2 Joplin agencies nab grants for child care programs

Dec. 14—Lafayette House and Community Support Services of Missouri are among the Joplin-area agencies selected to receive a portion of $300,000 from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks in grants to provide child care in rural communities.

The grants were awarded by the Springfield-based foundation's Ozarks Early Childhood Support Grant Program, which is funded by an anonymous donor. The program's goal is to reduce barriers to quality child care so parents can return to work or maintain employment, foundation officials said in announcing the grants.

"This program has the potential to provide so many levels of opportunity, not only for children to receive good quality care and education, but also for parents to be able to return to work knowing their children are being well cared for in a safe environment," said Robin Morgan, chair of the foundation board, in a statement. "This will also give caregivers the opportunity to find good-paying jobs in child care."

Community Support Services of Missouri received $30,000 to provide scholarships to low-income families participating in its Early Learning Center in Webb City. The agency provides services to people of all ages who have developmental disabilities, and its Early Learning Center specifically serves infants, toddlers and younger children, most of whom have a developmental delay.

"We've just gotten through remodeling two of our classrooms to allow for expansion, so we are going to be able to expand our licensed capacity," said Jhan Hurn, president and CEO of Community Support Services. "We have a number of children on our wait list right now; this way, they're going to be eligible to receive services in our learning center."

Lafayette House, which provides services to victims of domestic assault, sexual violence and substance abuse, received $30,000 to support current staff and fill vacancies at its Pumpkin Patch in Joplin. The Pumpkin Patch is an on-site child care center licensed for 67 children; about half of the slots are reserved for Lafayette House clients, and the remaining slots are open to the community.

"We're using (the grant) to pay the salaries of our staff and hopefully increase their wages a little bit, and also to recruit some new staff members," said Louise Secker, development director. "We're down a couple of staff in the Pumpkin Patch and having trouble filling those positions, so we're hoping this grant will help us subsidize that."

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