Resources to Find Safe Child Care Services - Central Coast News KION/KCBA

MONTEREY, Calif. -- Central Coast News talked with local organizations who specialize in child care services, and found out how you can find safe day cares for your children.  

It can be a little bit of a process but its worth doing to make sure your child is being taken care of by people who are qualified. The Mexican American Opportunity Foundation runs the Monterey County Child Care Resource and Referral organization in Salinas. They assist all families that need help with getting child care services.

Maria Ortiz has worked here for over 20 years and said they only work with child facilities who are licensed and that includes first aid training, CPR, floor plans and other criminal history checks. "Fingerprints, there's background checks. All the adults in the home have to have fingerprints," said Ortiz.  

Resource and Referral organizations are located in counties throughout the state. In Monterey they service more than 800 home providers and day cares. The information on each day care is put into the resource and referral database. "Depending on what the parent is asking, we try to match the parents with what the provider offers," said Ortiz.

The state licensing services visits all home providers and day cares unannounced once a year to make sure everything is running smooth. "Checking that we have all the hazardous materials locked away sometimes we leave something out," said caretaker Patricia Quezada.

Classes are also provided by Resource and Referral for all caregivers in the county. So caregivers can refresh their skills. Parents are also given a questionnaire while they check out different facilities asking about safety hazards. Some of the questions ask if the place is clean and if the caregiver was able to show their CPR and other certifications.

To contact the Monterey County Child Care Resource and Referral office you can call 831-783-1309 or check out their website www.maof.org