1st Annual Walk for Children took place on 9/22/02.

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Child Care Resource Center Honors Senator Ted Kennedy                   By Caryl Lattof                                              

Cambridge, MA—The distinguished Senator Edward Kennedy grinned broadly as a hand-painted child’s chair was unveiled and presented to him in recognition of his life-long contributions to the health and well-being of children.  “I intend to do all I can in Congress to keep this chair at the table for children,” said the Senator. 

The celebratory event was held at the Massachusetts State House in Boston on June 3, commemorating the 30^th anniversary of the Child Care Resource Center, Inc. (CCRC), a community-based nonprofit organization in Central Square, Cambridge.  Among the 200 in attendance were Governor Jane Swift and a number of elected officials and community leaders.  CCRC’s Board of Directors’ member State Representative Jarrett Barrios emceed. 

Before she presented him with the 30^th Anniversary Award, CCRC’s Executive Director Marta Rosa, introduced the Senator as “someone who believes that every child has the right to access a good education, proper health care and the support of the community to grow healthy and develop strong.”  Ms. Rosa thanked him for his nearly forty years of commitment, dedication and passion for working to ensure that children are a priority agenda in the Commonwealth and in the nation. 

With the child’s chair, Ms. Rosa presented Senator Kennedy with a painted plate to memorialize his and CCRC’s shared values.  Governor Swift graciously acknowledged both CCRC and Senator Kennedy.  “Together, your mission has been simple and consistent – invest in children, help working families, and improve the quality of child care and education in the Commonwealth and the country.  The progress you’ve made and the change you’ve brought about has been nothing but remarkable.” 

Let the party begin.  The audience of child care providers, educators, advocates, and legislators watched in delight as Cambridge and Somerville Family Child Care preschoolers accompanied Ms. Fran Friedman, children’s musician and recording artist, in a burst of song. 

Massachusetts Leadership Empowerment and Action Program (MassLEAP) Partners performed a powerfully impressive and dramatic skit highlighting the complexity of child care issues.  “Can you do that in Washington?” the Senator asked. 

Ms. Mav Pardee, one of CCRC’s four founding women, spoke to the organization’s rich history.  Three of the four past Executive Directors were in attendance and acknowledged for their contributions.  CCRC’s Board President Karen Leibold addressed the future of the organization. 

Governor Swift congratulated CCRC “for 30 years of unwavering commitment to children and their parents,” and that “as one of the first resource and referral agencies in the country, CCRC has set an inspiring example that has been admired, followed and modeled.” 

Indeed it has.  CCRC is now one of 15 child care resource and referral agencies in Massachusetts and over 700 in the nation.  CCRC’s mission is to promote the care, learning and development of all children.  The organization provides innovative solutions to social issues relating to early care and education, focusing on the quality, availability and affordability of child care.  Ms. Rosa is also the current President of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA).   

Above all, what was present in CCRC’s celebration was a love for children, and a commitment to protecting them wherever they are.  There is no doubt that all were touched by the words echoed that day.  Even the political agendas of two parties were less obvious for a moment, as Senator Kennedy and Governor Swift recognized and thanked CCRC for 30 years of community service to better the lives of young children and their families.  “This award really belongs to you for your skillful work and your strong commitment to children,” the Senator said.

Child Care Resource Center Holds First-Annual Caring for Babies Forum on May 18, 2002                                                By Suzie Guillette 

Cambridge, MA—Since being elected on January 7, 2002, Mayor Michael Sullivan has been busy—attending meetings, solving community-based issues, representing Cambridge at numerous events, and providing child care. That’s right: child care. Mayor Sullivan, in addition to holding an elected office, spends two days at home every week, caring for his own children, ages 2 and 3. Prior to being the Mayor, Sullivan was the full-time, primary caregiver for his kids.  

On Saturday, May 18, Sullivan welcomed Cambridge parents and child care providers to the Caring for Babies Forum, a day devoted to promoting the healthy development of young children, ages 0 to 3. As part of the Child Care Resource Center’s (CCRC) Zero-to-Three Initiative, the Caring for Babies Forum brought together city parents and providers in a unique setting, focused on caring for our city’s youngest citizens. It was held at the ME Fitzgerald Middle School in North Cambridge.  

