Guest Column - Child Care

October 1, 2019

Parents who can depend on child care that is safe, nurturing and educational are more productive and reliable members of the workforce. Unfortunately, Bennington does not currently have the capacity to meet this need. According to 2018 Lets Grow Kids report, 78% of infants likely to need care in Bennington County do not have access to high quality (4 or 5 star) programs. 53 % of toddlers do not have access. The new Early Childhood Center will allow for up to sixteen new infant toddler slots and for additional community slots.

UCS and Bennington County Head start and Early Head Start are very excited to be partnering with the Town of Bennington and the Bennington Recreation Center to add an Early Childhood Center onto the existing recreation center building! The Facility will expand capacity for much needed infant/toddler and preschool child care. It will also include a large multi-purpose room able to provide indoor gross motor activities for young children, youth programming, community meetings and evens, and will include a community cafe. We will be increasing outdoor recreation opportunities for young children with the addition of a new playground and a trike-track.

We hope you will join us in a Groundbreaking Ceremony on Wednesday, October 16th at 1:30 to celebrate this success for children and families in our community.

Author: Betsy Rathbun-Gunn
Sally Sugarman (Club Member & Windmill Editor)