From Early Childhood Focus

Child care dilemma

Posted in: Kentucky

By Sheila Holland
June 5, 2007

Life is about to change for Lyla Pryor and Zion, her 3-year-old son. June 29 will mark the end of Ford/United Auto Workers Family Service & Learning Centers, which for years have been a regional showcase of superior, partly subsidized child care for working families.

So far, Pryor, wife of a Louisville Assembly Plant worker, has not found a child-care center anything like the Chamberlain Lane facility, which is closing as part of Ford's belt-tightening. The colorful building offers affordable child care; trained, longtime union staff who enjoy health benefits; top-of-the-line playgrounds; lactation rooms; even heated floors for infants to crawl on.

"It is heartbreaking," Pryor said as she kissed Zion goodbye about 8 a.m. before heading to work. "I am finding pieces here and there, but I cannot find what I get here in one place."

As Ford copes with a staggering $12.6 billion loss in 2006, the Family Service Centers -- launched in 2001 to serve Louisville Assembly, the Kentucky Truck Plant and other locations around the country -- are winding down.

"As our restructuring goes along, we have had to make some difficult decisions," Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans said. "This is one of them."

The family center near Louisville Assembly on Fern Valley Road recently was sold, UAW Local 862 President Rocky Comito said. About 120 children, mostly those of Kentucky Truck employees, remain at the Chamberlain Lane building, which is now for sale, he added.

"It is very frustrating," Comito said.

Where Ford is pulling out of the child-care business, working families still have options.

Two entrepreneurs are stepping into the business. By mid-July, Maurice Blakemore, 32, and Michael A. Moss Jr., 29, plan to open Kids 4.0 in a Lyndon office park, near the Chamberlain Lane center, to help fill the gap for Ford employees.

Kids 4.0, at 1740 Lyndon Farm Court, can care for 87 children.

"It is like the stars aligned for us," Moss said of the Kids 4.0 building. "Before we knew anything about Ford, we got this facility."

Louisville metro government last week announced a $50,000 federally funded business loan for the startup. The Metropolitan Business Development Corp. approves such loans for entrepreneurs who have a sound business plan but need to cover financing gaps.

With Ford closing family centers, "there will be many families that need child care and need it close to their work," said Drew Shryock, assistant director with the city's Economic Development Department. "This is a great win."

Ford workers scrambling for child care can also find help by contacting Community Coordinated Child Care, which is continuing its partnership with the region's second-largest private employer and the UAW.

Through its Web site -- www.4cforkids.org -- the nonprofit agency offers free referrals to parents and ranks home and center-based child care with a four-star system. Child-care providers also receive grants and training through the organization, which can be reached at (502) 636-1358.

Still, the agency's assistant director says it hurts to see the Ford facilities go.

"It is a huge loss," said Janet Masterson. "Those were both superior quality and enhanced our community for families."

Full text available at the Courier-Journal