Family Child Care Satellites of Greater Rochester
In January 2001, Rochester Childfirst Network received a grant from the Rochester Area Community Foundation to
hire a part-time Satellite Coordinator to administer coordinated Satellite services, seek out community support
for special services for children enrolled in family child care homes, and work with local and state agencies to
improve the quality of care in family child care homes.
The RACF start-up grant enabled the Satellites to leverage State funding. In 2003 the Satellites of Greater Rochester
received a 4-year grant from the Office of Children and Family Services to staff this office for a minimum of 6
years. Under the grant the Satellite office is able to offer providers financial assistance with medical insurance,
disability insurance and the cost of income tax preparation. It covers the cost of field trips to educational sites
that are cost-prohibitive to this population. It provides screening services for children with suspected developmental
delays, and offers free classes and assistance with financial record-keeping. The grant established a Provider
Advisory Board that meets monthly to evaluate on-going projects and make recommendations.
During this same timeframe the Rochester Area Community Foundation established family child care as one of its
funding priorities. This, in combination with the grant from the Office of Children and Family Services, had the
effect of repositioning the Satellites of Greater Rochester as a participant in multiple community projects. Between
2002 and 2005 the Satellites of Greater Rochester has been a partner in a University of Rochester project to promote
science and language in child care settings. It's also entered into a partnership with the Toy Resource Center-a
program
that lends toys and materials for children through the Rochester Public Library. This program supports field trips
for family child care providers to the Resource Center and offers workshops and one-on-one mentoring with a play
specialist.
The Satellites of Greater Rochester services continue to expand. In 2004 the Satellites of Greater Rochester began
to work with the Children's Institute on a project designed to assess the impact of family child care on children's
kindergarten readiness. The homes are evaluated by trained FDCRS observers; children are assessed by the Rochester
City School District. In 2005 the Satellites of Greater Rochester joined with Cornell University on a research
project designed to measure the impact of one-on-one mentoring of providers in combination with provider participation
in facilitated support groups.
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