CHILD QUEST LEARNING CENTER

In November 1994, the Housing Authority took on one of its most ambitious projects – the establishment of a large childcare center. With the help of the Department of Local Affairs in cooperation with the Town of Olathe, MCHA secured a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in the amount of $155,827 to refurbish an area farmhouse, which is now known as “Child Quest Learning Center”. The center was built in response to growing needs expressed by the community for a major childcare center serving the Delta, Montrose, and Olathe area. The center was to have an initial capacity of 70 children. As of 1998 Child Quest reached a capacity of 115 children from age 2 month - 12 years. By 1999, it became obvious that the existing farmhouse kitchen could not continue to provide for the rapid growth at the center that serves 3 meals each day and 2 snacks, open from 5:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Nor could it continue to meet the more stringent health code requirements. With the support once again from the Town of Olathe as sponsoring agency and the Department of Local Affairs, Child Quest was awarded a $200,000 grant to construct a new kitchen and lunchroom.

Consumer Perception
A survey conducted in 1993 showed an urgent need for area childcare, especially due to welfare-to-work legislation calling more parents back into the workplace. Currently, there is only one other center that offers infant care - The Passage Charter School. However, they provide care only for the children of their teen students and employees. There is a rapidly growing need in our community for more infant care.

Community Characteristics
Montrose County is primarily an agricultural area. Much of the income is generated through farming, ranching and logging. The county has a composite manufacturing plant, a wafer board plant, several large dairies and chicken farms. The Town of Olathe is located between Delta and Montrose. The 1990 census placed fifty to sixty percent of the population of Olathe in a low or moderate-income bracket.

Goal -
Our goal is to provide quality childcare to all families in our area, especially those of lower income, who might otherwise find it difficult to afford quality care. To meet this goal, the Housing Authority has contracted with The Childcare Assistance Program (CCAP) through Social Services of Montrose County to guarantee 50 full time slots for lower income families. Rates are kept as low possible in order to make childcare more affordable for families who don’t qualify for CCAP. The majority of the children at Child Quest are on the CCAP program through Delta and Montrose Counties.

Grants & Funding -
We recently received a $36,300 grant from the Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation for the purpose of expanding our classroom space for school age children and a $400 grant from KN Energy to purchase supplies for our summer program.

In Kind Donations
Many parents, teachers, and community members donate time to help make the center a success. A lady makes bibs for the infants and toddlers and smocks for the infant room staff at no cost to the center, using excess material from her own projects. The father of one of our children donates his own time to repair playground equipment Parents help every year to organize and participate in a float for the Sweet Corn Festival Parade, and the center receives donations of clothing and toys that children have outgrown.

Other Donations
We recently received a donation of a modular home valued at $50,000 that made it possible to add two classrooms for our school age children. We have also received several donations from Wal-Mart, of gifts and party supplies for our holiday parties, and from Delta Montrose Electric Association as well. We also received several computers from Social Services and Shepard Miller when they upgraded their systems. Montrose Decorating Center also donated wallpaper for the children to use in their crafts and several businesses donate computer paper for the children to use as scrap drawing paper.

One other interesting donation we receive is eggs. Our summer program for the school age children includes incubating eggs and watching the chicks hatch. So far we have received chicken, duck, and pheasant eggs from helpful parents, at no cost rather than having to buy the eggs.

Child Care Food Program
This is a federally funded program that includes meal subsidies (paid, reduced, free) to daycare providers. The subsidies are based on the family’s size and income. Families must apply for reduced or free meals. Many of the families at our center qualify for the reduced or free categories. This makes it much more affordable to provide quality meals and snacks.

Job Training Partnership Act and Foster Grandparents Program -
(JTPA) This program provides funding for job training as well as childcare and other services. We also work with the Foster Grandparent program, which provides us with volunteer “grandparents” to work with our children in the classrooms. This provides a valuable resource for our center, as it exposes our children to a more diverse age population with a wide variety of experiences to share.

Budget -
The primary source of income for Child Quest is from tuition fees paid for childcare services. We also receive subsidies from the USDA Food Program, and from the Weld County Migrant Headstart Program. The director submits an annual budget to the Housing Authority board for approval. Although all the accounting for Child Quest is handled in-house, all expenditures require the signature approval of the Housing Authority Director.