LOS BAÑOS, Laguna (PIA) – In a bid to support solo parents and their children, the local government of Los Baños, Laguna continues to provide safe and inclusive spaces for children through its newly-improved Child Care Center.
This Child Care Center is designed as a safe and nurturing space where parents can leave their children while they attend to their everyday responsibilities.
It offers a child-friendly environment equipped with play areas, learning materials, and professional caregivers, ensuring the holistic well-being of the children.
“Parents who wish to enroll their children in the Child Care Center can do so through the Municipal Social Welfare and Development (MSWD) office. Upon registration, they are required to specify the duration of their child’s stay. The center operates from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, aligning with the typical work hours of parents to accommodate their schedules,” municipal information officer John Marvin Canaria said in a statement.
The LB government reveals the modern amenities in the center include designated play areas equipped with child-safe playground structures, shade canopies, a nap room, and dedicated seating for guardians.
The educational and recreational center also offers storytelling sessions, arts and crafts activities, and early childhood development programs.
To ensure the highest level of care and supervision, the personnel at the Child Care Center underwent a careful selection process. Caregivers must be registered nurses, while teachers are not strictly required to have an education degree, as long as they have completed a four-year college course.
Moreso, the facility will help solo parents by offering parenting workshops, job placement programs, and mental health support services, ensuring they have the necessary resources to balance work and childcare effectively.
“It is one of the programs he really did for solo parents? Because, aside from the subsidies that they get from the government, this is one of the things that can really help our solo parents in different ways,” Canaria stated.
Unlike traditional daycare centers, the Los Baños Child Care Center provides a more spacious environment where children can play freely.
On April 3, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. witnessed the ceremonial signing of the Joint Circular on the Establishment of Child Development Centers (CDCs) between the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
The Joint Circular provides guidelines for LGUs to establish CDCs funded through the Local Government Support Fund – Financial Assistance to LGUs (LGSF-FA), which aims to improve access to early childhood care and development facilities, particularly in low-income areas. (AM,CA/PIA-4A)
