COUNTYWIDE : Campaign to Give Tips on Child-Care

Local child-care experts are launching a campaign today to educate working parents about good, affordable child care.

The two-year campaign, “Child Care Aware”--funded by Dayton Hudson Corp., the parent company of Mervyn’s and Target stores--is part of a nationwide effort by the stores and child-care agencies.

Representatives from Child Development Resources of Ventura County--a group founded in 1980 to help meet the county’s child-care needs--local day-care centers and five child-care associations will be in the county’s three Mervyn’s stores Saturday and Sunday to provide information to parents from noon to 4 p.m.

“Parents are not aware of what to look for from child-care providers,” said Creda Nowlin, manager of the county group’s Family-to-Family project. “They don’t ask questions.”

Parents who stop by the information tables at the stores will receive copies of a brochure prepared for the campaign that details what to look for and what to ask when visiting a child-care home or center.

The brochure provides a checklist of 25 questions parents should ask--such as whether the center is licensed, if surprise visits by parents are encouraged and whether there are enough toys and learning materials.

Parents also will learn about services provided by the child development group. The Oxnard-based nonprofit agency refers parents to child-care facilities throughout the county and trains care providers. The agency also runs the Head Start Program.

In 1991, Dayton Hudson Corp. awarded the group a $240,000 grant for its Family-to-Family program, and since then, more than 170 child-care providers in Ventura County have undergone training. Currently, there are 1,200 child-care homes and 300 day-care centers in the county, Nowlin said.