How do you offer child care during a pandemic? Very carefully
Frequent cleaning, regular hand washing and screening children at the door is the new COVID-19 reality for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County, one of the largest child-care providers in the area.
Even the pool cues get wiped down after every shot.
And the organization has a slightly altered mission during the pandemic: While the clubs usually provide before- and after-school care for school-age children, now, with schools closed down, the clubs are offering full-day child care to those parents who work jobs that have been deemed essential by the state, such as first responders, health care workers, delivery drivers, certain state workers, those who work at drug stores or serve in the military.
The Boys & Girls Club is operating three branches during Gov. Jay Inslee’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy period that now will last until May 4. They are offering child care to between 10 and 20 children, Chief Executive Chris Woods said. The locations are in Lacey, Tumwater and Rochester, he said.
Immediately after Gov. Jay Inslee announced that schools would close because of the pandemic, it was business as usual for the club’s six branches. But as the state increased restrictions to combat the outbreak and more parents went home to work, demand for the clubs fell, Woods said. They narrowed the number of open branches to four, then three, but still wanted to help those families who needed child care the most, he said.
He acknowledged that some parents have inquired about child care, saying they have essential jobs, too, even though they work from home. But that doesn’t quite meet the standard, Woods said.
“We want to reserve those spots for those who absolutely need us,” he said.
The pandemic hasn’t been easy for the organization. Woods said they had to lay off 48 part-time workers — employees he hopes they get back sooner rather than later. Still, they are committed to serving as many as 40 children per branch at the three branches, with small, full-time staffs, he said.
Relief for parents
Thurston County resident Heather Davis, who works for an area retailer, said she is grateful for the services offered by the Lacey branch because it’s affordable.
Her previous option was to pay $700 per month for child care, she said. Unable to afford that amount, she feared she would have to give up her job and stay home. But then how would she pay her bills?
The regular Boys & Girls Club rate for her child would’ve been $85 per week, but she qualified for a reduced rate of $51, she said.
Woods said in some cases, they waive the fee altogether.
The day begins
Providing child care during a pandemic that requires social distancing is tricky work, a recent visit to the Lacey branch showed.
As soon as the children enter the club, they are screened by staff, including getting their temperature taken. From there, they are separated into groups and rotated through various rooms and activities the remainder of the day.
Program coordinator Chase LaBranche was busy with a group of kids in the Tech Lab.
The children are reminded about social distancing, or separated by staff when they forget, and everything they touch is cleaned, he said. Some don’t need to be reminded, LaBranche said, pointing out a kindergartner who was quick to say, “Six feet! Six feet!”
The kids no longer get to chase after each other and play “tag,” he said, and when they rotate to the room that has a pool table, it’s a whole new experience. After each shot, the cue is wiped down before it’s handed to the next player. Hands are washed at least every hour, he said, and rooms are cleaned before the next group of children rotate into it.
“I’m pretty committed to the kids,” said LaBranche, who just celebrated three years with the organization.
Need child care?
Do you work an essential job and have a need for child care? Learn more about the Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County at http://bgctc.org/.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