Marta Rosa, CCRC’s Executive Director, introduced Sullivan with the words that “there is not a more important job in the world than caring for babies.” Like most of the forty people in the audience, Sullivan agreed.  He then spoke about ways to care for children well, highlighting the importance of conversing with children to help them develop good communications skills essential to school-readiness.   

“We must talk to our children,” he urged the audience. “It doesn’t matter if it’s in English—just talking to your kids is so important.” Sullivan also noted that all newborns in Cambridge receive 3 children’s books and a library card after their birth, promoting the city’s agenda for early literacy and learning.  

Dr. Marilyn Augustyn, the day’s keynote speaker, echoed Sullivan’s advice. A developmental behavioral pediatrician at the Boston Medical Center, Augustyn has followed pre- and post-natal human brain development research through the course of her career.  

“In the last 10-15 years, we have learned so much about brain development and child development from a relational aspect,” Augustyn began. “I am so pleased to see a community development program (like the City of Cambridge’s Agenda for Children) that is so evidenced-based.”  

Augustyn emphasized the significant role that a caregiver plays in a child’s relationship to learning and explained the relationship in terms of the different stages of brain development. If a caregiver demonstrates excitement about learning, it is likely that a child will become more motivated and engaged in the process as well.  

After the keynote address, parents and providers attended 90 minute workshops on the following topics: Baby Signing, Playing with Babies and Toddlers, Choosing Child Care, Child Growth and Development, and Literacy Development. Workshop attendants were a mix of Cambridge parents and providers, which gave each group the chance to communicate and learn from each other, in a non-judgmental setting that had one focus: the optimal, healthy development of children.  

Jae Picard, first-time mother of a four-month old, attended the Choosing Child Care Workshop, where she received tips on selecting the best child care option to suit her family’s needs. Kate Kujawski, a Parent Services Specialist at CCRC (and also a former child care provider) offered provider selection strategies for Picard and other mothers, such as first making a list of what they can’t compromise in a child care setting, i.e. sick policies and flexible hours.  

Also in attendance at the Choosing Child Care workshop was Angela Person, a new owner of a family child care business in North Cambridge. “It was really helpful (to be there with parents). I have been working for years with kids, but my business is new,” Person said. “It’s good to learn first-hand what parents are looking for, what’s most important.” 

At the Caring for Babies Forum, Picard and Person—parent and provider—were able to learn about each other’s perspectives and see their role in caring for children from the other’s point of view. In the end, Picard said, “…it’s really scary to think of (my) baby with someone else…but now I am much better equipped to evaluate child care (programs).” 

Other Forum participants agreed on the value of bringing together such groups in an informative environment. Lise White, a child care provider at Bright Horizons in Kendall Square attended the Baby Signing workshop and learned how to teach babies sign language to communicate their needs. “This day was terrific. I really learned a lot. I can’t tell you how many of these seminars I go to and really, this day has been great. And the fact that it’s free…is amazing,” said White. 

The no-cost factor of the Caring for Babies Forum is due, in large part, to a long list of generous sponsors and collaborators, who include: CCRC, the Agenda for Children, the Center for Families of North Cambridge, the City of Cambridge Department of Human Services, the Cambridge Community Foundation, Baby Kneads, Cambridge Even Start Family Literacy Program, Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge Public Schools Home-Based Program, Cambridge and Somerville Early Intervention, Cambridge and Somerville WIC, Chelsea Human Services Collaborative, Concilio Hispano, Families First, FirstLINK, the Guidance Center, Healthy Families of Cambridge and Somerville, Milestones Children’s Center, the Central Square Starbucks, and the University Park Shaw’s/Star Market.  

The day ended with parents and providers feeling energized. All attendants were given a postcard on which they were to write one thing that they learned at the Forum and will promise to do in coming months. They will receive their own postcards in one month, as a reminder of what they learned.  

Jena Mottola, whose daughter is 18 months, said that she received a lot of creative, new information and ideas from the Playing with Babies and Toddlers workshop that she attended. But the most important lesson she learned—beyond putting food-colored glittery hair gel in a double-wrapped plastic bag—was that she was already doing the right things, in caring for her daughter. She left feeling that the Caring for Babies Forum: “really placed value on us as parents and caregivers, affirming what we’re already doing to care for our children.”  

The first-ever Caring for Babies Forum was important step in creating community and awareness around raising children. It is every community’s most important job—just ask the mayor.