Beaumont has been offering child care and early learning for 38 years. The program was established in 1980, with a desire to provide child care in a community that values the support of families, and in response to the lack of meaningful alternatives for parents.
Beaumont currently provides a 20% subsidy of the gross costs, with the remaining 80% funded through fees and grants.
Beaumont’s child care model consists of two programs: The Early Learning Child Care Center (ELCC) and the After-School care program (SAS), which have separate budgets. Together, the programs have room for 138 children (approx. 70 families), and any citizen of Beaumont can sign up, but capacity constraints limit entrants each year.
The program has access to indoor and outdoor facilities, including 3 parks, which are run by Beaumont. Program fees increase in the summer months as children take part in more extra-curricular activities, such as field trips outside of Beaumont.
The staff hired by Beaumont’s child care program are highly trained and committed professionals. Beaumont requires that the employees working directly with children have a Level III certification (most daycare centers only require Level I).