From Early Childhood Focus

By-the-hour child care center opens

Posted in: Indiana

By Sheila Holland
July 17, 2007

A new concept in child care has come to Evansville's West side.

Ms. Lottie's Drop-in Center, which opened for drop-ins Monday, offers day care services to parents on the go or in need of a backup provider. Children can stay at Ms. Lottie's, located on 706 N. Sonntag Avenue, for as little as an hour up to as long as five consecutive days.

"I used to run a home day care," said Laura Buchanan, owner of Ms. Lottie's. "I would always work in the evenings and odd hours. I had a lot of calls from people needing to drop in for a short amount of time."

Although the facility is not required to be licensed by the State, since it is not a traditional day care center, all employees are child CPR certified, have passed a drug screen and have experience in early childhood development, Buchanan said. The center offers services to children from 18 months old to 12 years old.

Indiana does not currently have licensing requirements for drop-in centers and does not intend on pursuing them, said Dennis Rosebrough, communications director of Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.

Buchanan said the facility has the capabilities to hold 35 children at any given time and three caretakers on staff.

For parents who may be hesitant to drop off their children at a new place, or for children who may need a bit of time getting accommodated to new surroundings, the center offers what it calls "stay & play." It is an opportunity for parents to stay with their children during a session and enjoy the facility, which offers 2,600 square feet of toys, a dress up area, video game consoles, a small theater, games and a loft.

"Parents cam come and stay with the child and let them get familiar with the facility," Buchanan said. "Also, small groups can come for play dates. It gives home day care providers another place to bring the children to play."

Full text available at the Evansville Courier Press