European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 17, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine Haw Voru Tim i photo Eda Hausner takes can of Bryon and Erin fitter five Days a week in her Home in new City n. A. Nationwide Effort is recruiting training Day care workers by Glenn Collins new York times growing new nationwide Effort is attempting to increase the availability and improve the Quality of child care in the United Stales by recruiting and training Day care workers. During the last three years More than 13,000 new workers have been brought into child care a Field that has suffered a chronic under Supply of qua red personnel in the untied states. Instead of focusing on Day care centers the new child care recruitment efforts Are trying to increase Itie number of workers in family Day  people who offer child care services in their Homes usually for six or fewer children often infants or toddlers the new programs Lina need in part by corporations that have awarded lucrative contracts for child care services for their employees rely heavily on Community based organizations and grass roots support. They Center on a loosely organized network of resource and referral or  agencies throughout the country. In a growing number of states agencies Are counselling par3 Aboul Day care options referring parents to provi. Is in the Community and increasingly expanding child Caie services by actively recruiting and training workers. Such efforts Are. In some areas easing the chronic Lack of availability of child care and the Long waiting lists in child care programs. The new corporate financing of such efforts is providing an impetus to increase the Supply and Quality of Day care said or. Dana Friedman a senior research associate at the conference Board a non profit business research organization in new York there hat been u rapid growth in the number of companies involved in resource and referral services Lor  More than 500 corporation Are now providing such services compared to just a handful in 193?." she said. The number of companies has increased by 60 percent since june 1985, when the Board did a study of child care assistance to workers. Lots of mothers now. They Don t have their folks around to help them these Days As i  said 53-year old Lystra Williams in the living room of tier Flatbush Home they re working and they really need folks like me to help care for their  Williams who has been providing licensed Day care Lor toddlers in her Home since november is Ono of the newest of the 13,000 new workers who Day care experts estimate have been recruited into the Field during the last two years by referral agencies. There Are now More Shan 350 such agencies across the country we think that number will increase to boo by july said Tutti Sherlock president of the National association of child care resource and referral agencies based in Rochester Minn. The new National organization has been incorporated to coordinate the private and Public agencies efforts. Many experts including Friedman credit corporate sponsorship for sparking the current referral and recruitment Boom. In july 1984, the ism corp. Began offering a free child Caie referral service to 240,000 of ils employees so far 14,000 families have used it. From the very beginning to realized thai it we sent people Only to the resources hat exist we d be saying sorry we can t help you " said fran Rodgers of work family directions. The Boston based consulting firm has coordinated the efforts for ism through a network of resource agencies around the country. We knew it would work Only if we began recruiting  during the first year of another recruitment program which was started in California by tha ban America foundation child care agencies recruited trained and helped gel licenses for 230 people providing care for More than 1,000 children across fhe slalom. We created a program that would involve not Only Orter corporations bul also foundations and the Public sector said Rosemary mans a vice president of tha ban America foundation in san Francisco the program the California child care initiative has received More than $12 million in contributions from 14 corporate sponsors and nine contributors from the up folic sector including the stale of California and four counties. Although resource and referral services Weie in existence Long before corporations took an interest in i Iii care. The Advent of Large business i ans has had a powerful Impact on the Field. Ii has Given agencies increased visibility and Fegi Limicy in their communities said Dee Topol a vice president Al she american express co., which has spent More than $750.000 supporting child Cara recruitment efforts since 1983. It elevated the status of child care to an important workplace Issue she added and enabled agencies to attract additional  Many local agencies have attracted a growing roster of focal and National corporate clients providing the impetus to recruit even More Day care providers. Parents not associated Wilh corporate clients have benefited from the agencies efforts too can t imagine what my life would be like without Eda said Lynn Ritter of Eda Hausner. Who takes care of Ritler s children Erin and Bryan five Days a week in her Home to new City , thera Are thousands of parents looking for child care and thousands of potential providers in the Community and to can help make if Jat connection said Nancy Kolben. Deputy director of child care inc., a Marthal Tan based resource and referral service. The Agency now has contracts Wilh 18 different companies with a Tola work Force of 88,000 employees it is also the coordinator of a citywide program started m november by Iho american express co. To expand City child care services. The program the neighbourhood child care initiatives project is supported by $399,000 in contributions from 10 corporate and foundation sponsors. It was this program under the auspices of Brookwood child care in Brooklyn that recruited Williams who lives in Flatbush. . With her husband Ernest i love children i have iwo of my own and five grandchildren and this can be a Good business for me she said. Her training by Brookwood has included courses in child development safety nutrition and medical emergencies. Brook Vood also helped her to receive certification As a licensed child care provider. The program s recruits and everyone in heir households Are screened or child abuse and other criminal offences. The competence of the child care workers is assessed in Home visits. Parents pay the Agency $30 a week of which Williams receives $60. "1 like the fact that the Agency is there for me she said we recruit he parents for them they Don l have to Dun them for Money and our support gives them a sense of Security if there Are problems said Sandra Forse explaining Why child rare providers prefer to be affiliated with an Agency. She is the family Day care program director at proof Wood Lystra with last Tiff bean providing Iceni a Day earn Tor Leavittt in a Rhom Tinct Mitt nov Mew. Saturday january 17, 1987 the stars and stripes Page 13