Immokalee Child Care Center

WHY SHOULD I GIVE TO THE IMMOKALEE CHILD CARE CENTER?
Low income working families can acquire and maintain their dignity due partly to the fact that they are employed and providing for their families, taking care of their responsibilities. Immokalee Child Care Center has been in existence for 50 years with a reputation in the community for providing quality early childhood education and childcare. Parents can concentrate on their employment knowing their children are safe and being readied for on-going education.

WHY DOES THE IMMOKALEE CHILD CARE CENTER EXIST?
In the early 1960’s, Church Women United of Collier County came to Immokalee to deliver holiday baskets. They noticed many of the migrant mothers took their children to the fields while they worked. Working with Collier County and a shoestring board of directors, the Immokalee Child Care Center was formed in an old washhouse. Over the years, the center grew and flourished, evolving from simple custodial care to quality early childhood education. Today we serve the Collier County community by providing a safe, nurturing, high quality educational environment that is affordable for working families.

WHAT TYPE OF PROGRAMS DOES THE CENTER OFFER?
At Immokalee Child Care Center (ICCC), we provide childcare and a nationally accredited preschool curriculum with a major focus on literacy, the arts, science and technology, serving over 100 children from one month to five years of age.

WHAT KIND OF IMPACT DOES ICCC HAVE ON THE CHILDREN’S FUTURE?
Our program encompasses a tri-fold educational system that educates the children, provides professional development for staff and offers support for families through parent involvement opportunities. The children are screened to see if there are any indicators that the child requires special attention and a diversified curriculum is created to best meet their needs. These screenings provide valuable information so that teachers and parents can create a plan of action that will best serve the child..

WHAT QUALIFICATIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE TEACHERS?
ALL staff must pass a background check from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. In the State of Florida, childcare teaching staff members are mandated to take 45 hours of state training and pass a test within one year of their employment. ICCC’s accreditation standards require teachers to continue their training to receive a Florida Child Care Professional Credential. They also receive training in CPR/First-Aid/Blood-borne Pathogens and Special Needs.

WHAT DO YOU DO IF THE CHILDREN GET SICK?
The State of Florida has strict regulations concerning children’s health. We have mandates to which we must adhere. Parents are required to have emergency contacts that are authorized to pick up their children when the parents are unable to come to the school.

DO THE PARENTS PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM?
Yes. Parent involvement is the key to a child’s success. We ask parents to volunteer one hour per month to the program. Some come to the center while others prefer to help with special projects off-campus. We have a parent resource library complete with items for check-out and access to on-line information. Parent conferences are held twice each year.

IS TUITION FREE TO THE PARENTS?
No, every parent pays a fee according to their income. The average weekly childcare tuition is approximately $45.00, which is about 25% of the true cost. Our tuition assistance program is vital to every child in our center.

DO ALL THE CHILDREN SPEAK ENGLISH?
Many of our children come from Spanish and Creole speaking families. While we are sensitive to the heritage of our families, English is the official language spoken at the center. We have translators at the center for the parents, but we believe that helping the children to learn English at a young age will help them when they go on to elementary school.

DOES ICCC WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH OTHER COMMUNITY AGENCIES?
Immokalee Child Care Center works with various non-profit and social service agencies in both Collier and Lee Counties. Some of these agencies include, but are not limited to:

- Naples Children and Education Foundation
- United Way of Collier County
- Southwest Florida Early Learning Coalition
- Collier County Community Foundation
- Collier Child Care Resources
- Child Care of Southwest Florida
- Redlands Christian Migrant Association
- Children’s Network of Southwest Florida
- Guadalupe Family Center
- Collier County Public Schools
- Early Literacy and Learning Program
- First Book
- Collier County Sheriff’s Department
- David Lawrence Center
- The Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples
- Immokalee Family Non-Profit Housing

WHERE DOES FUNDING COME FROM?
Funding comes from the Naples Children and Education Foundation, United Way of Collier County; State of Florida subsidized childcare programs, grants, other foundations, civic organizations and individual donors.

HOW IS ICCC DIFFERENT FROM OTHER CHILDCARE CENTERS?
ICCC has a single focus – childcare and education for a specific age group; between one month and five years of age. Other agencies may provide broader or fewer offerings when compared with ICCC. The Immokalee Child Care Center is special due to its long history in the Immokalee Community. We are the longest running childcare center in Immokalee. We have helped shape the face of childcare and early education in Immokalee by consistently improving our services to meet the needs of the community. We have long time board members who have served our agency for many years and are dedicated to our mission. We have a low staff turnover rate, which provides continuity for our families and the community.

WHAT ARE YOUR GREATEST NEEDS?
Donations are needed to support tuition, office supplies, classroom materials, technology devices, building maintenance, staff; etc. We are continually looking for those special members of the general community to serve as volunteers and/or board members, people who share our goals for childcare.