Agency Details:

To provide high quality infant-toddler child care services to working families; a fixed percentage of our child care slots will be reserved for low-income families and a minimum of one slot will be reserved for a child with a disability.

Description:
(a) To aim for a high quality early care and educational program that focuses on young children’s physical, social-emotional health and overall well-being.

(b) To provide childcare services for parent(s) and/or guardian(s) of young children between the ages of 5 months and four years old (*aiming for three and a half, where children will transition into another preschool program, as this is primarily an infant-“early” preschool” program).

(c) Childcare services will specifically be fore parent(s) and/or guardians who needs child care services in order to obtain or retain full-time employment (not took out full-time as, as full-time would insinuate that we are fully supporting parents working full-time and would therefore make it one of our primary duties to be open for a full-time schedule).

(d) A minimum of 20% - 25% of the child care tuition payments will be on a sliding-scale basis, in which families complete the application, registration and committee to at minimum of 20 hours a year of volunteer service to the daily operation.

(e) When time permits (weekends, national holidays and days that BBCDC’s daily operations will be closed to enrolled families) the facility will be offered to community based organizations needing early childhood development spaces to suit the needs of families served within that agency.

(f) Infants and early preschoolers with a suspected or diagnosed developmental disability or other special circumstance(s), will receive priority status over a fixed percentage of the childcare slots.

(g) Facility will serve as a community resource (community hub) where employees and volunteers from other agencies can participate in workshops and trainings given to BBCDC employees and volunteers that are for professional development purposes.

(h) Monthly Saturday play-groups will be available to families in order provide further opportunities for parents and/or guardians to observe and engage in their child play with other children his or her age.

(i) Full-time staff will be compensated for their commitment to children and families in the program with exemplary staff appreciation practices, recognition, continuing education opportunities and adequate salary and fringe benefits.

(j) To advocate for the greater need of all children to have access to high quality early care and education.

(k) Families and staff will have access to an on-site early childhood library used to further education families on children’s health and development.

(l) To sell materials, such as educational books, t-shirts, tote bags, and baby attire with our agency’s printed logo on the product. All proceeds will go to the general fund of BBCDC.

History:
The founder and the majority of the initial board members of Building Bridges Child Development Center’s professional experience and passion lie with serving homeless and formerly homeless families in the San Francisco Bay Area. One of the major issues they found preventing families from getting out of the cycle of poverty was the lack of child care programs available to families once they had secured employment. In addition to homeless and formerly homeless families, BBCDC has broadened its focus to include the various socio-economic statuses and diverse groups of families that exist in the San Francisco Bay Area. BBCDC strives to meet the demand for high quality infant and toddler childcare for all working families while remaining in line with Alameda County’s Early Childhood Education vision for young children to achieve their full potential within the cultural context of their family and the broader community.

BBCDC strives to adequately serve a diverse group of families and their very young children that closely resemble the demographics of the Bay Area. After looking for nearly three years for an adequate child care space, (one that has the appropriate indoor and outdoor environment suitable for young children) BBCDC has finally found the perfect location! Our model program will be located on the ground floor of the newly constructed Fox Court Housing Development in the heart of Downtown Oakland. Built by the non-profit agency Resources for Community Development (RCD), our agencies will come together to serve a population that is truly reflective of the community in which we live.

Building Bridges Child Development Center uses a "community oriented approach to early care end education" to further involve the greater community in helping provide the high quality child care services that all children deserve. Unfortunately, tuition alone cannot support the true cost of quality child care. It takes funding from diverse sources to financially support the all inclusive program that we envision.

At first glance a high quality child care program may seem expensive, but early care and education is one of the best investments we can make in our society. Quality child care services have shown that for every dollar invested, society gets threefold back in return through lesser crime rates, lower special education numbers, and higher wages from those children when they reach adulthood. Supporting young children at this crucial young age has huge implications for our society as a whole. We all need to play in part in advocating for more financial resources and better child care services for our youngest members of society.

BBCDC’s first child care center is purposefully designed to be a small, intimate child care program, where each child can get the individualized attention they need to be adequately nurtured and thrive in all areas of development. BBCDC’s program philosophy was developed with the use of evidenced-based research, a culturally sensitive and inclusive approach that supports the diverse families that exist in Alameda County. BBCDC additionally believes that well-educated, highly compensated providers, who have strong partnerships with the families they serve, are key characteristics to providing optimal early care and educational environments for children.

We urge interested individuals and parties to join our cause, and be a part of making Building Bridges Child Development Center (BBCDC)’s initial infant-toddler child care center a reality to our community that is in dire need of such programs!

Contact people:

Rachel Aoanan, Chief Executive Officer, (phone), (email) Michael Vennari, Chief Financial Officer, (phone), (email) Rachel Aoanan, (phone), (email)

Address:

553 19th Street Oakland, CA 94612 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.buildingbridgescdc.org

Directions:

The center is located with the Fox Courts low-income housing development.   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: 19th Street (BART)

Miscellaneous Information

Besides English, which languages are spoken at your agency?
	Cantonese
What is the minimum age for volunteers at your agency?
	18
Is your agency wheelchair accessible?
	Yes
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 10?
	Yes
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 20?
	Yes

Last updated on November 11, 2009