Child care providers play key role in mission success

  • Published
  • 341st Force Support Squadron personnel
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  "A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove ... but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."
- Forrest E. Whitcraft -

National Provider Appreciation Day was celebrated May 12 at the Malmstrom Child Development Center, Youth Programs and Family Child Care. Today's child care providers, teachers and other educators of young children everywhere are unsung heroes. In today's demanding economy, more parents than ever before are working and as a result, more children require full- or part-time child care. It is estimated that of the 21 million children under the age of 6 in the United States, 13 million are in child care at least part-time. An additional 24 million school-age children also are in some form of child care outside of school time.

Air Force Airman and Family Services Programs make a positive difference in the lives of our active-duty military and civilian members, not just here at Malmstrom, but worldwide by providing quality childcare, programs and services at the Child Development Center, Family Child Care homes and Youth Programs. These avenues assist Team Malmstrom personnel and their families in balancing the competing demands of family life and the military mission.

Airman and Family Services Programs enhance and support children and youth's physical, social, emotional and intellectual development. The CDC provides center-based care in a safe and nurturing environment for children 6 weeks to 5 years of age. FCC homes provide in-home care by licensed providers who offer daily, night, weekend, and unusual hours of care for children ages 2 weeks to 12 years. Youth Programs provide a wide variety of services and activities for youth ages 5 to 18 including before and after school care, summer day camp, instructional classes, youth sports and teen programs. From May 2009 to May 2010, child care professionals at the CDC, Youth Programs and FCC homes provided more than 550,000 hours of care to Malmstrom families. The FCC Expanded Child Care program also provided more than 6,200 hours of free care and saved families more than $37,000 in additional child care fees.

Malmstrom's CDC is one of only two programs accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children in Great Falls and the School Age Program at the Youth Center is the only program in the state of Montana accredited by the National Afterschool Association.

"It takes a special person to work in the child care field and their contribution to the quality of family life is invaluable," said Kathy Desy, Airman and Family Services Flight Chief. "This day offers an opportunity for parents to show their child's CDC caregivers, FCC providers, and Youth Program personnel their appreciation."