reduced group sizes and the parents reluctance to return to care," Schakow said.

The child care center at CCC, Spring Street Community Care and Recreation in Union Springs and the E. John Gavras Center in Auburn are the only centers providing day camps this summer. Normally, Schakow said, there would be 13 centers providing day camps in Cayuga County.

"None of the 12 school-age programs are open," Schakow said.

However, eight out of nine smaller group family providers in Cayuga County are still open. None of the licensed providers currently closed for the summer have reported plans to CCS that they intend to close permanently.

CCS is looking to work individually with smaller group providers to maximize their space so they won't be limited to a single room -- and, by extension, one group with only 10 children. That way they can accommodate 20 of the 30 children they might've supervised before, Schakow said.

Executive Director Amanda Gould said CCC is currently holding their day camp for children aged six weeks to 12 years. She knew the center would have summer programming once they reopened, but was unsure how many they could take with staffing limitations and state mandates.

"The biggest concern was going to be the maximum group sizes," she said. They were relieved when state guidance was revised to allow 10 children in one room at a time. Before, the minimum of 10 included staff.

The center's program had about two school-age spots open, but Gould said they've seen a decrease in need this summer amid the coronavirus.

"A lot of families are staying home. We have quite a few families who don't even have a return to work date yet," she said, adding that some parents have seen their return to work dates pushed back to September.

Organizations like the Booker T. Washington Center and Auburn YMCA-WEIU are also holding summer camps, which are in a category of child care monitored by the county's Health Department separate from the providers handled by CCS.

Registration for the Booker T. Washington Center's two summer sessions opens on Monday, but Executive Director Denise Farrington said they expect to fill up after observing a need for the services from parents.

The summer camp will split its usual six-week camp of 80 children into two three-week sessions of 40 children each. One will be in July and the other will be held in August. Staff will wear masks, the children will have their temperatures taken and recorded while parents's access to the building will be limited.

"We just want to make sure everyone knows we'll be following all the procedures put in place to us and giving the kids a very safe environment to be with their friends and get back to a kind of normalcy," Farrington said.

Staff writer Mary Catalfamo can be reached at (315) 282-2244 or mary.catalfamo@lee.net. Find her on Twitter @mrycatalfamo.

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