Photo By Sgt. 1st Class David Bruce | Spc. Jennifer Regis visits with her son, Corvin, after the opening ceremony of the new...... read more read more
EDINBURGH, Ind. — A ceremony was held Oct. 3, to commemorate the opening of a new Child Development Center at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, Ind. The new facility is the second building to be erected on the recently acquired 1,250 acres of the original Camp Atterbury.
The facility has been open since Sept. 4 and has 33 children enrolled currently from families of soldiers and Department of Defense civilian employees of Camp Atterbury, said Jossiettia Thomas, director of the CDC.
“We can accept children from 6-weeks to 6-year-olds,” said Thomas. “The class size varies due to age.”
All military child care centers must undergo four unannounced inspections annually and be accredited by a nationally recognized agency. The Camp Atterbury CDC will be eligible for accreditation after two years of operation.
Thomas said the fee schedule is based on total family income. Under the Military Child Care Act, the Army supplies matching funds to ensure that fees remain affordable for both parents and the Army.
“The Army doesn’t make anything from this program,” she said, “our goal is to break even.”
The new facility is the first Army child development center located on a National Guard installation, said Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard.
“This is another great day for Camp Atterbury. Over 2,500 people come to Camp Atterbury to work every day. We owe it to them to provide a facility to care for their family. This is a world class child care facility not just a child development center with that name. It is absolutely the best of the best,” said Umbarger.
The new CDC will give these soldiers and DoD civilian employees a resource to care for their family on post, he said.
Thomas said the CDC is licensed for up to 100 children, but as a matter of policy they seek to have 88 enrolled in the program. This is to ensure that the teacher to child ratio remain relatively low.
“Army child care centers are rated number one in the country by the National Association for Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. President Clinton named military child care a “Model for the Nation,” said Thomas.
According to Spc. Jennifer Regis, with Atterbury-Muscatatuck Center for Complex Operations, the opening of the CDC helps her by being close.
“I live far away, but I’m extremely excited to have daycare close at hand,” she said. “It’s a beautiful facility and excellent staff. They knew my kids’ names from the beginning.”
If sufficient space remains, it is the prerogative of the garrison commander to open the facility to the community at-large.
“I am very excited that this day has come, that Army families at Camp Atterbury can celebrate, that military families could have a place to bring their kids and feel safe about having them here because of the policies and procedures that are written,” Thomas said.
| Date Taken: | 10.04.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 10.04.2012 13:13 |
| Story ID: | 95714 |
| Location: | EDINBURGH, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 551 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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