Child Care

Kathy Lating-Wise of Havre de Grace and Elizabeth "Libby" Lawson-Lilley of Cub Hill recently released their first book, Letters of Advice for Child Care Providers - a compilation of early elementary child-care questions and advice. The book is a series of queries sent from day-care provider Lating-Wise to pediatric nurse practitioner Lawson-Lilley, who answers questions in a "Dear Abby"-type manner. Chapters such as health, development, socialization and eating habits categorize 100 child-care problem scenarios, conveyed with humor by Lating-Wise.

Many parents who enjoy traveling pursue one of three strategies when they hit the road: leave the kids with a willing relative, take a nanny along or plan a vacation at a child-friendly resort. But sometimes none of these is an option, so to get at least one dinner out by themselves, Mom and Dad need to find a baby sitter in an unfamiliar locale. For those who find themselves in this situation, the ease of finding child care depends on a number of variables -- as does the range of the services available.

A week after a high-profile study cast a negative light on child care, researchers - including the study's lead statistician - are sharply questioning whether their controversial work has been misrepresented. As publicly reported last week, the study showed that the more time preschoolers spend in child care, the more likely their teachers were to report behavior problems such as aggression and defiance in kindergarten. But several academics involved in the study feel that its conclusion was overstated and that other important findings never reached the public.

Culinary, hospitality open house at HCC Howard Community College will hold a Hospitality and Culinary Management open house for students interested in careers in these fields at 11 a.m. Aug. 11 at 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. The free event includes a hands-on culinary demonstration, a light lunch and a gift for those who attend. The open house will be in Room 400 of the Rouse Company Foundation Student Services Hall. Information or registration: 410-772-4469. Glenelg High offices to close for upgrades Renovations at Glenelg High School will require closing the school's offices from Tuesday through Friday to upgrade electrical units.

Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger says he hopes to strengthen the nation's child care industry and ease the financial burden it puts on working families with a bill that he announced at a day care facility in Hanover. "Blue collar, white collar, whatever," Ruppersberger said, "families are suffering and we need to give relief to these people." Ruppersberger, a Cockeysville Democrat and soon-to-be grandfather, announced Wednesday at the Childtime Learning Center that when Congress returns from the holiday break, he will introduce the Right Start Child Care and Education Act of 2007.

In the national debate about cost, quantity and quality of child care, the voices rarely heard are those of children themselves.Seeking to fill that void, Ellen Galinsky, president of the New York-based Families and Work Institute, surveyed 1,000 children across the country to hear what they had to say about working parents.Among her findings: Only about 10 percent of children in grades three through 12 wish they spent more time with their mothers -- regardless of whether she scoops them up minutes after the school bell rings or a bus ferries them to an after-school program.

THE ENTRANCE to the Board of Child Care in Randallstown is marked by bronze figures depicting children at play -- running, skipping, turning cartwheels, performing handstands.They're lighthearted symbols for an institution with a serious mission: caring for emotionally troubled adolescents from around Maryland."Our emphasis is on children first," said Executive Director Thomas L. Curcio. "Children have to have a place to live, a place to grow up, a place to learn, a place to have fun. We want kids to look around here and say, `All my needs can be met here.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening pledged yesterday to spend an additional $46 million on child care for thousands of low-income families struggling to remain off welfare.With the number of Marylanders on welfare continuing to drop dramatically, the state has accumulated a surplus in the program of $86 million -- money the governor said should be used largely to help people stay off public assistance."Keeping people off of welfare, especially in the short run, requires significant support," Glendening said.

WASHINGTON -- Proclaiming that "there is no more important job than raising a child," President Clinton unveiled a broad-based, five-year plan yesterday to address the child-care needs of American parents, particularly those with lower incomes.The centerpiece of the $22 billion plan is an expansion of tax credits to help defray child-care expenses. The proposal also calls for block grants to states and tax credits for businesses that help their employees deal with child care."This is an issue that touches nearly every family," Clinton said in a White House ceremony featuring children and parents as well as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper.

Maryland is among the top 10 states for child-care programs for the second year in a row, according to Working Mother magazine.The state joins California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin in the honor.Maryland made the ranks by maintaining availability, safety, quality and commitment in both private and public child-care programs, Working Mother spokesperson Christina Duffney said yesterday."No state has ever received five stars," Duffney said.

