Child Care Centers Los Angeles County

Edelmira Sanchez remembers when her stomach was always in knots. Reeling from a painful divorce, she worked two jobs just to put milk and cold cereal on the table. And there was one never-ending concern: Who would take care of her two preschool-age children while she worked from dawn into the night? When Sanchez discovered a center near her Cudahy home where she qualified for free child care, many of her problems began to dissolve.

A former church employee pleaded not guilty Tuesday to five felony grand theft charges accusing her of embezzling more than $85,000 from Pasadena Presbyterian Church. Yvonne Roath, 52, who entered the plea in Pasadena Superior Court, was director of the church's day-care center and treasurer of its women's association, which organizes Bible studies and raises funds for church missions. "The allegation is she embezzled upward of $85,000 over the course of 4 1/2 years," Deputy Dist. Atty.

An advisory committee formed to study school enrollment and overcrowding in Burbank has caused an uproar among parents concerned that the group is considering eliminating day-care centers--a worry that school district officials call "needless." "Ultimately, any decision to modify child care or any other program will be made by the elected Board of Education, not by the advisory committee," said Arthur Pierce, superintendent of the Burbank Unified School District.

The controversy over Carla Marie Faith's home day-care center raises two questions that strike directly at the Achilles' heel of most working moms and dads: How do you find responsible people to take care of your preschool children while you're out making a living? And how do you know whether dangerous conditions could be fostered at places that on their face look like God's gift to a conscientious parent?

More than 200,000 children in licensed day care in Los Angeles County are potentially among the most vulnerable in an earthquake because no regulations exist requiring safety glass, bolted bookcases, extra supplies of food and water or even working flashlights in child-care centers, experts say.

A former church employee pleaded not guilty Tuesday to five felony grand theft charges accusing her of embezzling more than $85,000 from Pasadena Presbyterian Church. Yvonne Roath, 52, who entered the plea in Pasadena Superior Court, was director of the church's day-care center and treasurer of its women's association, which organizes Bible studies and raises funds for church missions. "The allegation is she embezzled upward of $85,000 over the course of 4 1/2 years," Deputy Dist. Atty.

The controversy over Carla Marie Faith's home day-care center raises two questions that strike directly at the Achilles' heel of most working moms and dads: How do you find responsible people to take care of your preschool children while you're out making a living? And how do you know whether dangerous conditions could be fostered at places that on their face look like God's gift to a conscientious parent?

Los Angeles International Airport officials have selected the site of a child care center the airport plans to build next year for children of its airport employees and tenants. The center will be able to accommodate 100 children ranging in age from infants to 5-year-olds. LAX has had no child care center. The airport surveyed its employees and found that 60% of said they had difficulty finding day care.

Brenda Mingo launched her Windsor Hills preschool with the only loan she could get--from her uncle. Dorothy Redmond took out a second home mortgage to finance her South-Central day-care center, later using her house as collateral to expand. Rejected repeatedly for commercial loans, Carolyn and Raymond Wilder got a home loan instead, then gutted and rebuilt an Inglewood house with their savings to open a kindergarten across the street from their preschool.

Parents with children entering kindergarten in September are being reminded that the youths will need up-to-date immunization records. "All public and private schools and child care centers throughout Los Angeles County will be enforcing the 'no shots, no school' policy in September," said Dr. Stephen Waterman, chief of Acute Communicable Disease Control of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Because of the immunization requirements, free summer immunization clinics have been scheduled at all county health centers.

Brenda Mingo launched her Windsor Hills preschool with the only loan she could get--from her uncle. Dorothy Redmond took out a second home mortgage to finance her South-Central day-care center, later using her house as collateral to expand. Rejected repeatedly for commercial loans, Carolyn and Raymond Wilder got a home loan instead, then gutted and rebuilt an Inglewood house with their savings to open a kindergarten across the street from their preschool.

Edelmira Sanchez remembers when her stomach was always in knots. Reeling from a painful divorce, she worked two jobs just to put milk and cold cereal on the table. And there was one never-ending concern: Who would take care of her two preschool-age children while she worked from dawn into the night? When Sanchez discovered a center near her Cudahy home where she qualified for free child care, many of her problems began to dissolve.

Los Angeles International Airport officials have selected the site of a child care center the airport plans to build next year for children of its airport employees and tenants. The center will be able to accommodate 100 children ranging in age from infants to 5-year-olds. LAX has had no child care center. The airport surveyed its employees and found that 60% of said they had difficulty finding day care.

More than 200,000 children in licensed day care in Los Angeles County are potentially among the most vulnerable in an earthquake because no regulations exist requiring safety glass, bolted bookcases, extra supplies of food and water or even working flashlights in child-care centers, experts say.

An advisory committee formed to study school enrollment and overcrowding in Burbank has caused an uproar among parents concerned that the group is considering eliminating day-care centers--a worry that school district officials call "needless." "Ultimately, any decision to modify child care or any other program will be made by the elected Board of Education, not by the advisory committee," said Arthur Pierce, superintendent of the Burbank Unified School District.

Family day care: Providers use their homes to care for children. There are two kinds of licensed family day care: large and small. Large family homes are licensed for a maximum of 12 children and require two adults to be present. Small family homes are licensed for six children and require one adult to be present. Most of the county's 7,100 family day-care homes are licensed for six children. Child-care centers: Non-residential facilities that typically handle anywhere from 13 to 250 children.