| With more than 80 percent of working women
with children over six, the Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc., reports
that there are only slots for 6,763 children, far short of the needed
45,000 slots. Eighty-five percent of working parents say that it is
difficult to find affordable, quality programs in their communities.
 Trying to meet this need, the Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc., is
currently giving assistance to 145 school-age childcare sites serving
families before and after school, on holidays, and during school
vacations. The Council also encourages the formation of new programs.
Latchkey children 10 to 14 years old pose a special problem. The
national organization Invest in Kids: Fight Crime says that experts
estimate that five to seven million kids go home to an empty house.
Thirty-five percent of 12-year-olds are left to fend for themselves
while their parents work. In the hour after school, juvenile crime
triples.
In Nassau County Dr. Marc F. Bernstein, Superintendent of the
Bellmore – Merrick Central School District, formed a group of youth
experts and other citizens to promote after-school programs for latchkey
kids. Hoping to prevent high-risk adolescent behaviors such as alcohol
and drug abuse, smoking, or criminal activities, Nassau County Executive
Thomas Gulotta made the Bernstein Committee an advisory council to the
County. He also appointed a representative group of other knowledgeable
individuals to promote the expansion of after-school academic and
recreational activities.
Marion S. Levine, Executive Director of the North Shore Child and
Family Guidance Center, wrote, “Young adolescents need safe places to
go, a sense of belonging to a valued group, worthwhile activities, a
sense of social responsibility, a feeling of hope, and relationships
with caring adults.”
We know that many more programs are needed to provide just that kind
of environment for all our school-age children. Believing that
“childcare is a community concern,” we look to the future when the
public and private sectors, individually and in partnership, act to make
these programs a reality.
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