At a signing ceremony earlier this month, Gov. Martin O'Malley made official the first-ever contract between the state and family child care providers who participate in Maryland's child care subsidy program. I'm among the people who benefit from this agreement - so are the children in my care and their families. I am a family child care provider, a homeowner and a parent. There are days when I start work at 6 a.m.; some nights my last child isn't picked up until 11:30 p.m. This is the nature of family child care.

Subsidy boost was needed In her op-ed "SEIU's victory on subsidies looks like a loss for taxpayers" (Oct. 21), Marta Hummel Mossburg omits critical information and misrepresents the role of the SEIU. Ms. Mossburg decries the 3 percent increase in the payment the state makes to family child care providers who receive a modest state subsidy to care for low-income children. She fails to note that these providers have long been grossly underpaid. In 2008, the average annual income of family child care providers in Maryland was $28,620.

Family child-care workers in Maryland, beware. A union official will come knocking on your door soon. A collective bargaining agreement Gov. Martin O'Malley signed with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 500 last week gives the union broad access to the names, addresses and, ultimately, the checkbooks of family child care providers who participate in the state's child care subsidy program. Mr. O'Malley described the first-ever collective bargaining agreement as a way to protect child-care workers.

Truck overturns on I-95; man dies A Cecil County man was killed when his pickup truck overturned near Havre de Grace yesterday morning, closing an Interstate 95 on-ramp for about three hours, state police said. Matthew S. Markle, 38, of Conowingo lost control of his truck about 7 a.m. on the ramp from Route 155 to southbound I-95 at Exit 89, police said. The truck left the roadway, went into a ditch and overturned, trapping Markle, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Jonathan Pitts Fire damages APG storage building A fire damaged a records-storage building at Aberdeen Proving Ground on Wednesday night, authorities said yesterday.

Budget cuts strain services families need In her column on state budget cuts, Jean Marbella wonders what a 5 percent cut to child care and family support programs will look like ("Yes, they're paper cuts, but they can go deep," Oct. 16). I can tell her. Picture a teenage mother in a Family Support Center learning parenting and job skills. Think of a working family getting help finding and evaluating child care. Imagine a classroom full of child care providers learning how to plan activities that enhance early learning and school readiness.

HCC holds orientation Howard Community College will hold new-student orientation sessions from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Aug. 18 and from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Aug. 20 at the college's Athletics Center, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. First-time students are expected to attend. Parents are also invited to attend a parents program during both orientation sessions. Both sessions include refreshments, information packets and activities, including interactive workshops, campus tours and prizes.

Graduates named outstanding volunteers Two recent Howard County high school graduates have been selected as Outstanding Student Volunteers for Special Olympics Howard County. Each will receive a one-time scholarship of $1,500. Stephen Schnorf, a graduate of Wilde Lake High School, is the recipient of the 2008 Jackie Burk Memorial Award. He volunteered in track and field, bowling, cross country and aquatics, as well as at state games. The Burk family is funding the scholarship through memorial donations honoring their daughter Jackie, who was also a student volunteer for Special Olympics.

Mikulski, Cardin to speak at breakfast The BWI Business Partnership will hold its Signature Breakfast from 7:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the new Sheraton Baltimore Washington Airport Hotel, 1100 Old Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum. Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin will speak. Registration is required by Monday. Partnership members can attend free or pay $25, depending on their membership level. Admission is $40 for nonmembers, if space is available. Members can register at www.bwipartner.

Baltimore and the state of Maryland are not living up to their promises to improve the lives of foster children in the city, according to a court filing this week. Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the long-standing class action lawsuit that resulted in a 20-year-old consent decree are asking a federal judge to cite the state and the city's child welfare agency for contempt and to appoint an independent monitor to ensure accountability and push reforms more aggressively. Brenda Donald, who heads the state Department of Human Resources and who has taken responsibility for turning things around, insists that changes are already under way. But the city's Department of Social Services has lost ground in recent years, and despite some welcome new initiatives by the state and the city, their efforts to make things better for vulnerable children might benefit from more outside help.

The Maryland attorney general's office plans to appeal a judge's preliminary injunction that prevents Gov. Martin O'Malley from enforcing his executive order allowing a union to represent home-based child care providers during negotiations for state subsidies. Yesterday, two Republican lawmakers, Sen. Allan H. Kittleman and Del. Michael D. Smigiel Sr. applauded the Friday action by Cecil County Circuit Judge Dexter M. Thompson Jr. The judge said the governor's Aug. 6 executive order, which covers residential day care providers who receive purchase-of-care vouchers from moderate-income parents, should have been handled through an executive branch regulation.