Photo By Senior Airman Mariam Springs | Malissa Kaye, the 2020 Little Rock Air Force Base Family Child Care Provider of the...... read more read more
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Finding the right caregiver, whether it’s for full-time or part-time work schedules, is no small feat; once you add medical appointments, social events, and military requirements into the mix, it quickly becomes considerably more challenging.
Caregivers like Malissa Kaye, a Little Rock Air Force Base Family Child Care (FCC) Provider, help ease the burden for military families. Kaye, who arrived to LRAFB in 2007, is able to care for up to six children on a daily basis ranging from a newborn to 12-years-old.
For her efforts, she was recently recognized as LRAFB’s FCC Provider of the Year for 2020.
“I would describe myself as a childcare professional,” Kaye said. “I have many ‘jobs’ to do throughout the day, but my profession consists of raising productive citizens and giving the children the best start in life.”
The Family Child Care program assists Airmen and their families in two ways, by providing more options for childcare as well as setting up providers with their own business.
There are currently seven licensed providers serving LRAFB, to include two on base and five in the local area. The providers offer full-time, part-time, hourly, weekend and expanded care.
“Expanded care includes pre-deployment care, deployment care, return home care, and home community care — all of which can be utilized for up to 16 hours a day,” Kaye said. “We also offer 20 hours of care for service members going through a permanent change of station.”
For some parents, childcare decisions were made more difficult due to the Coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on facilities and caregivers.
Kaye has strived to overcome these challenges by fostering a safe environment to keep children active and learning.
“The biggest challenge in childcare during the pandemic has been finding new and effective ways to stay connected to families, figuring out how to stay active, and finding exciting ways to maintain a creative learning environment while keeping the children safe and protected,” Kaye said.
After 20 years of Family Child Care service, Kaye said her favorite part of being a childcare provider is watching the children grow up.
“In the last 20 years, I have been privileged to care for amazing families and I am now watching them graduate from college and get married,” Kaye said. “Our future is in our children and they need guidance, understanding and opportunities to grow, mature and become the amazing adults I know they can be.”
If you are interested in learning more about the FCC program or finding a provider who can meet your needs, please contact Jill Lund at (501) 987-3156 for more information.
| Date Taken: | 04.09.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 04.09.2021 15:50 |
| Story ID: | 393487 |
| Location: | LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, AR, US |
| Web Views: | 36 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 20 years of child care: FCC provider recognized as LRAFB’s best, by SrA Mariam Springs, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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