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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
January 2002 |
Church based day care:
Are we being faithful to our children?
By Lynda C. Ward
In the late nineteenth century the Methodist Church started providing childcare in the form of education and spiritual training to the children of immigrants. Since then, Methodists have offered childcare in some form throughout the industrial revolution, two World Wars, and today. There are currently over 200,000 preschool age children living in Indiana that are in need of day care, according to the state's Family and Social Services Administration.
And yet only recently has the UMC begun to struggle to find the theological words and phrases to support this practice that it began over a hundred years ago: offering child care as ministry. Two events in the early eighties encouraged this reflection: The National Council of Churches conducted a national survey and published its findings and recommendations in When Churches Mind the Children, and The Kanuaga Symposium met to study faith development in early childhood and published its findings and recommendations in The Handbook of Preschool Religious Education. As a result, churches nationwide began to ask themselves some serious questions: Is our childcare program truly a ministry? Who are we serving? What are our standards and goals? Are we being faithful to our children?
Checks and balances
Approximately one-fourth of all UM churches in Indiana offer a day care or preschool program. Typically these programs operate between two and six hours per day, pay teachers a minimum wage without benefits, have limited or no certified training or continuing education requirements for teachers, and do not mention Christ, God, or offer any specific religious education.
| 'Churches should hold
themselves to higher standards'
-- Gail Sfura |
A majority of these UM sponsored centers are also not licensed, according to the Indiana Department of Children and Family's Division of Childcare Health. While full-time centers that operate more than four hours each day are required to be registered with the state, centers can be exempt from the strict state licensing requirements if they describe themselves as a ministry. Teachers who work at "registered ministries" do not have to be First Aid/CPR trained or meet any specific educational requirements. The centers themselves are also not required to monitor children's medical conditions, refrain from using corporal punishment, or provide any number of the mandatory nutrition, health, program, or site requirements that the licensed centers must provide. Centers that operate less than four hours each day are not required to be licensed or registered by the state. In short, with the exception of quarterly general sanitation inspections for day care centers, the state expects the church to oversee its own day care or preschool ministry.
Setting the standards
Due to state requirements of registered ministries, few Indiana church day care centers seek further accreditation. Seven UM preschools and two UM day care centers in Indiana have acquired national accreditation from NAEYC (The National Association for the Education of Young Children). The Trinity Learning Center (TLC) is one of the two full-time UM centers (Castleton UMC in Indianapolis is the other) who are, NAEYC accredited. TLC's director, Gail Sfura believes, "Churches should hold themselves to higher standards. We felt we had the obligation to meet the highest standards, and our church backed us on that decision." Sfura staffs her center with well trained, salaried teachers, some of whom hold education degrees, and she requires her staff to participate in a minimum of 12 hours of continuing education each year. TLC additionally provides children with opportunities for prayer, chapel time and celebration during Christian holidays. And yet, TLC's center shares some of the same challenges as the non-accredited UM centers: high teacher turnover, lack of benefits for teachers, lack of networking opportunities, and no central organization on the part of the UMC.
Chris Chrobot, founder and director of Salem Preschool (SPS) at New Salem UMC in Granger, explains that not all centers can afford the extra $1,200 for NAEYC accreditation, but she agrees with Sfura that UM churches should hold themselves to the highest standards and offer quality care, instruction and Christian education to preschool children. Chrobot, who visited many UM preschools and day care centers over several years, was disappointed to find a marked decline in quality. Consequently she and Bev Decker from Elkhart First UMC started the United Methodist Early Childhood Association (UMECA), a grassroots movement designed to bring respect, support, affordable accreditation, and centralized organization and standards to UM childcare ministry.
One of UMECA's many goals is to address the needs of UM childcare programs by offering workshops and conferences that will encourage networking and address concerns, such as high teacher turnover and lack of benefits. UMECA also has plans to develop a directory, publish a newsletter, and offer workshops designed to educate pastors and congregations about the advantages of getting involved with childcare ministry.
The definition of ministry
Chris Chrobot could easily be described as a kind of modern day prophet, a strong advocate for children who is calling the UMC to return to its roots and see its childcare program as a "valuable ministry" with "tremendous benefits." And she speaks from experience: 23 years ago Chrobot took over the reins of SPS and has since fashioned it into a model UM preschool. Today, Chrobot's center contradicts national statistics in almost every way. Three out of the four teachers at SPS have been on staff for over 14 years. SPS pays teachers more than double the national average.
|
'Kids learn so much before age 5, and they need to know God.' -- Chris Chrobot |
David Hughes, the pastor at New Salem UMC, and the congregation both actively support and are involved with SPS. And though national statistics indicate that current preschool enrollment almost never results in church membership, Chrobot has found that if the preschool is run as a ministry, and its staff understands themselves to be spiritual mentors who provide care for the children and their families, as a result, parents will attend, and even join, the church.
Chrobot is frequently frustrated, however, that other UM childcare directors shy away from mentioning Christ or God in the name of tolerance, and do not see their programs as a ministry. Chrobot explains, "Everything we do at SPS is Christian because we are Christians, it's who we are; it's part of our mission." And she quickly adds that SPS has children "of all faiths" enrolled. Chrobot says, "Kids learn so much before age 5, and they need to know God." She believes that what children need most in order to help them grow into healthy adults are Christian values and a sense of community, and this, she reminds, is something the church in particular can provide. And Chrobot's words and methods are fully supported by the findings and recommendations of the National Council of Churches and The Kanuaga Symposium.
Yet for all of her efforts Chrobot noted, "We do not have conference backing at this time." Sfura at TLC in New Albany similarly reports a lack of conference support for day care and preschools in the South Indiana Conference, but both Chrobot and Sfura expressed prayerful hope for the future. "Sometimes," Chrobot said, with tenacity reminiscent of the biblical prophets, "you just have to lead even when nobody is following."
If you would like to learn more about the United Methodist Early Childhood Association, contact Chris Chrobot at 219/674-8293.
For the purposes of this article, the term "day care" refers to centers that operate more than four hours each day. "Preschool" refers to centers that operate less than four hours a day, while the term "child care" refers to both part-time and full-time centers.
Lynda Ward is the communications coordinator for the Michiana District and a freelance writer.
Last updated on January 14, 2004