The Gateway Outdoor Mall was lined with booths and young families Saturday afternoon as Care About Childcare and Discovery Gateway joined forces to promote a new website that makes finding childcare easier for parents.
Lynette Rasmussen is the director of the office of work and family life. She also works in the state office of childcare and has managed multiple teams working to bring this event together.
'The goal is to have low income children and all children have access to high quality childcare,' Rasmussen said. 'We want to develop high quality childcare but also help parents find it. We can develop great childcare, but if parents don’t know how to find it, that’s a problem. This is really a partnership between a lot of communities, organizations and agencies to help in the developing and administration of childcare.'
This event was sponsored by the Department of Workforce Services, the Office of Child Care and is a direct response to our federal funding partners, the Administration for Children and Families and the Child Care and Development Fund.
Over 25 booths were set up, raising awareness and providing interactive games for children. Alfred Romeo is a coordinator for the Learn the Signs, Act Early campaign which helps parents to make sure their kids are on the right developmental track.
'I work with the Utah Department of Health and the Learn the Signs, Act Early campaign which helps parents learn about the developmental milestones for young kids,' Romeo said. 'We’re partners with Care about Childcare and they do a great job to help parents find quality childcare. At the Department of Health, we work with licensing to make sure the childcare providers are up to date on the all the childcare regulations.'
The Utah Workforce Services puts out information on childcare so parents can find it, and Care about Childcare brings it all together for a one-stop-shop online experience.
Renee Oleson is not only a general pediatrician for Intermountain Healthcare, but she sits on the state advisory committee and is an early childhood expert for the Office of Child Care.
'Child advocacy is one of my passions,' Oleson said. 'Making sure that underserved kids and children all over can have high quality childcare and empowering parents to look for the right kind is extremely important. As a parent, I like how the website is powerful and involves all the important factors that parents need to know about.'